Water leak. Best way to open belly?

[ttiiggy]

I have a toilet on on END wall that has froze the water supply lines a couple of time in the last couple of weeks. The skirting is loose there right now and I didn't realize how how cold it as getting and how matted the insulation is under the pipe that is supposed to be keeping frost away...

I crawled under there the other day to work on the phone wire and found a ~2" icicle standing on the ground. It looked like a drip about every 5 seconds. I'm not SURE if it is water supply or drain pipe... It wasn't making a lake under there, but I need to fix it.

How is the best way to open up and fix the leak and then fix the hole in the belly?

[JD]

I just use a safety knife to cut the underbelly. You need to cut it open like a door but cut in a way that will be easy to repair. Having 12" of clean underbelly next to your cuts help with the repairs.

You will need to determine what is leaking. If you need help with the plumbing repair, let us know what is leaking. What kind of supply plumbing do you have? Gray PB pipe, white cpvc, PEx, steel or copper? A picture would help a lot with a plumbing repair.

I repair the underbelly with poly underbelly repair material and spray adhesive, available at the Books & Parts link at the top of this page. First I spray some large tape pieces, probably 3"x18". I use these to hold the cut underbelly piece in place while making the repair. I will then cover the entire cut area, overlapping the cut by 12" if possible with the poly and spray adhesive. When I have to cut right at an I-beam (some models), I will extend the spray down onto the I-beam to hold that end. Be sure to clean the beam first. When I have to remove the underbelly under the rim joists, I still use the spray adhesive, but will also staple 1/4"x2"x96" plywood slat over that edge to keep it in place. I use the adhesive on the slat as well.

[ttiiggy]

Water supply is gray plastic.
I expect to find a loose crimp on a connector.

I was thinking I would X-cut between corners of a square.
That way each piece has more support to keep from falling back out when I'm done.
I thought I could staple up a stiff plastic cardboard to seal it up and keep critters out.

[bobfather99]

In whatever shape you make your cuts in the belly, make sure the cuts are as straight as possible, makes it easier to tape everything up when you're done.

Gray plastic is the pb pipe, I would replace with pex. If time and budget won't allow you to replace everything with pex, you can fix your leak with pex/pex fittings and use a pex/pb adapter to link up with the rest of the system. I would also replace any wet insulating material with some good dry stuff.

On your way out from under the home, make sure you button up your skirting tight, keeps animals out of there and hopefully will prevent plumbing freeze-ups. Best of luck on your repair!!!

[StanD]

What's the best tape to use?

[Greg]

Mark has the belly tape in the site's store, or you can do a search for the method that JD uses.

Greg

[JD]

The FlexMend tape works pretty good if you apply it with a lot of heat from a heat gun. You also have to have some back up pressure to press the tape on good. This can be a problem sometimes.

I use Sta-Put spray adhesive and the poly underbelly material (both sold here at this web site). I will also use 3M Heavy Duty Spray 90 (not 3M 77) when I can't wait for shipping.