Plumbing pipework - can this be removed and put back together easily?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Plumbing pipework - can this be removed and put back together easily?

timmmay

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#151582 29-Aug-2014 16:35

This is the pipe behind a toilet, but I want to sand and paint behind it. Is there an easy way to take the vertical pipe away then put it back without breaking it? That pipe system looks like it potentially comes apart somehow.

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#1118065 29-Aug-2014 16:51

There are two types of joints like this one. One is solvent-bonded and the other has a screw clamp type arrangement. Yours looks like the first kind and therefore you can't take it apart without wrecking it.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

timmmay

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#1118072 29-Aug-2014 16:57

Bugger. Thanks.

mattwnz

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#1118076 29-Aug-2014 17:10

Yes from the looks of it it all looks to be glued. Hate when plumbers do that, as it makes maintenance a PITA. May have been done that way due to the difference pipe sizes.

timmmay

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#1118079 29-Aug-2014 17:13

I guess I could cut the pipe and use a sleeve of some kind to reconnect it.

traderstu

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#1118167 29-Aug-2014 19:56

DarthKermit: There are two types of joints like this one. One is solvent-bonded and the other has a screw clamp type arrangement. Yours looks like the first kind and therefore you can't take it apart without wrecking it.

Not entirely correct. It is possible to save fittings by cutting pipe and removing the stubs of pipe by using a hot air gun to soften the pvc cement. In the examples in the photo it is hard to provide a definitive method because I don't know what goes on above the camera shot in the top photo, or the type of joints below deck level, but in simple terms, you would cut the pipe between the bend & the bush. Assuming that this would allow the vertical section to be removed, you would then remove the stubs of pipe from the bush & the bend with judicious use of the hot air gun. It may be necessary to cut a single longitudinal slot (with a broken hacksaw blade) through the pie, inside the fittings, to give a little wiggle room. To reassemble all you need is a small piece of replacement pipe.

I would never have attempted this until I saw it demonstrated by a swimming pool guy.

timmmay

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#1118253 29-Aug-2014 21:25

Sounds complicated.

Regs

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Snowflake

#1118286 29-Aug-2014 22:32

wrap the pipe in paper and use a wagner hand sprayer to paint behind :-)

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timmmay

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#1118325 30-Aug-2014 06:17

Thanks Regs, but it needs to be really well sanded and primed.

DarthKermit

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#1118333 30-Aug-2014 06:57

This doesn't solve your issue, but it gives you a look at the two types of fittings.

The correct name for those types of side entry fittings is an 'Expansion Strap Boss', either bolted or solvent bonded.

Marley catalogue

Edit:
(Flick to page 32 in the catalogue.)

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

richms

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#1118455 30-Aug-2014 11:34

timmmay: Thanks Regs, but it needs to be really well sanded and primed.

Whys that? Is the current paint not holding on? Its not going to get physically hit being behind the pipe so even if the current paint is a bit iffy, it shouldnt fall off if you just hand sand a little to allow it to key on and spray/tiny roller into the gap.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#1118628 30-Aug-2014 16:11

My weatherboards are cedar, or similar, and weren't properly sealed or primed before the first coat was put on. Whoever did it was an idiot.

Aredwood

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#1119244 31-Aug-2014 23:51

Im guessing that above the strap boss (joiner) it is just a vent pipe. If so just cut it approx 100mm above the strap boss. And get a plumbquick (black rubber joiner with big hoseclips on it, sometimes called a fernco joiner) to join it back together.

timmmay

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#1119275 1-Sep-2014 07:36

Pretty sure just a vent pipe, the waste pipe is beside it. Not sure why it goes down at all, maybe just for strength.

Bung

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#1119301 1-Sep-2014 08:35

The pipe may also be venting the sewer in which case the toilet vent may not be required by today's standards. Most new toilets rely on being close to a vent rather than being separately vented.

D1023319

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#1120538 2-Sep-2014 15:17

Bung is right - it looks like a terminal vent hence why it is going down.
so while your pic doesnt show it, it probably rises through the roof eaves by 500mm ish?
so the hard part will be messing with the roof flashings if you try and remove the vertical pipe and that could really cause problems

Theres a lot of info on google if you look for that phrase under NZ regulations.

if it was me, i'd paint around it or rip the whole lot out and start again after painting.

BTW - I think it was Buchans at the incoming point of the sewer they dispensed with???

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