When it comes to restoring plumbing pipes and drain lines, sometimes versatility and creativity are needed in order to develop a solution. Recently, we were asked by US Cellular if we could line their p – traps as well as their floor drains. The answer was complex. We can line p – traps, but the pipe liners we use do not bend well, and they don’t adhere well to tight bends in plumbing pipes. However, since they asked, we decided to develop an innovative epoxy liner solution.
Drain Lines and Traps
Every drain line from every water fixture and floor drain needs a trap. The traps are either S or
P – traps, depending on the specific need. However, they all work the same. The trap is designed to hold water, which prevents sewer gasses from entering the home or business.
Floor Drains and P – Traps
The p – traps in the floor drains at US Cellular were extremely corroded. You could visibly see the corrosion when the grates were removed and via a camera inspection. This made them prime candidates for being replaced, but the p – traps and floor drains were encased in concrete. In order to replace the traps, the surrounding concrete would have to be jackhammered and removed, which would add to the cost of the replacement and the time to replace the traps. Instead of jackhammering and removing the concrete, US Cellular wanted to know if it would be possible to line the traps.
Epoxy Liners and Floor Drain Traps
Epoxy liners do not like to bend. They work well for lining pipes in straight runs or with slight curves, but they don’t like to make sharp bends. The material of the epoxy liner also tends to bunch at the curve, which reduces the likelihood of good adhesion and can obstruct the drain with the excess material.
Nu Flow’s Epoxy Liner Solution for P – Traps
Just because we’ve never lined a p – trap, doesn’t mean we can’t line a p – trap. We just needed a creative solution. Since we were already there to line the plumbing pipes in their floor drains, it was no problem to add finding a solution for the p-traps while we were there. We tagged Sean for the task of developing a p-trap solution.
What we needed was a solution that would allow the liner to adhere to the host pipe and a finished product that was smooth and free of wrinkles. Our epoxy liner guru, Sean, started by cutting sections out of a practice pipe liner in order to eliminate the excess material. Then, he tested the sample on a practice p-trap.
Once he was confident he had a solution, he tested his theory on one of US Cellular’s p – traps. The excess liner was removed from the top side of the felt, and the liner was soaked in epoxy. We then threaded the liner through the pipe and pressed it into place. The pipe liner was then allowed to cure. Once cured, we sanded the liner until it was smooth and completely free of wrinkles. Lastly, we applied two coatings of our paintable epoxy liner that we normally use on potable water pipes. The result was a smooth p-trap that was free of debris and corrosion.
To learn more about how we can create custom solutions for your drain problems, call us at 815-790-9000.