Broken Outside Tap: Repairing a Burst Copper Pipe
A damaged outside tap can be easy to overlook until water starts escaping around the base. That was the case at this front garden tap in Blackburn, where the 15mm copper pipe had been damaged at ground level.
What had happened?
The copper pipe upstand supplying the garden tap had been damaged at its base, most likely from an impact. The pipe had split, allowing water to escape whenever the tap was being used.
The tap was also supported by an old wooden stake that had deteriorated over time, so there was little to protect the pipe from further movement or damage.
The repair
We cut out the damaged section of copper pipe and replaced it with a new section, restoring the water supply to the garden tap.
The old rotten wooden stake was removed and replaced with a customer-supplied steel star picket. The new support provides a much more secure fixing for the tap and helps protect the pipe from movement.
Once the repair was complete, we turned the water back on and tested the tap and pipework to make sure everything was operating correctly and there were no leaks.
The hole was then backfilled and the area tidied up, leaving the garden tap secure and ready to use again.
The finished result
A relatively small repair, but an important one. A split pipe at an outside tap can waste water and, if left unattended, can make the surrounding ground wet and unstable.
In this case, replacing the damaged section of copper and improving the support at the same time meant the tap was repaired properly rather than simply patching the immediate leak.
If you need help with a burst pipe or any other type of plumbing in Blackburn or any suburb in Melbourne’s East, please give us a call on 9844 1444 or book online at our website www.h2pro.com.au.
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