Water in the Walls Part 3

Plumbing update --

A review:

After the last freeze, a pipe at my cabin froze and burst at the point where a pipe exits the outside wall and connects to the supply line coming from the ground. I thought it would be an easy fix: since it was a PIX line, with mechanical connections, not PVC with glue joints, I would just disconnect the pipe under the sink, pull the short PIX pipe through the wall, install a new one to the supply line and reconnect to the fitting under the sink.

But, no! We are dealing with plumbing, and it is never as easy as it seems. Using a "disconnect tool" (a 'U"-shaped piece of plastic that one fits over the pipe and depresses a small ring protruding from the connector as he pulls back on the pipe), I disconnected the line under the sink, but I could not remove it from the wall -- by pulling from outside or inside. It was hung on something. I finally sat on the ground, put my feet against the wall and pulled with all my might: and, viola, the pipe came free and I tumbled back over both levels of the terraced flower bed and landed in an icy mud puddle. I got up, brushed myself off, put on a dry shirt and looked under the sink. The pipe was still attached. Oh, no! There must have been a connection INSIDE the wall, and I had pulled only part of the pipe out! I enlarged the hole in the outside wall around the pipe so I could get my finger in to feel. Sure enough, there was a "tee" fitting inside the wall, with pipes branching off in all directions. The only way I could get at it was to remove the siding from the outside wall. First, I went to the hardware store for advice and to buy necessary supplies. The man there explained that PIX is connected with a "shark" connector. One only has to push a little white insert into the end of the pipe then push the pipe into the connector until it clicks, then the pipe will be firmly attached. He emphasized the importance of using the plastic inserts.

"And Now," as Paul Harvy used to say, "the rest of the story."

I already had some PIX pipe and a disconnect tool, but I feared I had damaged the shark fitting by pulling the pipe from it without first disconnecting it, so I bought a new shark tee and some plastic inserts. With the help of my son-in-law, I tackled the job. I was about to pull off the siding, when it hit me: I could see the open end of the tee connector through the hole in the wall, so why not try it? I cut the pipe to the appropriate size, pushed it through the hole in the wall and into the opening of the tee. I felt some resistance and, with my son-in-law pushing against the inside pipe under the sink, I pushed REAL hard, and the pipe suddenly went into the tee about a half inch. I tested the connection by pulling back on it, HARD! It would not budge: I had done it -- a solid connection! I reattached everything under the sink, turned on the water, and nothing leaked! Hallelujah, I had done the impossible. I had FIXED a broken pipe!

A couple of days later, my wife and I were cleaning up the mess I had made in the kitchen. As she cleaned off the counter, she held up two small pieces of white plastic and asked, "What are these, They look like some kind of pipe inserts?"

Afterward:

Since I expected the connections to pop loose at any time, for several days, when we used the cabin, I turned the water off when we left. Finally, I asked a friend who knows all about these things if he thought the connection would hold. He assured me it would since I had tested it by pulling back on it firmly. The plastic inserts were just to round out the end of a pipe that had been deformed into an oval so it would be easer to insert into the connector.

I checked to be sure my homeowners insurance will cover flooding due to a broken pipe. It will. I put the agent on alert.