Do i need a pipe and wire detector?

Kinzey

Afternoon all,
I recieved a nice mirror for my bathroom. It does feel quite heavy.  I'm in a rental flat. In my bathroom there is plastic cladding right around and under the sink and toilet i can see the pipes, in front of the cladding loosely boxed off so i can get to the stopcock. Will i need a pipe detector just in case? are they worth it? will it detect through plastic cladding? not really trusting the pipe detector apps you can get on your phone, or are they both just as bad as one another. i dont want to like spend £90 to just to use once or twice. Not sure what to get as reviews on amazon etc most of them are fake as the sellers give freebies etc for positive reviews. my guessing i dont just go through the cladding, but through to the wall , which is solid . I'm normally confident in drilling, but i haven't drilled in the bathroom yet.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Many Thanks

TELLIT01

Have you checked with the landlord that you are allowed to drill holes in the plastic cladding?  Holes drilled into plasterboard or solid walls can be easily repaired.  Not easy with plastic cladding.  You don't want to be charged for repanelling the wall when you leave.

Kinzey

TELLIT01 said:

Have you checked with the landlord that you are allowed to drill holes in the plastic cladding?  Holes drilled into plasterboard or solid walls can be easily repaired.  Not easy with plastic cladding.  You don't want to be charged for repanelling the wall when you leave.

Well she did say to make myself at home. and there is some leftover cladding in the shed. My next door neighbour has cladding in his and hes put up a shower rail ( with drilled in brackets) and a shower head holder and he didn't ask her. Plus i pay enough in rent 

chrisw

I haven't seen the app ones but I can't see how they'd work. Dedicated pipe/metal  detectors will work fine through plastic cladding.

You 'should' be able to work out where it's safe to drill. Electrical cables 'should' run vertically or occasionally horizontally from live points. Pipe work 'should' run in straight lines so see if you can follow the routes of any pipes. It would be unusual to have any pipes above a sink where you'd put a mirror, which will have to be fixed through the cladding and into the wall due to the weight.

Do you feel lucky? At least there's a stopcock handy if it does all go wrong.

Kinzey

chrisw said:

I haven't seen the app ones but I can't see how they'd work. Dedicated pipe/metal  detectors will work fine through plastic cladding.

You 'should' be able to work out where it's safe to drill. Electrical cables 'should' run vertically or occasionally horizontally from live points. Pipe work 'should' run in straight lines so see if you can follow the routes of any pipes. It would be unusual to have any pipes above a sink where you'd put a mirror, which will have to be fixed through the cladding and into the wall due to the weight.

Do you feel lucky? At least there's a stopcock handy if it does all go wrong.

The apps seem to work but i wouldnt say they are reliable. They use the magnetic sensor in your phone.
I don't think there would be any electric wires in the bathroom as the shower is not electric? 
yep thats what i plan to do is go through the cladding then turn the drill into hammer mode , change the bit ready for the masonry.
thanks for the input  

TELLIT01

Kinzey said:

TELLIT01 said:

Have you checked with the landlord that you are allowed to drill holes in the plastic cladding?  Holes drilled into plasterboard or solid walls can be easily repaired.  Not easy with plastic cladding.  You don't want to be charged for repanelling the wall when you leave.

Well she did say to make myself at home. and there is some leftover cladding in the shed. My next door neighbour has cladding in his and hes put up a shower rail ( with drilled in brackets) and a shower head holder and he didn't ask her. Plus i pay enough in rent 

You agreed to pay the rent, and I suspect you also paid a deposit to cover any damage.  Don't make assumptions as to what your landlord will and will not allow.  It could be an expensive mistake.

lesalanos

The cladding isn't as easy to replace as take a piece out and put another in.  Its usually tongue and groove to would all need replacing.  I would be claiming that back if my tenants did that.  Make yourself at home doesn't mean break everything 

ritesh

Kinzey said:

TELLIT01 said:

Have you checked with the landlord that you are allowed to drill holes in the plastic cladding?  Holes drilled into plasterboard or solid walls can be easily repaired.  Not easy with plastic cladding.  You don't want to be charged for repanelling the wall when you leave.

Well she did say to make myself at home. and there is some leftover cladding in the shed. My next door neighbour has cladding in his and hes put up a shower rail ( with drilled in brackets) and a shower head holder and he didn't ask her. Plus i pay enough in rent 

Hi Kinzey,
I would strongly recommend informing the landlord of your plans. To "make yourself at home" is very subjective. Does she know about your neighbour putting up a shower rail? Will he leave this in place when he moves? Will you take the mirror with you when you leave? I suspect you will and therefore the drilled holes will be on show in the once "beautiful" cladding.
How much rent you pay is irrelevant, I am afraid. I have read and heard of a number of landlords who have withheld deposits for exactly this type of damage.
I am sure your landlord won't mind, but always better to ask first.

In the case of metal pipe detectors I have used them in the past myself with a fair degree of accuracy. For the mirror, see how many holes you will need to drill (one for each corner?), measure the distance between the holes and map this on to the wall with some masking tape. Then at each mark see if there is anything detected. If anything is detected you can move the mapped marks a little until you are confident nothing behind.

fenwick458

chrisw said:

I haven't seen the app ones but I can't see how they'd work. Dedicated pipe/metal  detectors will work fine through plastic cladding.

No they won't, they are all useless. well i've never found one that works well. 
RE: checking with the landlord, I'd say if it's fitted properly and you plan on leaving it when you go they won't mind, but if you are going to leave 4 holes in the cladding, then they will no be ok with it.