We will all have one sooner than later, it will be only a matter of time before a homeowner will have a leaky pipe, it might be inside your home or it can be outside your home, and having the knowledge of how to fix that leak is power to the homeowner.
There are three types of water pipes in your home, the first one will be the cold water coming into your home, the second will be the water that will be warm and you can either wash or shower with, and the third will be the water that heats your home. All these will be separated from one another, but the principle of fixing them if they leak will be the same.
It is every homeowner's nightmare to find a leaky pipe, leaky pipes mean mess on a grand scale, water that leaks from your pipes can ruin your carpets, your woodwork and in some cases if left to long like if you are on vacation it can ruin your furniture.
So quick action is imperative, the first thing that any one that finds a leaky pipe should do is to try and isolate the water in that pipe, all pipes in your home should have what are called valves, once found turn of the valve this will stop any more water from leaking. If you cannot find a valve on that particular pipe then shut the water flow that comes into your home, by doing this you will find that no more water enters your home. Incidentally if you shut the water valve normally called a stop tap when you go a way on vacation, no water will enter your home and if you spring a leak while away the damage to your home will not be large.
Once you have isolated the water to the pipe then it is time to drain the pipe of all water. You cannot mend the pipe with water in the pipe, it will be impossible.
Now that you have drained, the water from the pipe cut the offending piece of pipe, you might find that there will be a spot of water still in the pipe, do not worry just get rid of that small amount and you will be ready to fix that leak.
Depending where the leak is depends on what fittings you will need, usually when you cut out, let's say, a split pipe, you will need a copper fitting usually in the form of a coupler. You can buy one of these from any good plumbing merchants and come in a variety of sizes usually though in your home they will be either 15m or 22m, sometimes you will find that it just might be a small leak on a fitting you just cut out the offending fitting and replace.
Once you have fixed the leak, turn on your water supply and test the pipe. Once you have tested the pipe and it is watertight put all your tools back until the next time.
Tools that you will need to fix a leaking pipe.
Pipe slicers.
Blow torch.
Small file.
Wire wool.
Solder.
Flux.