Rerouting water pipes

Greegie

Hello. I am hoping someone can help. We've just bought a bungalow. We had to buy a bungalow because my wife is very sick and we needed ground level. We bought the house during lockdown and were not allowed to open any cupboards or touch anything. Everything is fine, except that I discovered the water mains pipe runs through the wardrobe in the bedroom my wife will be sleeping in. They seem to run from the floor up into the loft. Is it an easy job to have them rerouted so that they don't run through her room, and is this quote an expensive job? Because her condition is neurological she can't handle any sudden or loud noises so I can't have the noise of flowing water running through her room. Thanks in advance. 

TELLIT01

How easy it will be to reroute will depend on the layout of the house.  Assuming the stop tap isn't in the wardrobe it shouldn't be a massive job.

grumbler

I don't think that a mains pipe can make any noise. A water tank in the loft will make much more noise during filling.

Rerouting is simple only if there is crawling space under the floor.

Belenus

Is the pipe insulated or lagged? Possibly not as it is indoors.

If you add some insulation that might reduce any noise.

The pipe itself probably doesn't produce significant noise but it can transmit noises from elsewhere in the system.

Belenus

grumbler said:

I don't think that a mains pipe can make any noise. A water tank in the loft will make much more noise during filling.

Rerouting is simple only if there is crawling space under the floor.

Yes, and that noise could be transmitted down the water pipe.

OP, if you have a tank in the loft with a fill valve, consider replacing that valve with a quiet version.

grumbler

Belenus said:

grumbler said:

I don't think that a mains pipe can make any noise. A water tank in the loft will make much more noise during filling.

Rerouting is simple only if there is crawling space under the floor.

Yes, and that noise could be transmitted down the water pipe.

Yes, but that noise has to be eliminated in the first place, before rerouting, especially in a bungalow.

Jeepers_Creepers

Hi Greegie.

The pipe comes up through the floor in that bedroom? Where is the mains stopcock - in the kitchen as it usually is? If so, good chance a plumber could route it directly from there, and through the ceiling in the kitchen instead.

Failing that, I guess they'd need to get under your floorboards.

If the stopcock is in the kitchen, is the bedroom the adjacent room to this? And is the bedroom wardrobe against that 'kitchen' wall?

The good thing about mains pipes is that they can be routed any way you like, and it shouldn't affect it - the water is under mains pressure. Chances are high that this will be an easy move.

Alternatively - as said by others - you could insulate it well and have it boxed-in inside that wardrobe. Yes, mains pipes can make a noise (mine comes up to a PRV in the corner of this room) but it's usually no more than a gentle shhhhhhhhh. It shouldn't make any other noises unless there's something amiss elsewhere - a faulty ballcock, a loose pipe etc.

Anyhoo, chances are it'll be a cheap and easy move. As on local media for recommendations for a nice family plumber. From what you say, I guess your wife could be happier knowing it has actually been moved rather than 'just' soundproofed?

Greegie

TELLIT01 said:

How easy it will be to reroute will depend on the layout of the house.  Assuming the stop tap isn't in the wardrobe it shouldn't be a massive job.

Agreed TELLIT01, and I should have give more details. I think there may be a stop tap in the wardrobe, there is also one in the kitchen, but it seems the mains feeds into the bedroom and the kitchen one fed from there. 

Greegie

Belenus said:

grumbler said:

I don't think that a mains pipe can make any noise. A water tank in the loft will make much more noise during filling.

Rerouting is simple only if there is crawling space under the floor.

Yes, and that noise could be transmitted down the water pipe.

OP, if you have a tank in the loft with a fill valve, consider replacing that valve with a quiet version.

Thanks Belenus and grumbler. I probably used a bad choice of words when I said noisy pipes. It's how loud they are when a tap is turned on. Just the sounds of the water flowing. There is no water tank in the loft. The space under the floor is quite good (2-3 feet) 

Greegie

Mickey666 said:

grumbler said:

I don't think that a mains pipe can make any noise. A water tank in the loft will make much more noise during filling.

Rerouting is simple only if there is crawling space under the floor.

Yes, I'd be surprised if a lagged pipe inside a wardrobe would make any noise.

Has the OP confirmed for certain that noise IS DEFINITELY a problem with this pipe or is this just a concern at this stage?

Sorry, noise was a bad choice of words. I mean that the pipes are really loud when water is flowing through. You can hear the water being forced through. I'm not concerned about it, but because of my wife's severe neurological condition the noise would be too much. 

Greegie

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Hi Greegie.

The pipe comes up through the floor in that bedroom? Where is the mains stopcock - in the kitchen as it usually is? If so, good chance a plumber could route it directly from there, and through the ceiling in the kitchen instead.

Failing that, I guess they'd need to get under your floorboards.

If the stopcock is in the kitchen, is the bedroom the adjacent room to this? And is the bedroom wardrobe against that 'kitchen' wall?

The good thing about mains pipes is that they can be routed any way you like, and it shouldn't affect it - the water is under mains pressure. Chances are high that this will be an easy move.

Alternatively - as said by others - you could insulate it well and have it boxed-in inside that wardrobe. Yes, mains pipes can make a noise (mine comes up to a PRV in the corner of this room) but it's usually no more than a gentle shhhhhhhhh. It shouldn't make any other noises unless there's something amiss elsewhere - a faulty ballcock, a loose pipe etc.

Anyhoo, chances are it'll be a cheap and easy move. As on local media for recommendations for a nice family plumber. From what you say, I guess your wife could be happier knowing it has actually been moved rather than 'just' soundproofed?

Thanks Jeepers-Creepers. As you said it's the shhhhhh sound the pipe makes. It is just exceptionally loud. I can't get my head around the pipework in the house to be honest. There is a stopcock in the kitchen (a tap on a huge blue pipe), but also one in the bedroom cupboard (a red wheel on a pipe). Part of me wonders if the water pressure isn't too high in the property, I've never heard a water pipe so loud! I will get a local plumber to look at it. Thank you