Help, 2" PVC joint leak

Hi i have a 2 inch PVC joint for a shower drain that has a 1 drop every 20 seconds leak when a water pressure test was done , it does not leak when you just run water.
Here is the problem, this joint is attached to a main drain with 5 other joints coming in at all angles and no straight pipe between. I know that most would say cut out the faulty joint and replace for me to do that all of that plumbing would need re-doing.
Here is my question, can i use a 2 inch fernco coupling over the male and female part of the joint if i slide it in over the straight pipe going into the joint? can i heat the fernco up to stretch it over the collar part of the joint?
other option is to separate joint which most people say is a no no.
any advice would be greatfully appreciated.

A Fernco would NOT fit over the "collar" of the fittings regardless of how hot you make it. HOW would you get it onto the fittings anyway unless you separate them?

i will cut the straight tube leading to the joint and slide it over the 2 inch pvc up to the joint and use a 2 inch coupling with no inside shoulder to repair cut that i make.. I took a 2 inch elbow and a two inch fernco from HD, removed the metal fastener and was able to pry the 2 inch fernco over the pvc collar as a test run before i actually do the job. every single person i have asked said the same thing "a ferco will not fit over the collar" I did not even have to heat it up. I am surprised at how simple it was to get the fernco over the collar with just some muscle.

I am not sure WHAT you plan to do, or how you intend to fix a leaking pipe connection without redoing it. You do realize, don't you, that when you put the Fernco over the "bell" of the fitting it is NOT positioning the pipe to line up with the side where the Fernco is actually around the pipe. In the original question you stated that their was "no straight pipe between" so where is this "straight tube leading to the joint "? We should have said you "should NOT slip the Fernco over the fitting" since you obviously intended to do whatever you wanted to do anyway.

i think that this site is intended to ask for advice or other people's opinions. Everyone eventually does what ever they want to do at the end, not sure what your comments are about (hj). The bottom line is that for some reason some people make plumbing out to be rocket science or brain surgery and it is not. No disrespect to plubmers, granted that there are some aspects of plumbing you really should hire a professional to do, however this is not one of them. Maybe a picture of the actual situation would have been better. picture 5 joints all cemented together with all drains coming into a common place ie sink, toilet, jet tub, shower, they all meet so if one elbow or joint is cut out the whole section needs redoing. every joint has a straight pipe leading into it from different angles. One of the joints has a leak, if i slip the fernco over the straight pipe and force one end of it over the "bell" and the other stays on the 2" pvc and tighten the strap it should hold for a long long time since it is a drain with no pressure. I posted the thread initially just for feed back, not for sarcastic replies. A lot of contractors look down on and make fun of DIY ers, at the end of the day there are many of us DIY ers who are very capable and able to to the job right but just decided to choose a different profession or career.
I have fixed 3 of my " reputable contractors errors". Anyway thank you for any feedback that you intended to give.

The bottom line is that for some reason some people make plumbing out to be rocket science or brain surgery and it is not.

Click to expand...

The advice the plumbers give will pass inspection.

The advice you get from handymen that work at home centers, or the repair job that you did, would just be torn out after an inspection.
Yes, you can put band aids on. But don't expect licensed plumbers to tell you the band aid is correct.

If you had a plumbing permit, which you don't, the inspector would tell you straight off to tear the fittings out and do it right.
And that is the advice you should expect here.
If you want your hand held as you walk through mud puddles, there are better sites.
We would expect you to walk around mud puddles.

We're not kids anymore.

I would like to see a picture of those "five joints all cemented together" to see if THEY were done properly, or are "handyman grade". IF they are installed the way you indicate, HOW are you going to cut that piece, slip the "Fernco" OVER it and onto the fitting, without displacing SOMETHING in one direction or the other? Or do you intend to "slit" the Fernco and snap it around the pipe and fitting? You asked a question, and gave YOUR idea of how you were going to repair it, as if you were seeking approbation for your "brilliant idea". Then you take umbrage when we tell you it is a "stupid" idea and give you the reasons WHY it is, but YOU decide that your way is GOOD ENOUGH, and that WE do not understand or know what we are talking about. I have NEVER met a homeowner, or handyman, who did not think his latest repair was the best thing he has ever done.

I'm sure when your cabinet is broken you fix it, and when your light switch goes you replace it, i highly doupt that you call a carpenter or an electrician to do those simple repairs, so does that mean that your repair is "handy man grade" give me a break. I decided to go to medical school and residency for 8 years after four years of college so penalize me and trash talk because i asked a simple question, you could have just said no tare it out and start over period. Instead you patronize me as if your 60,000 a year job is so important. So I guess who is acting like a child now? By the way I did have a permit which past a pressure test. The leak happened after i passed when i did a self pressure test for peace of mind before sheet rocking, and yes it was a "plumber" who did the job. So life is not black and white...I would never slit or cut a fernco what would be the point. Have a wonderful day.

Well, I'm not going to go down to your level here.
Like I mentioned before, we're not kids anymore.

If a plumber installed it, then the plumber should have fixed it on his own dime.
It's not rocket science.

I hope you are a better doctor then mine.
My last ten day hospital stay was to fix mistakes from the first nine day stay.
That was pretty messed up.
And then they send me a bill for $50,246.80 to fix their mistake.

I'm not real impressed with doctors right now.
I wish they were more cross trained. It sometimes seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.
They just seem confused.

At least me dentist is good.
I've been going to him for forty years.

Paulhomeowner said:

......at the end of the day there are many of us DIY ers who are very capable and able to to the job right but just decided to choose a different profession or career.....

Click to expand...

I don't disagree with that at all. I'm probably one of that category.

But doing the job right in this case would be what? I assume doing the job right means doing what would pass inspection. That's what the plumbers were trying to direct you to do. I don't see why you have a problem with that. What you want to do may work, but that doesn't make it right.

Sure you fix a cabinet hinge when it's loose. You don't put a 2" drywall screw through the hinge screw hole, though. Which would work. But not be right.

thank you all for your input. Terry , unfortunately there a screwups in every profession who claim to be the best. I'm sorry about your re-hospitalization that is messed up. Unfortunately your not the first or last that this will happen to. To side track abit when you have poor insurance reinbursement docs have to see more patients and some quality of care can be lost not to mention the 120 hours a week of slavery for four years that training doctors go through when they are residents and dont get enough rest to think straight. So before anyone gets angry at their doctor just make sure it is because of a true screwup and not other factors that led to your situation. Back to plumbing, the plumber is in Haiti on a 3 month repair mission and i really did not want to wait 3 months for a small leak. I just went on this site to see if anyone else had a similar situation and used fernco. I know that it is not the right way, but if it will hold strong then why not. If i have a patient come to me with a malignant mass in their arm that has not spread, i will opt for radiation to shrink the mass then surgically remove it then chemo to make sure that it hopefully will not return, i would not just amputate the arm and send the pt to get a phrostetic arm, hence my point that everything is not black and white all the time. Is Fernco the right way? NO but will it work well most likely. Will i fail inspection ?No because I already passed inspection before the leak happened. Again i appreciate everyones time. sorry i had to use medical analogies.

Sometimes when someone drills a hole in a pipe, I mention a quick fix as some sheet rubber and a hose clamp.
That doesn't pass inspection either, but it works.

Getting a little shrill here.

I'm no doubt going to get flamed for this, but if you really do want to use a flexible coupling to stop the leak, Pipeconx makes one designed to fit over 2" plastic sockets, part # PCX60-22. You would have to cut between the butted fittings and have 5" to 6" of play to pull the fittings apart and slide it in. The part will probably be a real stinker to find and it would be better to cut it all out and change it.

As long as I have set myself up as a target for abuse, I will point out that I have seen plumbers suggest things that didn't really meet code at this site - 1 1/2" drains on showers (in certain situations) and multiple traps on a trap arm, for example. Terry, your dentist's office wouldn't happen to be in Victor, Montana, would it?

Hey, no fair! Everybody calmed down while I was slowly typing.

Dr. McLean in Bellevue WA.
I was in last Summer, and he mentioned that his records showed that my failed filling had been done originally by him 39 years ago.
39 years is pretty good I think.

He's getting older now, but is still teaching at the University of Washington.
And maintains his private practice.
He's a busy guy.

I'm also his plumber.

1. Drains so NOT suddenly develop leaks if they are installed properly.
2. IF he had done a proper test, it would have been at least to the level of yours and the leak would have been apparent.
3. Why did you retest if you trusted his test in the first place.
4. If you were looking for drywall nails, why were you checking these joints, especially so carefully so as to find, as you indicate, an apparently miniscule leak.
5. You had already indicated that you DID NOT want to tear, (a TARE is a weed), it out and start over.