last week i accidentally hit our main pvc water pipe (between the pipe connector) with a shovel while clearing the grounds of weeds and stones. i know there was a pipe buried in that area and with all the precautions i took, accidents can still happen 🙂 he he he

when this happens, a quick fix needs to be done with whatever material you have in the house. most of the time, people will just use an old rubber tube tire and wrap it around the pipe where the leak is.

a better approach (i read about this a long time ago and this was the first time i did this) is to use a garden hose in addition to the rubber tube tire. below is how you do it:
0. shut-off the main valve of your water pipe so that there is no pressure in the pipe while your fixing it.
1. determine the size of the crack in the pvc pipe. in my case it's about 1 1/2 inches in a 3/4" pvc pipe.
2. cut a small garden hose, length is 2" longer than the length of the crack. ideally, the size of the hose should be the same size of the pvc pipe (3/4") but a 1/2" garden hose should also do fine.
3. open the garden hose length wise using a utility knife (be careful not to cut yourself :-)) or a metal saw if it's too thick. clean the inside of the garden hose of any debris.
4. cover the crack pvc pipe with the garden hose making sure that the opening is opposite the crack and there is about 1" clearance (garden hose) at each end of the crack.
if you have some plumber's putty or vulca seal sealant at home, you can also spread it inside the garden hose before placing it on the crack pvc pipe.
5. once the garden hose is properly positioned over the pvc pipe. wrap some old rubber tube tire (1/2" wide) around the garden hose until the whole thing is covered. make sure that the tension is the same all through out while your covering the garden hose.
to ensure that the rubber tube tire will not get loose over time, use 6" cable tie to secure the end of the rubber tube.
if your going to bury the pvc pipe in the ground after the temp fix, wrap it with a waterproof electrical tape to protect the rubber from deterioration.
6. turn-on the main valve of your water pipe to check if your fix was done right - no more leak :-). the temp fix should last for a couple of months until you can plan on how to replace the crack pvc pipe.

the garden hose acts as a solid barrier to the crack pvc pipe and also evenly distribute the tension of the rubber tube around the crack pipe so that water cannot leak from the crack ... hope this info helps ... cheers

Boo!