Hello,

Not sure if I should be posting this in electrical vs plumbing. I was placing screws in the bathroom wall to secure a towel rack that my little daughter yanked off the wall :(

I used an old stud detector and it indicated a stud was behind the drywall. I then screwed in a drywall screw but it didn't feel like it hit wood and it felt like it stripped easily. I then used a small probe and it hit a plastic pipe. Soooo, I cut a hole in the wall to make sure I didn't hit a drain pipe :confused: and this is what I see.

Can anyone tell me what kind of pipe this is? Does it drain liquid or does it have wires inside of it? It is has a small 1" thick black paper strap that holds it to the wall. You can see the screw hole right in the middle of it. If I push it, it moves back then bounces forward flush against the wall. The bathroom is on the 2nd floor of a 2-story home built in 2001. Behind the wall with the rectangle hole there is a plain 4-wall bedroom with no utilities in it. Above this bathroom is the attic and I believe the water condensation drainpipe for the central AC unit in the attic goes over this bathroom, down behind this draywall, and out through the exterior wall on the first floor.

I'm worried if it is drain pipe that it will leak. Thanks.

It's likely ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and the DWV on the pipe stands for Drain Waste Vent. You'll need to see where it comes from or where it goes and what's above or below that bathroom.

Can you trace this pipe in the attic? Does it connect to a pipe going through the roof?

Thanks for the responses. I took this picture in the attic. The black ABS DWV pipe extends above the bathroom into the attic and straight through to the roof. Below the bathroom is another bathroom on the first floor.

Is the screw hole simple to repair or do I need to cut out a section and glue in a new one similar to how they do sprinkler irrigation pipes? If a repair is possible, any ideas on how to repair the screw hole are apreciated.

Thanks again.

Seeming to be a vent pipe, I'd be tempted to try one of the epoxy or pipe wrap repair products on the market vs. cutting and putting in a coupling, but I'm not a plumber and there may be code issues.

The other guys were correct. What you have nailed into is a 2" ABS vent pipe. You won't have to cut anything out to fix this. Simply get a small can of ABS cement, pull the nail out and rough the area with sandpaper and fill and patch the hole with ABS cement. Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by hensta

Thanks for the responses. I took this picture in the attic. The black ABS DWV pipe extends above the bathroom into the attic and straight through to the roof. Below the bathroom is another bathroom on the first floor.

Is the screw hole simple to repair or do I need to cut out a section and glue in a new one similar to how they do sprinkler irrigation pipes? If a repair is possible, any ideas on how to repair the screw hole are apreciated.

Thanks again.

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Considering its size and location, it's likely the vent for the toilet.

Unless you're region is prone to monsoon type rainfall, I'd just patch the hole and call it good.

You can use Tom's glue trick or patch it with fiberglass mesh tape and resin.