PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Saving time and money on repair bills sounds great. Flex Seal promises to fix leaks fast. A lot of KDKA-TV viewers wanted to know, does it really do that? Anchor Jennifer Antkowiak worked with professional carpenter Scott Berry to find out. He’d seen the Flex Seal commercial. “It makes it look easy, and I’m curious about it,” he told Jen. Scott gathered some items for the test to look at how Flex Seal would work on a variety of materials listed on the can. He had PVC piping, a rubber hose, a plastic strainer, a terra cotta planter, and a piece of aluminum gutter. Scott read the directions, and was concerned about the fumes. He also was skeptical that Flex Seal would work as quickly as it shows on TV, because he noticed at the end of the directions, it says Flex Seal takes 24 hours to completely cure. Scott shook the can and sprayed evenly on the plastic strainer to get started. It took a little while before they saw any coverage.

Right away though, Scott and Jen noticed a pretty strong odor, which Scott said supported the need for adequate ventilation. Next, Scott used a saw to make a cut in a piece of PVC pipe, and then tried to fix it fast with Flex Seal. He also cut the rubber hose, and applied Flex Seal. Scott was eager to see how it would work on something with some pressure behind it. Scott also wanted to try Flex Seal on a terra cotta planter that was the victim of our harsh winter. The Flex Seal commercial shows that, as well as a gutter. He tried to cover holes in a section of gutter, but the spray kept going through the holes. He used a stick to move the product around. “That’s definitely more coverage than straight out of the can, anyway,” he said. And finally, Scott wanted to test how Flex Seal would work on a PVC fitting. He went back to check on the strainer, and after about 20 minutes, it was still very wet. “So far what I see is it’s taking longer than what they tell you on the can,” he said.

It’s really not so far.” Scott agreed to monitor the drying process, and add extra coats of Flex Seal as necessary. Twenty-four hours later, when the directions say the Flex Seal should be fully cured, Jen went back to Scott’s house. Scott told her it took about an hour and a half for the Flex Seal to dry in between coats. He wasn’t having a good feeling about how it would work. The cut on the PVC pipe was covered, but Scott said the Flex Seal kept sinking in. And, although the Flex Seal sprayed over the cut in the hose, Scott said, “I noticed when you pick up where the cut was, it kind of splits open.” The Flex Seal on the planter was dry, and when the commercial shows Flex Seal working on terra cotta, the announcer comments, “Now that’s a beautiful seal that will last a lifetime.” Scott tested the seal by seeing if the broken piece was tight. Without much effort, the whole piece came right off! “That was pretty easy,” he said.

Flex Seal doesn’t claim to be a glue; So, maybe you’d need to glue, and then seal a break like that. Scott and Jen check how it worked on the strainer. Sell College Books Buffalo NyScott pours in some water, and within a couple of minutes, they saw drips from the bottom and sides.Ac Unit In Fire Escape Window They saw more drips from the patch on the cut in the PVC pipe, and as well as on the fitting.Best Curtain Rods For Bay Windows “Wow, that didn’t hold good at all. I definitely thought it would have held better than that,” Scott said. Flex Seal covered over the holes in the gutter well, drying to a solid rubbery finish, and it worked well there, no drips out of the sealed holes. Scott didn’t have much hope for the rubber hose, but he hooked it up, and as he was afraid of, water came spraying out.

Flex Seal promises a fast, easy, inexpensive way to fix leaks fast, on a variety of materials. Does it really do that? “You’d only be able to use it on aluminum, I guess, or some type of metal,” he said. “Was there anything that impressed you about it?” “No, not really,” Scott answered. Flex Seal is available online and in stores for $10 to $15 a can. Although, Jen has read reviews from people who said they were billed $40 for online orders that only allow you to buy more than one can, and then add in extra shipping and handling. More Does It Really Do That? More Reports by Jennifer Antkowiak Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On TwitterPVC Sprinkler Pipe Repair DEAR MIKE: I've noticed two things about my lawn. First, there's an area that is really green and much taller than the surrounding grass; and second, this same area is very soft. I know something is wrong, but I'm not sure how to fix it.

-- Gerard S. DEAR GERARD: What clued you in to the problem? Was it that you sunk knee-deep into the mud after you waded through the cattails and alligators? Or was it that your water bill tripled? Either way, it sounds like you've got all the makings for some really good swampland. The problem is you've got a pipe leak from either a sprinkler pipe or the main water line. The bummer is that the pipe is underground. I suggest you only attempt this repair yourself if the pipes are PVC. If your house isn't too old, you probably have PVC or a plastic pipe. Make sure by checking in the water meter box and the sprinkler valve box. If the leaking pipe is coming from the water main, the ground will be much more saturated than if it's from a sprinkler line. This is because the leak would be constant rather than only when the sprinklers are on. You can tell if it's the water main by checking the water meter. To do this, make sure all plumbing fixtures are off in the house, then check the dial on the water meter.

If the dial is spinning, the leak is in the water main. Assuming it isn't the water main, you have to find the leak. Start digging where the ground is soft. Use a shovel to cut out the grass in squares, and set them aside. Then start removing the dirt. Once you find the pipe, dig alongside it to expose more of it. Around the leak, there will be a soupy mess. Turn off the water and, as best you can, move the mud and water away from the pipe. You'll also have to remove the mud from under the pipe. You can use a trenching shovel or a small empty can to do this. As you look for the actual leak, you'll be digging, removing muck, and turning the water on and off. Once you find the leak, dig out the area because you'll need room to work all around the pipe. The leak will be coming from either a break in the wall of the pipe or from one of the fittings. You can repair the break using several methods, all of which cost less than $10 in parts. If the break is in the wall of the pipe, you can cut out the damaged area with pipe cutters, then splice a new length of pipe in its place.

After that, you can put a straight coupling on each end and then glue the new length of pipe in its place. The only problem with this method is that you must expose enough of the pipe to allow it to flex enough to get the new pipe in place, all while the glue is hardening. If the replacement pipe isn't the right length, or the broken pipe won't flex as much as you thought it would, you're in trouble. Remember, you need to clean the ends of the pipe and the insides of the fittings with PVC primer before gluing them together. Easier yet, use your elbows -- pipe elbows that is. Glue an elbow to each end of the broken pipe so they face upward. Cut a length of pipe to span this distance and glue two elbows to this pipe. Glue a two-inch section of pipe into the elbow and push down into the elbows that are facing upward. You can also use a kit that covers the break, if the break is small enough. The kit contains two pieces of PVC that cover the broken area. Apply glue on each surface and snap the pieces around the break.