quick plumbing question

bockster

is it ok to sink 15mm mains and dhw direct into plaster? is capping available? would there be condensation issues? i'm thinking i often see shower mains feeds direct in the plaster and central heating pipes, just want the nod from a learned plumber.
thanks in advance,
bockster

Bungarm2001

I wouldn't mind an answer to this too.

My OH does a lot of plumbing and prefers to surface mount CH pipes where needed, then either hide them using trunking, or box them in. Most go under the floorboards where possible.

With a shower, he will either put the supply pipes behind a full length panel (usually tiled) with an accessable area that can be unscrewed for inspection (if possible...isn't always) or he uses chrome pipes where it needs a 'nicer' look or the panel idea isn't possible.

He never sinks the pipes into the wall and plasters over. I think he was told by a plumber years ago that it wasn't a good idea for various reasons, one being the ever present danger of someone knocking a nail into 'em by accident.

phill99

I run a Maintenance Company and have had this discussion with the plumnber I use and customers. We tend to encourage people not to bury pipes unless absolutely necessary as this leads to a whole host of problems ie access for maintenance, leaks occuring, screws and nails being knocked in etc, and problems of long term maintenance. In ceiling voidsw, underfloorboards, hidden access panels or boxing in are preferred methods.

Bungarm2001

Cheers Phil!! My OH proved right again...dammm....

mech_2

I have pipes plastered into the wall in my kitchen (hot and cold water). They push the plaster off the wall. Well actually I think it's the hot one probably expanding and contracting. Not good.

Canucklehead

Good morning: Excellent advice on the use of copper tube is available from the CDA (I'm assuming the pipework isn't plastic in your property;) )

HTH

Canucklehead

fellakel

in short you can bury pipes into plaster, but they need to be sheathed, i cant quite remember the name of the sheathing but it is like a rough hessian type material that goes over the pipe work to protect it from the corrosive material in plaster. If you are doing this I would advise using as little (preferably none!) joints as possible and bend the pipe as joints can leak!.
Also make sure you have access to your isolation valves for the feed.

plumb1_2

phill99 wrote: »

I run a Maintenance Company and have had this discussion with the plumnber I use and customers. We tend to encourage people not to bury pipes unless absolutely necessary as this leads to a whole host of problems ie access for maintenance, leaks occuring, screws and nails being knocked in etc, and problems of long term maintenance. In ceiling voidsw, underfloorboards, hidden access panels or boxing in are preferred methods.

There is no problem fitting copper pipes in plastered/rendered walls, as long as the flux is cleaned off the pipe(if soldered jounts used) and barrier taped used to protect the pipe. But best to bend the pipe if needed.

Idealy you should use/buy plastic coated copperpipe, as this has air pockets in it, to allow thermal movement.

If useing plastic pipe, you should use a conduit.

bockster

my plan would be to use plastic pipe, no joints, and cover with capping similear to buried electrical cables, if such a capping exists??

if the capping exists, would this be goer? it would save me a lot of chopping of new corner kitchen wall unit and obviously look much nicer above and below wall unit if there's no boxing.

cheers.
bockster

Canucklehead

bockster wrote: »

my plan would be to use plastic pipe, no joints, and cover with capping similear to buried electrical cables, if such a capping exists??

if the capping exists, would this be goer? it would save me a lot of chopping of new corner kitchen wall unit and obviously look much nicer above and below wall unit if there's no boxing.

cheers.
bockster

Good morning: Ah...you should have said in the first post;) Conduit systems and design considerations from Hepworth.

HTH

Canucklehead

securityman

I covered mine in Denso tape in the walls and concrete floor.