Black plastic water pipes

[Kilcar]

Hi all. Hope I’m posting in the right place!
I have a leaking water supply pipe in my house which is an unfamiliar type for me. It is a black plastic pipe with glued joints about 15mm diameter, which supplies our upstairs bathroom. See photo.
the house was built around 1971 but there have been extensions so I’m not sure if it’s from the original build. Most of the pipes in the house are copper.
Any thoughts on what this is and where I can find compatible pipe and fittings to fix it most appreciated.
thanks

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Rip out and re pipe as it will snap if you work by it

 

[Aquarius]

Yep, looks like polyorc, it gets really brittle. You’ll probably need one of these: Compression 15mm x 1/2" Polyorc Adaptor - https://www.stuartplumbing.co.uk/compression-15mm-x-1-2-polyorc-adaptor/ if not a 3/8th x 15mm copper will be needed.

Or do as Shaun suggests, rip it out and re-pipe.

 

[Kilcar]

Thanks, hadn’t heard of polyorc before but that certainly makes sense. Unfortunately ripping it out could be a major problem as it disappears under the ground and may go beneath a concrete floor, so I’ll have to try to fix it I think. What’s best for cutting them? Hacksaw?

 

[Kilcar]

By the way, is the 1/2” the internal diameter? These are 15-16mm external.

 

[Aquarius]

Yep, hacksaw best for cutting. Not sure about the pipesize tbh, I just know most of our properties (where I work) are 15mm or 22mm.

 

[Kilcar]

Thanks Aquarius. Big help. Looking online, both the 1/2” and 3/8” seem to indicate about 17mm OD, so I’ve just had to order both to be sure!