Advice please

neednewhouse

Yesterday my ex who still owns half the house came to sort out the floorboards in the bathroom prior to laying new vinyl. We are tidying up the house to put on the market.
He managed to hammer a nail through a central heating pipe (there are reasons why he is my ex). After he mopped up and went to B&Q he cut out about 8ins of the damaged pipe and replaced it with a new piece using brass fittings (compression?). He put water back in the system and went home.
Is this a suitable repair or should I get a professional out to replace it? I have little confidence in his diy skills and have been up twice in the night to check for leaks but I am too worried to turn the heating on.No drips but a slight dampness around one of the fittings. The original pipes are soldered.
Roughly how much would it cost to get replaced? And how much if I could find someone to come out today (sunday) otherwise it will be the end of the week?

Thanks for any help

WestonDave

If there is water in the system (radiators bled etc) then turning the system on will make little difference to the chances of a leak - the pump being on might create a bit more pressure but not a significant amount. If you call someone out they are unlikely to replace compression fittings with soldered ones as a matter of course - a lot of plumbing is done on compression fittings these days (all your radiators will be on compression fitted valves for example).

I would dry the joints thoroughly and then leave some kitchen roll etc on it so you can tell if its still weeping slightly. If it is then tightening the joint may resolve the problem. If you get someone to come out today you will pay premium rates - you can expect to pay at least £70 later in the week for someone to come out and tighten up or tidy up the joint - more today.

neednewhouse

Thanks WestonDave, He did turn the heating on before he left and it seemed ok but having little faith in him I keep expecting the whole thing to fall apart so I turned it off as soon as he left. Would this be the same sort of repair a plumber would've carried out? I think it would be worth the money for peace of mind!

Thanks again

DVardysShadow

If you are unhappy with his DIY skills, then compression joints were the right choice. Sometimes with pipes under floors, a professional would use a compression joint, because if you cannot drain the pipe dry, any residual water will make soldering almost impossible.

neednewhouse

Thank you it helps to know he at least chose the right solution!

neednewhouse

So despite the little bit of dampness it's not likely to fall apart?

WestonDave

Soldering also doesn't make it immune from falling apart - whilst we were having our electrics done we had a somewhat aggitated phone call from the electricians, who discovered that the soldered joints under the floorboards were holding together largely by inertia (i.e. because they'd always been in the same place) and when they got knocked or touched were coming apart. Needless to say we ripped the whole system out shortly after because we couldn't rely on it!

neednewhouse

Somehow that's not very reassuring! Still haven't dared turn on the heating

gas4you

Put the heating on, let it get hot, then turn it off and let it cool.

Apart from when you first fill up pipe work, the next most likely time for a drip to occur is after a compression joint has heated and cooled.

If there are no leaks after this, you should be ok and be able to rest easy.

neednewhouse

Thanks gas4you, I will try that, although I'm more concerned with a complete failure dumping a few gallons into my kitchen than a leak but that's the sort of confidence my ex inspired in me with his diy skills! Still at least I could stop worrying about it then! I don't think I'll be able to relax until I get someone to check it, just hoping I don't have to do an emergency call out on a sunday.

Gloomendoom

Sounds like your ex has made a pretty competent repair to me.

Stop worrying... and give him a break! Sticking a nail through a pipe happens to the best of us.