Hospital Repair 80mm Corrosion Hole in Cast Iron Wastewater Drain Pipe in 15 minutes
An 80mm diameter hole in a cast iron drain pipe leaking wastewater from a hospital bathroom into a roof space undergoes repair in just 15 minutes, limiting disruption for the patients and staff on multiple wards relying on the facility.
Case Study Overview
Site Hospital
Location United Kingdom
Pipe Type Cast iron drain pipe
Repair Type Leak repair
Products Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty, SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage
Pipe Defect
The cast iron drain pipe ran horizontally through a roof space between two floors at the Victorian-era hospital. It connected to a bathroom used by multiple wards, handling wastewater from baths and sinks.
Corrosion caused a large 80mm diameter hole to appear in the pipe. Whenever wastewater was now expelled from the bathroom, significant amounts poured from the hole.
This was causing water damage inside the roof space and posed a health risk. If the leak could not be sealed immediately, the bathroom would have to be shut until a pipe repair or replacement took place.
SylWrap Solution
The hospital maintenance team kept a SylWrap Drain & Waste Pipe Repair Kit on-site for precisely this type of emergency repair. The Kit contains multiple products for sealing cracks and splits in cast iron and plastic drain, waste and soil pipes.
As soon as the roof space leak was discovered, the maintenance team retrieved the robust red case the Kit is kept in and used the materials inside to seal the hole.
Superfast Steel Epoxy Putty was mixed by hand to form a 110mm disc, ensuring total coverage of the hole around all sides. Whilst soft, the disc was positioned over the hole and pushed firmly down onto the pipe. The edges were smoothed off to form a strong bond with the surface.
Before Superfast Steel fully hardened, SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage was applied over the top. As SylWrap HD was wrapped around the pipe, it forced the gelled putty further into the hole for a more effective seal.
Within 10 minute of mixing, Superfast Steel cured to form a material as hard as steel covering the hole. The bandage began setting as soon as it was activated, needing less than five minutes to form an impact-resistant sleeve around the pipe for a permanent, reinforced repair.
Outcome
Having a Drain & Waste Pipe Repair Kit on-site enabled the maintenance team to seal the leak in just 15 minutes, limiting disruption to the hospital.
The application also represented a cost-effective solution compared with a more complex repair or pipe replacement, during which time the bathroom would have been closed for use.
At a time when NHS budgets in England and Wales are stretched to the limit and many hospital trusts are struggling to afford maintenance for their crumbling estates, composite pipe repair is becoming an increasingly popular solution.
Follow Up
An inspection of the roof space several weeks later revealed no sign of any leakage despite heavy use of the bathroom. The application had been a complete success with wastewater now fully contained.
Products Used
Superfast Steel
Epoxy putty covers holes and cracks in pipework with a material as hard as steel
SylWrap HD Bandage
Composite wrap creates an impact resistant sleeve to reinforce repairs
Drain & Waste Pipe Repair Kit
Kit kept on-site with all the products needed to repair cast iron drain pipes
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