Wanting to patch a Bathtub Wastewater Pipe Severed at Joint

[Mech20]

Hi. I'm wondering if it's possible to patch 2 pieces of wastewater pipe back together via some sort of tape or mesh with epoxy or something along those lines.

Not sure if this severed because of corroded threads or because it was patched to begin with (assuming the black is some sort of tape) by the prior owner and weakened over time.

At the moment I'm looking for a temporary fix or at least something that will keep most of the water moving in the pipe. For now I've just got the 2 pipes tied and bungeed together to close the gap a bit but water still runs out.

I'm not sure that there is enough play or gap between the 2 pipes (maybe and inch or so) for me to put a black rubber clamp coupling. Also, it seems as though the top of the coupling would sit over only a small amount of pipe which would be the octagonal portion of the joint. But if there are any tricks and you think it's doable then would appreciate to hear them. Or any other tips on patching it with epoxy and such. Thank you.

Oh and in the picture collage attached is also what I assume is the top of a big trap for the tub. Weird placement as the underside lip of the tub sits on top of the trap lid. So, I assume I can't actually unscrew the trap without removing or lifting the tub? Weird.

 

[CT18]

Wow that looks like lead pipe. I haven't seen that in years. Where is this structure located. From what I can see in the picture it is something you want a pro to take a look at. It looks like the failure was at a joint or pipe threads, hard to tell. It looks like the tub trip waste is in rough shape also and you may want to change it all out.

 

[MicEd69]

What you have is a break in the brass piping that connected to the lead drain piping. You also have a drum trap that is no longer to code. And as you are in Houston, I assume you have a crawl space rather than a basement. That just makes the access harder.

You will need to replace all that at some point, but there are some things that you can do as a temporary fix.

The main thing is to clean up the area around the broken joint. The biggest issue is going to be the side close to the blocking board between the floor joists. I would suggest you get some 40 grit emery cloth strips and clean that are as well as you can. You also need to immobilize that broken joint, but that appears hard to do without it getting in the way of the temporary repair. Maybe you can screw a strap to the floor joist to hold the horizontal line that goes to the drum trap while you do the temporary repair.

The easiest temporary fix, although I've never used it, would be the often-advertised Flex Tape. Part of the Flex Seal family where the guy rides around a lake in a boat with a screen for the bottom covered with liquid Flex Seal. LOL. But actually, it may work here.

I think a better, but harder to apply, temporary repair would be J-B Waterweld and non-adhesive fiberglass cloth. Apply a coating of the Waterweld all around the broken joint, then wrap the fiberglass cloth around the joint, and then apply another layer of Waterweld. Other epoxies or polyester or vinyl ester resins would probably also work, but I've had good luck with J-B products.

In either repair, you need to provide additional immobilization for that temporary repair. Don't use a bungie but rather use a steel wire like rebar tie-wire. It is 16.5 gauge soft annealed and can be purchased at the big box stores. I tried to mark up your pictures on how I would suggest you wire it together, but I couldn't draw it to make sense. So, I'll try to describe it.

Starting with about a 6' piece of wire, make a U in the middle and hang it over the brass line between the tub overflow line and the tub drain so both ends of the wire are against the blocking board. Cross the wires so they form an X behind the repaired joint. Bend the wire that is now on the left in your picture up under the lead pipe and take it up and bend it over the brass line between the tub overflow line and the tub drain. bend the wire that is now on the right in your picture up under the lead pipe and twist the two wires together. Work to make sure the wires are tight and are supporting the pipes so there is no stress trying to pull the repaired joint apart.

This is not a guaranteed fix and may only last for days or weeks or months or years, depending on the condition of the rest of the system and how well you can clean and apply the repair materials.

Good luck.

 

[Riickk]

That drum trap may not meet current code, but as always, existing is grandfathered in. (Unless it's mostly a renovated property) I've renovated several properties, my instinct is to rip all that out and put in new pipes from tub drain down. In the long run -year or more- that will be better and cheaper. The amount of damage grey water can do is unreal.