We didn't realize that the bathroom pipes ran down a particular wall in our home. As a result, we accidentally put two holes in one of the pipes when hammering nails into the drywall to hang a picture. Apparently the pipes were extremely close to the drywall. A plumber cut open the wall and repaired the pipe using a Fernco rubber coupling. However, the drywall and pipe were already so close that by placing the rubber coupling on the pipe, we created the problem of not being able to patch the hole in the drywall because the rubber from coupling sticks out too far. Is there another solution to repair the pipe without adding the width that comes with using a rubber coupling? Thank you for your time.

A no-hub shielded coupling is a little thinner. You can also use a dremel tool and shave out some of the drywall from the back to give it a better fit.

You could cut out more wall and replace the section of pipe and use repair couplings, or remove the fernco and use a mission coupling with the metal sheathing on the outside, which may buy you a quarter inch at best, or you can cut out a larger section of drywall and carefully remove the paper from the back side in the affected area and carefully remove some of the thickness of the wall to accommodate the added area of the rubber. I mention cutting out more drywall because it is much easier to make a larger repair blend in properly than a small repair.

In the future, use a stud finder to anchor nails and screws into; they have strike plates to deflect nails that would damage plumbing and electrical. Another option is to use hooks with adhesive backing to prevent wall damage. Making a repair that is completely hidden is solely up to the person doing the repair. It is possible that the entire wall could have the rock removed and the wall brought out, and electrical extended if needed. Depending on the size of the wall, you could also have the wall built out in that stud space and just make it into a pipe chase. What you find acceptable is really what governs the method of wall repair.



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Thank you! I think we'll go with the no-hub option -- even an extra quarter inch would fix the problem.

Thank you very much. We'll give the mission coupling a try and hope it works since we only need a fourth of an inch. I feel silly that we didn't realize pipes were behind the wall, but lesson learned. If the different coupling doesn't work, we'll likely take out more wall, so I'm hoping for the best. Thanks again!



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A Mission coupling (no hub) and a little chamfering of the drywall will have you right where you want to be.

3 inch plastic pipe has an outside diameter of 3 1/2 inches.
a 2 x 4 is 3 1/2 inches deep.
you are in for an adventure.

I had a guy use 4" screws to try to hang a cabinet in the garage. The worst part was that if he had just followed the drywall screws in the unfinished garage, he would have hit the stud instead of his 3" abs stack from the 2nd floor bathroom. He told me he thought he was in a stud because the screws really bit into something..

i had that happen in a modular home. the kitchen cabinets were all attached and the countertop was installed. YUP, some at the factory put screws into a PVC stack. what a nightmare to remove cabinets, counter etc..

I can imagine. It is a pain with a close quarters drill and people helping to do all that.