My 50 year old pipe developed a pinhole leak behind the cabinet inside the wall under my sink. I didn't know about it being so hidden because we later discovered that the leak was going UNDER the cabinet and tiles so the cabinet itself wasn't wet. I only found out when the water came up through the grout and when I went down to the basement, I found a slow drip down from the ceiling. I immediately called a plumber and had the pipes replaced. But my insurance company said I should have known and won't pay for replacing the cabinets (which had to be drilled through) and the damaged tiling.
How would I know? I"d appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank.
It's impossible to see a leak in the wall until it comes out of the wall.
The insurance companies have many ways of avoiding paying claims.
Keep pressing.
Where the is one leak there may be more so keep an eye out.
The basement is the best place to check.
Use a flashlight to look where the pipes go up into the floor/wall.
Did your plumber comment on why you had the pinholes? What type pipes do you have?
If you have copper pipes pinhole leaks are often the sign of bigger problems to come. It can be caused by your water chemistry slowly eating away at the copper from the inside, thinning the wall of the pipe. In this case all the pipes in your house are probably in similar condition so don't be surprised if you have other leaks in the coming months & years.
Another issue is with installation causing cavitation and messy flux use that can cause localized pitting and leaks. It's not as bad a situation as the water chemistry but it can mean that you have other potential leaks lurking somewhere.
If your pipes are galvanized steel how is your water pressure and flow? Pinhole leaks usually mean the pipe is rusting out from the inside. Often the rust grows inside the pipe restricting water flow until it eventually rusts through and leaks. This also can mean that you might be facing more water leaks in the future.
I wouldn't expect a homeowner's policy to pay for a plumbing problem unless it was directly caused by something such as a storm.
I have heard of copper pipes getting pinholes, but have never actually seen it. Copper pipes were typically considered good for a lifetime....or longer. Were your pipes copper or were they perhaps the old Quest polybutylene pipes.
Yes- they are copper pipes. I will try to upload a photo of the damaged pipe. I have an insurance hearing on Monday- I'm trying to prove that I couldn't have known about the leak for a while being it was inside a wall behind the cabinet. The plumber had said (no he won't testify) that the hole had gradually grown over time dripping down under the cabinet under the floor tile so it would take a long time. So I'm thinking definitely weeks or months til it leaked enough to come up through the floor when I detected it. What's a good estimation of how long it would take to detect? hole in copper pipe inside wall behind cabinet
Your post got me thinking about coverage for cases like yours. Below is a pretty good link that seems to give a good overview. I guess it would apply to most of us. I never thought about it much before.
So it sounds like it won’t matter to them whether or not you could have known about it, just the fact that it happened over a period of time would seem to be the determining factor. That does not seem fair.
But I think some policies cover “pipe failure”. Copper pipes can last 80 years if the water is not corrosive. Municipal water should not be corrosive. So it would seem to me a pinhole leak in a copper pipe would be considered “pipe failure”. That is not normal wear.
But I guess it would be “pipe failure” but with damage over time – and then would the “over time” take priority? I guess it would according to the article below.
I have copper pipes with well water and I check my basement (unfinished) ceiling a lot to see if there are any water stains. But I forgot to do for long periods of time.
That whole thing stinks. There are cases where no way it is negligence on the home owners part, but the “over time” seems to allow them to imply the home owner could have prevented it. Maybe over my head but something doesn’t sound right.
Thank you for your article and sympathy. My policy DOES say it is covered only if the leak is within walls, above ceilings and below floors if hidden and not visible. My claim is all of that- so to get out of it they are saying it WAS visible and I didn't take care of it. That really upsets me as I'm a very responsible person. Dreading the hearing on MOnday as I feel that it is stacked against me. But I'll try.
I have nothing really major to add to this other than take excellent quality pictures for evidence. If you must, borrow a relatively modern cell phone to get the pictures taken. I suggest getting some soft back lighting in there to help with taking pictures since plumbing photos usually are close-up and the onboard camera light really does poorly with the pipe/water reflective surfaces. This will serve you as evidence with your insurance claim. If the photos are bad quality they may not serve you well as admissible evidence.
Hi
I can not get this washing machine hose removed from the hot water line. It is seized tight & won't budge. It is recessed in a plastic box so it is very hard to get a good grip on the threaded end of the hose. I have sprayed some W40 on it but I am coming at it from the front so am not sure if the W40 is seeping through the treads. I would appreciate any tips that might loosen the threads up? Thanks
[img]https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20220422_120734_b8025ea56e68729fbfd4ebedc32d77f76523d278.jpg[/img]
I need some help determining where a leak might be coming from, and I've tried everything I know. I'm hoping some of you can help.
Our house is right at 30 years old, and we've lived here for about 2 years.
A year ago I decided to remove the wallpaper in the hall bathroom that was original to the house, and when I did, there was a small section of drywall missing near the bottom of the wall where the wall meets the tub.
I cut a bit of a larger hole to make a better patch for the wall.
Several months went by, and I noticed that there was mildew on the wall at the bottom of the patch I'd done. Initially I thought it was because I hadn't used green board, but after cutting out that piece and finding the sheet rock soaked from the inside out, and the wood on the "floor" of the wall wet, I knew I had an "internal" problem.
I have a metal tub with "plastic shower" surround. My understanding is that these tubs have a "channel" that runs all the way around them. After using a flashlight to investigate and a shish kabob skewer in the channel, I have determined that the only water that is visible is what is dripping off at the end of the "channel" and hitting the wood below. The rest of what I can see inside the wall is dry.
There is no leaking when the tub is filled up. The only leaking occurs when the shower is run. It runs out of the channel surrounding the tub, onto the wood on the "floor" of the wall, and it makes a puddle on the bathroom floor since we have left the hole in the wall. I imagine that when there was sheet rock there, that's why the sheet rock was getting wet.
I had some areas that weren't caulked properly around the tub, so I pulled off the old caulk and re-caulked around the entire bottom where the shower surround meets the tub.
I also took off the spout and put plumbers putty around the opening. I also used clear caulk around the spout. We haven't replace anything in that shower since we've lived here, so I didn't think the spout would have all of a sudden become a problem, but I did it anyway.
After weeks of dealing with this and investigating and doing the things I mentioned above, we had no water yesterday! I was excited and thought the problem was solved.
Today there was water again, but it was a very small amount compared to what was there before.
What else can we do that we haven't already done? Any ideas on where this water might be coming from?
When I made the patch, I didn't come anywhere near pipes, so I am positive I didn't screw my drywall piece into a water line.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
****Please pardon the first picture. I took it before I cleaned up the mess from cutting out the hole you see here.
[img]https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/wall_picture_d334a1f1524b3f9ceefeacb51825591a9eb4dcd7.jpg[/img]
[i]Water Puddled on Floor[/i]
[img]https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/spout_picture_407d1cc46d5887a774afbc41b1b4270046323d73.jpg[/img]
[i]Caulked Around Spout[/i]
[img]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/caulk_picture_51680dec1aa47121b65ed224ecfea1bd4dc85cd1.jpg[/img]
[i]Caulk was Missing from Aggressive Scrubbing[/i]
[img]https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1124/hole_in_wall_a9b5662c15af38057ff9f645ecdb1407da56d125.jpg[/img]
[i]Picture of part Cut Out of Wall[/i]
04-14-22, 09:53 AM
