How To (Paano Ba)

by Cecile Cinco

Let me start with a background.  The faucet in the bathroom often jumps out of the wall especially when the kitchen faucet gets abruptly closed. It actually needed some sealant so it will hold on to the PVC pipe protruded from the wall. We did not want to bother the landlord to turn the main valve off so hubby tried to make a solution: give it support from the wall. He intended to drill the wall and reinforce the faucet. He already tried the clay sealant that can seal under water but the problem is it would not take hold on the ceramic tile.

He purposefully avoided the pipe line from the faucet but unfortunately missed to notice the shower pipe line. In short, he drilled through the shower PVC pipe. He inserted a wooden disposable piece of chop stick end temporarily just to limit the water squirt. Incidentally, they all had to leave and I had to stay home. I assured him not to worry. So this is what I did:

I had a piece of hard plastic to push the clay sealant to the wall so I can put force using the metal pipe. To avoid it from sliding I made a support with a recycled tshirt collar and clipped it with a clothespin. The other end of the metal pipe is pushed by a wooden box that stood on a stool. After 3 hours, it worked fine. No more drip.

Hubby asked, what if he pushed the drill a bit too hard that it drilled a hole through the back part of the pipe? I reminded him not to worry about it because if ever it did, the solid cement will be there.

The next day, though, water started to seep through the sink cement (which is back to back with the toilet wall). The water was just minimal, though, so it seems like the sink sides could be leaking already, flowing at the back and to the floor. That did not happen until the full day from fixing the bathroom has gone without a problem. When the water on the floor kept flowing like every 5 minutes I would be mopping, I tracked where the flow came from. The water from the bathroom pipe really made its way to the kitchen through the wall. I bought another clay sealant that day and made my way to fix it once and for all.

It was a day to be with the two kids to watch a 3D movie, Tin Tin but I had to tell them the priority of fixing this first. Hubby had an overtime at work so he could not come before we had to leave. That is why I had to do it. I took the drill, bore 5 holes to start chipping off the tiles and cement to bare the PVC pipe. I had no cement nail so I had to use the drill bit for cement when hammering off the little bits of cement. I had to make sure the pipe will not be further damaged and also I had to make sure to take care of my hands too. The 5 arros are where I bore the holes. The single up arrow is the original damage which was patched two days before.

Finally, there was enough space to move my hands behind the pipe. There was no hole at the back! So the water that seeped through the cement came from the front. I tried patching the hole but the force of the water pushed the clay sealant away. That was when I asked the landlord if he can put off the main water valve for awhile. He knew there was a problem with the faucet because when we were all out the week before he caught our attention to tell us that the water is flowing (we could hear it from the outside). He did not know that there was an additional problem.

I tried to push/insert a soft rubber but it did not work.

Even when the hole is just in front, I made sure the clay wound to the back so that when it hardens it will act as a clamp on its own. When fixing the faucet too, I wound the clay around the protruding pipe from the wall and push-turned the faucet so the clay will be concentrated on the both the PVC material of the pipe and the faucet instead of attaching it to the wall.

It’s been a week now and I’m satisfied with the outcome. No more unnecessary flowing water through the floor. All that has to be done now is to beautify that part of the wall again. Suddenly I became a plumber. I’d rather be plumbing myself than to have a stranger come in my home.