# Capping off Pipe During Renovation



## bfantoni (Mar 20, 2008)

I have an Antique Farm Sink (Dishdrying area incorporated and about a 12" tall Backsplash - All Cast Iron) which I am removing during a kitchen renovation. There is no independent Shut-off valve for the sink and shutting off the water to the sink will also shut off water to the Hot Water Heater. I need to know if there is a means to Remove the faucetm Etc, remove the sink and cap the plumbing until the Plumber is scheduled to come in next week and redo everything. I'm an absolute novice with plumbing, but the demolition needs to take place before the plumber comes in. Attached are two pictures that show the setup of sorts. I have no blowtorch to connect Copper to Copper, nor the safety record to suggest I would not severely burn myself or the house. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Bryan









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2347528183/









http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/2348357420/


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## Tommy Plumb (Oct 7, 2006)

Do you have any access behind that sink? It's hard to say exactly what you need to do without seeing what kind of pipes you have or how they attach to the faucet. Most likely you can shut the water off, remove the faucet and sink then cap the lines using a plug, cap, or copper shark bite cap.
If you have old galvanized pipe though you may want to wait for the plumber as they get brittle and may break leaving you with no water until you can get the pipe replaced.


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## bfantoni (Mar 20, 2008)

*As expected . . . .*

Thanks for the response. They are ancient Galvanized Pipes and they come up directly under the sink through the base cabinet floor from the basement. In other words, under the sink you see the Hot and Cold Pipes coming from the floor straight up behind the Backsplash. Best I can tell they must go into the space formed by the backsplash without really going into or coming out of the wall. One other option would be to cut the pipes where they are in fact copper, in the basement. I have about a 1 1/2 feet of exposed copper pipe (clearly a previous fix) before it goes back into galvanized (why, God only knows). I know cutting copper with the proper tool is not that difficult, but can you seal or cap it (at least temporarily) without soldering (spelling?) it? Thanks again. Bryan


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,....

A valve with Compressions Fittings can be installed on copper pipe with just end wrenches.....


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## skymaster (Jun 6, 2007)

cut the copper, compression to male adapter then threaded cap, make VERY sure you use the PINK teflon tape on the threads.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

skymaster said:


> cut the copper, compression to male adapter then threaded cap, make VERY sure you use the PINK teflon tape on the threads.


Rather than just cappin it off, this is a perfect opportunity to install shut off valves in the line, allowing the sink to be isolated from the water supply in case of future repairs.


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## JDC (Mar 11, 2008)

The faucet is connected with unions behind the handles. Shut down the water, loosen the nuts behind the handles and the faucet will come off. After that you'll need to remove the union fittings from the sink. To do this, use a wrench on the "nuts" behind the union nuts you just disconnected from the faucet. After these are off you'll need to disconnect the drain/trap then you should be able to remove the sink. You can use short nipples and caps or a galvanized plug in the waterlines where you removed the male ends of the unions. 

or.............

you could call you plumber and have him come do this for you. Short and easy job.

on a side note....I've never used the pink teflon tape. I'm a white teflon tape and dope kind of guy. I know some people swear by it, but in all my years of plumbing I've never had trouble with the regular old tried and true tape.


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## skymaster (Jun 6, 2007)

JDC :wink: i was a white tape guy till I finally looked at it. Pink is spec'd for water lines. white is general purpose. Pink is almost twice as thick,


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## JDC (Mar 11, 2008)

skymaster said:


> JDC :wink: i was a white tape guy till I finally looked at it. Pink is spec'd for water lines. white is general purpose. Pink is almost twice as thick,


Oh believe me, I know that the pink is spec'd for water just as the yellow is spec'd for gas. I think its been a great p.r. campaign to fix something that aint broke. The regular old plain jane run of the mill everyday white teflon tape has worked well for me for a couple of decades of being a plumber though. So........while the pink certainly won't hurt, its not something I believe is a necessity. If it were, there are thousands of houses, office buildings and institutional facilities that I've worked on that would be in need of tape replacement. That being said though, to each their own, eh? :thumbsup:


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## skymaster (Jun 6, 2007)

JDC said:


> Oh believe me, I know that the pink is spec'd for water just as the yellow is spec'd for gas. I think its been a great p.r. campaign to fix something that aint broke. The regular old plain jane run of the mill everyday white teflon tape has worked well for me for a couple of decades of being a plumber though. So........while the pink certainly won't hurt, its not something I believe is a necessity. If it were, there are thousands of houses, office buildings and institutional facilities that I've worked on that would be in need of tape replacement. That being said though, to each their own, eh? :thumbsup:


JDC LOL LOL Lets think outside the box, Man what job secutiry!!!!!!!!!!! "retrofit all previous jobs cause new "codes" want Pink now ROFLMFAO
Man we can get RICH RICH almost like the oil companies!!!!!!!! Oh Yeah tapes needs yearly replacement LOL LOL
Jack


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## JDC (Mar 11, 2008)

skymaster said:


> JDC LOL LOL Lets think outside the box, Man what job secutiry!!!!!!!!!!! "retrofit all previous jobs cause new "codes" want Pink now ROFLMFAO
> Man we can get RICH RICH almost like the oil companies!!!!!!!! Oh Yeah tapes needs yearly replacement LOL LOL
> Jack


LoL I'm glad to see you took that in the "tongue in cheek" kind of way that I meant it. hmmm.....Whats the going rate for teflon tape replacement anyway? roflol

J


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