So, we had a pipe leak and the plumbers came out twice and couldn't find it. That was getting expensive, so we went out and looked for it ourselves. We found it in a completely different place from where the "professionals" were looking. So much for paying for Experience . Anyway, While sourcing new competent plumbers, we dug out the pipe and found the crack. The First time I used the Fiberweld, I followed the instructions on the package. It seemed to work like it stated, but it was hard to get it to stick to the pipe even though I cleaned the pipe with towels and even alcohol to remove any residue. After two tries I got a patch that seemed to Hold enough so we could have water on while waiting for our appointment. Of course, another pipe busted right next to it so I had to use it some more. I saw videos of people mashing and blending the two compounds in a bowl of water. Now I tried using vinyl gloves but the stuff stuck to the gloves so much I couldn't handle it well enough, so I used my bare hands. doing it in the water, I noticed it came together easier, faster, smoother, and it took away some of the chemical heat of the two materials curing as I mixed them, so it was much less uncomfortable to handle. Being more pliable and soft made it easier to mash and mold around the crack than the first time. YOu really have to mash in and taper the clay to the pipe and smooth it down, because if there is any channel of air underneath, the force of the water will find its way through and force it off. You have to mash it into the crack, pack it in, pack it hard, and mash it down, and smooth it out in all directions. One of my patches ended up coming off but that's because it was the first time using this, and the crack was in a really unfortunate position where I could not get to it and do all of the above. now that I know what to do, I think I could confidently use this product anywhere I can get to a leak and it will work as well as my last patch. A few days later, the Good plumbers came, replaced the broken section and we are all good now. Several hundred dollars poorer, but we have no more leaks. Now , to fight the water company for an adjustment...
