Við fundum loksins lausn þegar pípulagningamaðurinn kom og bjargaði baðherberginu frá meiri leka.

Fundum is the 1st person plural past tense of finna, meaning to find.

So:

• við = we
• fundum = found

That makes Við fundum = We found.

A learner may expect something based on the infinitive finna, but this verb changes stem in the past tense, so fundum is an irregular past form.

Loksins means finally or at last.

In this sentence, it comes after the verb:

• Við fundum loksins lausn = We finally found a solution

That placement is very natural in Icelandic. Adverbs like loksins often come after the finite verb, though word order can vary depending on emphasis.

So the sentence is not just about finding a solution, but about finding one after a delay or struggle.

Here, lausn is the noun solution, and it is being used as an indefinite object: a solution, not the solution.

So:

• lausn = solution / a solution
• lausnin = the solution

It is also the object of fundum, and in this case the accusative singular looks the same as the basic dictionary form.

So Við fundum loksins lausn literally means We found finally solution, which in natural English becomes We finally found a solution.

The ending -inn is the definite article attached to the noun.

So:

• pípulagningamaður = a plumber
• pípulagningamaðurinn = the plumber

Icelandic usually adds the onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

This word is also a compound:

• pípa = pipe
• lagning = laying / installation
• maður = man / person

So pípulagningamaður is literally something like pipe-installation person, i.e. plumber.

Because þegar introduces a subordinate clause: when the plumber came.

In Icelandic main clauses, the finite verb often appears in second position. But in subordinate clauses introduced by words like þegar, the word order is usually more straightforward:

• þegar pípulagningamaðurinn kom = when the plumber came

So the subject pípulagningamaðurinn comes before the verb kom.

That is normal subordinate-clause word order in Icelandic.

Because the same subject continues across both verbs:

• pípulagningamaðurinn kom og bjargaði...
• the plumber came and saved...

Once pípulagningamaðurinn has been stated, Icelandic does not need to repeat it before bjargaði.

So this works just like English:

• The plumber came and saved the bathroom...

not necessarily

• The plumber came and he saved the bathroom...

This is because the verb bjarga takes a dative object.

So although baðherbergið means the bathroom in the nominative/accusative, after bjarga you need the dative form:

• baðherbergið = the bathroom
• baðherberginu = the bathroom in the dative

So:

• bjargaði baðherberginu = saved the bathroom

This is one of those things Icelandic learners simply have to learn with the verb: bjarga einhverju = save something.

Bjarga means to save, rescue, or prevent damage to.

Its key grammar point is that it usually takes:

• a dative object
• often followed by frá
  • dative for what something is saved from

So in this sentence:

• bjargaði baðherberginu = saved the bathroom
• frá meiri leka = from more leakage

A very useful pattern is:

• bjarga einhverju frá einhverju
  = save something from something

That pattern explains a lot of the case forms in this sentence.

Frá means from, and it always takes the dative case.

So after frá, the following noun phrase must be in the dative:

• frá meiri leka

Here, leki is the noun leak / leakage, and its dative singular form is leka.

So the grammar is:

• frá
  • dative
• frá leka = from a leak / from leakage

In this sentence, the idea is from further leaking or from more leakage.

Meiri is the comparative form of mikill, meaning more or greater.

So:

• leki = leak / leakage
• meiri leki / meiri leka = more leakage, greater leaking, or in context further leakage

English might express this idea in several ways:

• from more leakage
• from further leaking
• from additional water damage caused by leaking

Icelandic often uses a noun like leki where English might prefer a verbal expression.

So the phrase is quite natural even if the most literal English version sounds a bit stiff.

Yes, it is really one word, and yes, Icelandic often makes long compound nouns.

This one can be broken down like this:

• pípulagning = plumbing
• maður = man / person
• -inn = the

So:

• pípulagningamaður = plumber
• pípulagningamaðurinn = the plumber

This is very common in Icelandic. Instead of several separate words, Icelandic often builds one long noun.

The trick is to learn to spot the parts inside the compound.

Yes. You could say:

Þegar pípulagningamaðurinn kom og bjargaði baðherberginu frá meiri leka, fundum við loksins lausn.

That means the same thing.

But notice the word order in the main clause after the fronted þegar-clause:

• fundum við
• not við fundum

That happens because Icelandic main clauses normally keep the finite verb in second position. When the þegar-clause comes first, it takes the first slot, so the verb fundum comes next.

So both versions are correct, but the word order changes depending on what comes first.