An emergency live leak repair to a 150mm metal pipe at a nursing home in the United Kingdom prevents the flooding of a loft space, keeping the heating system operational and residents warm with temperatures dropping as winter approached.

Case Study Overview

Site Nursing home
Location United Kingdom
Pipe Type Metal heating pipe
Repair Type Live leak repair
Products Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape, SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage

Pipe Defect

A 150mm metal pipe in the nursing home heating system running through loft space had developed a pinhole leak. A constant, steady drip of water was escaping the pipe and saturating the surrounding loft, with the potential to cause structural damage.

Shutting off the pipe whilst waiting for a plumber or heating engineer to make a repair or replacement would have left the nursing home without any heating at a time when UK temperatures were just under 10°C.

A live leak repair was therefore needed that same day to keep residents warm and limit water damage in the loft space.

SylWrap Solution

Sylmasta received an early morning phone call from the panicked nursing home maintenance manager. He then drove 20 miles to Sylmasta HQ and collected a SYL-616-UP SylWrap Universal Pipe Repair Kit.

The Universal Pipe Repair Kit seals leaking pipes even when pressure cannot be turned off by following a simple two-stage process. First, Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape was used to seal the pinhole leak.

It was stretched by the maximum three times its length as it was wrapped around the pipe, fusing to form a solid rubber easily withstanding the operating pressure to contain the leak.

The second stage of the repair involved overwrapping the tape with SylWrap HD Pipe Repair Bandage. After activating the resin with water, SylWrap HD was wrapped and smoothed around the pipe.

It cured within minutes to form a rock-hard, impact resistant shell which protected and reinforced the repair, providing a permanent solution.

Outcome

It took the maintenance manager under 30 minutes to repair the heating system once they arrived back at the nursing home with the Universal Pipe Repair Kit.

The heating system remained operational the entire time, leaving residents none the wiser there was a problem. The loft space only suffered minimal water damage thanks to the speed and ease of the repair.

Follow Up

After the repair, the maintenance manager sent a thank you email to Sylmasta. They were particularly grateful that the Universal Pipe Repair Kit cost less than £80.

This represented a huge saving compared with an emergency plumber callout at a time when care and nursing budgets in the UK are stretched to the limit.

Products Used

Wrap & Seal Pipe Burst Tape
Self-fusing repair tape which forms a solid rubber band for sealing live leaks

SylWrap HD Bandage
Water-activated wrap sets rock hard to provide a protective shell pipes

Universal Pipe Repair Kit
Wrap & Seal and SylWrap Bandage are supplied in a Universal Pipe Repair Kit

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