damp in walls through leaking pipe

[kie_mac]

I have found a leaking waste pipe from the bathroom sink which is leaking in the wall. I have chizelled the cement from round the pipes from the bathroom throught to the cavity wall insulation.... the cement was quiet wet and crumbled easily, but wen i got through i was looking for an obvious leak in the pipe when i spotted a WORM slithering about in the insulation!!!!! what is wrong???

[terence7556]

is the bathroom up or downstairs?
there are probably quite a few things in the cavity that like the dark and currently damp situation
are the leaking joints pushfit or threaded that are loose?when you carry out the repair monitor things and see ifthe cavity dries out in that area before sealing it again

[kie_mac]

The bathroom is upstrairs right above the kitchen thats how we knew the bathroom sink waste pipe was leaking. My wife spotted a damp patch behind a wall unit in the kitchen when i removed the cupboard to investigate we realised it was more than damp after more digging found it to be the pipe coming through the outside wall, as all down from that pipe was wet outside also. i decided to go from the inside as i was unsure about the safe removal of outside bricks. This house is a 1950's and has the old copper waste pipes from the bath and the sink the only join on them is at the u-bend as far as i can see. the reason i have come to the conclusion 1 of these are leaking is that the walls are only wet from this area down and we had the house re-pointed a little while ago. my neighbour pointed out they used griders to remove the original cement which could have weakened the copper pipes if they were nicked. these are just theories as i have very little knowlege of plumbing and/or building work. hope you have enough info to help me and that i have not bored you to tears.... thanx very much.

[terence7556]

v.interesting actually i suppose with the age of the pipes it had to happen sooner or later
not surprised to hear you suspect a workman, every external piece of damage done in my last two homes has been where the window cleaner stands but proving it is another matter
back to your problem, do you feel it is in your scope of work to replace the copper waste with plastic or is that too drastic .
ive never seen copper waste pipes, what size/diameter are they?

[kie_mac]

Well.... I would rather do it myself and if this is all it will take to sort the problem then i feel quite competent to replace the pipes with plastic but my main worry would be the worm i noticed in the insulation.... how did it get there? is it an infestation? are my walls crumbling? why is it there? will it go away wen the problem is fixed? all these kind of things especially as it is so high at the leak. I'm not sure of whether or not i'll have to get it dried out profesionally or not? will my house hold dehumidifier work? like i say i would rather do it my self but am worried i may need profesionals incase i miss something thats bad????....
I really appreciate your help there's not many people like u out there!!!! you must have broke the mould wen u came along ;-) cheers (bye the way... i can't say exactly but i think the pipes r about 2-3 inch thick. if that helps)

[s10driver]

If it was a garden worm, I wouldn't worry about it. When you get everything dried out, the worms will be gone. What kind of insulation is it? I can't imagine a worm crawling around in fiberglass.

[dilligaf]

A 2-3" copper pipe. Are you sure it's not a cast iron soil pipe ? If so it's not a diy job if as you say you have little knowledge of plumbing / building work.

[kie_mac]

The insulation is white fluffy stuff... I'm glad to hear that the worm will go itself once the walls n insulation dry out... I'm not sure of the exact measurements of the waste pipe i may have over estimated the size, but they are deffinately copper (its the waste pipes from the sink and bath not the toilet).... will i still be able to carry out the repair myself or would it be worth looking at my buildings insurance?
Really appreciate all this help folks!

[terence7556]

measure the pipes and see if it compares to modern plastic ones, 40mm for bath and 32mm for sink
then decide if access is a problem e.g. can you take off a bath panel to allow access to the bath waste
if you are prepared to try it replace the copper pipes,(dont throw them away ,weigh them in if theres enough to help offset costs) and you will be surprised how quickly the damp dries out

[kie_mac]

Thanks very much every1 for your advise. The problem is now sorted and now just waiting on the drying out process... turned out to be a leaking joint on the cold tap to the bath so there is lots of water to dry. once again thanks very much!!!