Remodel debacle is over, but not until plumber is called in

Dear readers: In last week's column, I detailed my blunder with a water shutoff valve, and the ensuing damage to two apartments I own and am renovating. As promised this week, the repair:

After shutting off the water to the building, the standing water was sopped up, the paint bubbles in the drywall were burst to allow the ceiling to drain and the carpet and pad were lifted off the floor. A rented commercial-size dehumidifier and blower fan were used in the lower and upper apartments to do the initial drying (the lower apartment was completed, and the upper unit was in process of being remodeled). The dehumidifier sucked 20 gallons of water out of the air!

While this was going on, the next project was to pull the insulation out of the crawlspace to allow the underside of the floor to dry. Fortunately, all the baseboards in the lower unit were caulked to the wall and to the vinyl flooring, reducing much of the potential damage throughout. Some water had gotten under the plywood underlayment, buckling it between the screws in a 3-foot-wide swath in the lower unit's hall. This underlayment and flooring required repair. In the upper-floor unit, the plywood underlayment was removed and allowed to dry. The brand-new carpet and pad dried nicely and were completely salvageable.

After two large drywall patches are completed, the damage will be completely repaired. It was devastating to see this damage after a months-long remodel, but in the final analysis it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

But the real reason for the leak had not been repaired yet. Since the copper plumbing was cut very close to the wall, I was not relishing the thought of running a torch inside a wall cavity. With this in mind, I thought to myself, "What a great place for another test" — of the copper glue I discussed in this space Jan. 4. That particular column was the subject of no shortage of bewilderment and head-scratching, since what I had reported on was a two-part epoxy product called "Copper Bond." Manufactured by the Noble Co. of Grand Haven, Mich., this material worked well for me in December when used to fashion a water-heater relief drain system. I had heard from others in the field, and municipal inspectors, that shelf life was limiting its effectiveness — and one local house had suffered massive leaks in its fire-sprinkler system where this material was used.

Not too much later, I heard from the manufacturer of Copper Bond, Jackson Industries of Maynard, Mass. Wait a second, you say — that's a different manufacturer in a different state! Seems there were two products on the market with the same name. The product I had used was the two-part product from the Noble Co., yet when researching it, some of the technical information that got reported was actually about a pre-mixed product made by Jackson Industries. Seems I was not the only one who was confused or a little miffed.

Jackson Industries has since changed the name of its product to Just-For-Copper. Jackson Industries is pursuing NSF certification for its product and graciously sent me samples. Already having tried the two-part epoxy (Noble Co.), I thought repairing these apartment leaks would be a test for the pre-mix (Jackson Industries). I put together two couplings, two short pieces of copper, and fashioned a repair, scrupulously following the instructions. I let the bond dry for two full weeks, while the apartments themselves dried. I then installed the new valves and turned on the water.

One of the four Jackson Industries bonds promptly leaked, so I shut off the water (yes, absolutely and completely this time) and called a plumber friend. I figured with my recent luck I would rather his insurance pay for a fire than mine. The newly soldered joints held, the building didn't burn and I now can recover emotionally and finish the remodel.

Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question,