Since moose is telling you the 'proper' ie. expensive way to do it, i should throw a tidbit of info in that he forgot, and that if not done, could result in extensive damage. If you go that route, you will want to support the 4" PVC both above, and below where you are cutting it, and repairing it, failure to do that could result in the upper pipe sliding down if it was not properly fastened by the installer...Sounded to me like you were wanting a fix that would take care of the problem , and i think you got it. By the way, if i was you, i wouldnt worry about any overflow, or spills out of the nailholes, because i bet you have a sink, floor drain, or toilet below them that the overflow would happen at first since the nails were going to be used to hang pictures, they must be pretty high up.

--JB

 

Moose,
What is the difference in epoxy and plastic? Why do plumbers use hydraulic epoxy to repair even large holes?

Remember these are just two 18 ga holes. To go to the extreme just to stop up these two tiny holes seems a but much.

I can understand, if he finds the pipe busted, that he should remove a portion of the wall and cut out the damaged the pipe and repair it. But, just two small holes in PVC pipe that epoxy will adhere to and last longer than the pipe itself should to the trick.

Cost = $5.00 (maybe)
Time = 3 hours max

 

I made a similar repair recently on a section of black ABS drain pipe when I discovered a trim nail had been driven through the pipe 30 years ago when my house was built. I discovered the nail when I pulled off the old trim and the nail hole started to leak water. If you're lucky it may be a vent pipe and won't see a lot of water, but I would still repair it. You could start by cutting a square of drywall just above the chair rail so you can determine for sure whether you actually hit the pipe. I took a "coupler" and cut it in half to start out. Then I cut the clean half (the section without the center ridge) in half again but this time perpendicular to the first cut leaving me with a perfectly contoured "patch" that fit the profile of the damaged pipe. I then simply cleaned the pipe and patch with "cleaner (use the one recommended for your material and glue)" and applied a liberal amount of the appropriate glue to pipe and patch and held them together for awhile until I was sure they were bonded. What I got was a solvent welded patch that should be similar to what you get when you clean and glue a fitting. I think this is what jade97 is suggesting.

 

I opened it up last night. The one nail did not go thru the pipe, it hit & bent up like when you try to staple into too much paper.

The other went straight into the pipe. The hole was very tiny & didn't leak with the Flush Test. I put 2 layers of the marine epoxy over the hole, just incase. It should be fine.

Thank you all for your suggestions & comments!

 

I believe "Simpson" makes those little metal plates that protect water pipes from errant nails or drywall screws. They basically are the width of a 2 x 4 stud and are about 3-4" long and attach to the front of the stud to create a metal bridge in front of the pipe. I don't know if they're code for new homes and I'm not sure if they're used in front of drain pipe, but it sounds like a good idea!

 

The worst part was that I have pictures of the walls before the drywall was installed. I looked at them before and after the incident

Where this pipe runs (vertically), it is against the drywall.