What Causes Cracked Pipes?

Cracked pipes can cause all sorts of damage to your home, from water leaks in your walls creating a breeding ground for mould and mildew or water leaks destabilising the ground under your home causing expensive repairs and extensive damage to your home. But what causes broken pipes and how do you know if you have a broken pipe?

Common Causes a Pipe to Crack?

There are a myriad of reasons your pipes could crack some are easier to diagnose or locate than others. So what are the most common causes?

• Roots: roots are probably some of the most common reasons for pipes to crack. Roots are looking for water in the soil and as a tree grows the roots inflict extensive pressure on underground pipes causing them to crack. Once the pipe cracks the tree will begin to grow roots inside the pipes in search of water which will expand the hole and block the pipe. 
• Ground Movements: the soil isn't a solid object and over time it will shift this can cause pipes to crack as one part shifts more than another. These cracks usually occur around the joints of pipes as they are put under greater stress.
• Age: Much like all things as pipes age they become more brittle and more susceptible to cracking.
• Blockages: blockages put greater stress on a single point of a pipe as they let water build up in one point this can erode the pipe or as pressure builds the water will look for a way out and crack the pipe.
• Hard Water: hard water or water high in calcium causes calcification on the inside of a pipe this makes the pipe more brittle and more susceptible to cracking.
• Frozen Pipes: as water freezes it expands when this occurs in a pipe it will cause the pipe to burst.

It is not all bad though as there are a few things you can do to try to minimise your risk of pipe cracking and if they occur they are a relatively quick repair job.

How to Minimise Your Risk of Burst Pipes?

There are a few things you can do to reduce your risk of plumbing breakages or minimise the effect they have when they do occur. The first is regular plumbing maintenance; having your plumbing systems inspected at least once a year lets a plumber check your system and proactively repair any damage to your pipes and broader plumbing systems to reduce your risk of a leaking water pipe. Secondly is staying vigilant as no one spends more time around your plumbing than you. But what should you look out for? there are a few things you should stay vigilant for:

• Overflowing pipes
• Smelly drains
• Damp ground
• Mould or discolouration on plasterboard

These are some of the biggest things to look for as they generally mean there is either a crack in the pipe or a blockage in the pipe that will lead it to break in the future. But these two tactics will only minimise your risk and not remove it altogether so what do you do when a pipe breaks?

Pipe Relining Solutions

Broken pipes aren't always easy to access as pipes can run behind tiles, under concrete slabs or in nicely landscaped gardens. This means digging up the pipe to replace it isn't in the picture so how can you replace it? Pipe relining is how. Pipe relining is the process of using an epoxy-soaked membrane to reline the inside of a pipe making a solid pipe within a pipe to keep roots and soil out and water in.

Reline Solutions are your southeast Queensland pipe relining specialists. Our team will work with you to keep your pipes running as they should and protect you from cracked pipes. Contact our team today.