Sand and cement render + copper pipes

andy183 · 1 Aug 2014

Hi, Looking for a bit of advice,

I'm having a extension built at the moment, and its been a very rapid learning curve.

I am having all the wall's plastered with sand and cement render.

The pipes feeding off the main house run up are a wall I was hoping to have sand and cemented.

My builder is advising me to dot and dab the wall as he fears that the pipes would corrode over time and that they wouldn't have enough space to expand.

Here is a picture of the wall:
http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums...2-4d94-4749-8c91-171612ae50cf_zpsbca1e4a9.jpg

Problem is I was hoping to be able to hang things from this wall e.g TV, shelves etc. All the wall in the existing house are sand and cement and you can hang anything you want.

1- Is the dot and dab method the best way for this sort of situation?
2- If the pipes where to leak or have issues I guess I would have no way to access them short of removing the plaster board and the render?

Overall I am wondering what the very best practice is for this sort of situation?

Belboz · 1 Aug 2014

The experts on here will give you best advice but FWIW, there are varying opinions on cement affecting copper but I think the general consensus is that it takes decades and there has to be a damp atmosphere before it would have any impact.

I could be wrong though so listen to an expert!!!

RigidRaider · 1 Aug 2014

Having recently dry-lined a cold bedroom and seen the astonishing effect on the room temperature during winter I would go with the builder's advice and dot and dab; you've everything to gain and nothing to lose.

If not dot and dab, do battens and Kingspan and note the positions of the battens to use when hanging shelves, TV etc. later.

As for the pipes leaking, test them before you cover them and you'll have nothing to fear, as long as you don't drive a nail through them.

newbuildinstaller · 1 Aug 2014

simple wrap the pipes in PVC tape, bingo protected. Or screw some protective thin metal plate over the pipe chase (creating a duct)

stardanny · 1 Aug 2014

Andy183, if I were you, I would put all that pipes in corner, surface clipped and fit duct/plasterboard.

If you leave where it is, you run the risk of hitting pipes when fixing shelf, tv bracket etc and will have difficult repairing pipe as too close to each other.

Daniel.

SandyLyon · 1 Aug 2014

Always good practice to run pipes etc in the corner as previously stated.

On a different note, what services are the pipes ?

The reason I ask is they are very close together and if there is a Mains Cold Water pipe in there next to Hot Water and Central Heating that's far from ideal as you will get warm water from your cold tap.

As for hanging heavy items on D & D Google Dryline Pro fixings, they are excellent, never use anything else for D & D walls. Cheapest to buy them direct from Drylinepro.com

andy183 · 1 Aug 2014

Thanks for the replies.

SandyLyon: thanks very much for good point about the warm and cold pipes!

Seems ridementary like a rookie mistake to make so I will check with the builder on Monday. He is subcontracting the plumber. So he is supposed to be making sure things are being done to a good level. I'm hoping the pipes are just for the radiators.

longdogs · 1 Aug 2014

Dot & dab is ok until you want to hang something on the wall.

PotatoHead · 2 Aug 2014

Don't worry about the pipes being close going up the wall, he's made the effort to separate them at floor level. The alternative is to have pipes running half the way across the wall vertically.

For what it's worth the plumber looks like he knows what he's doing, it's done in copper and looks neat. Wrap the pipes in tape, or if they are flush with wall cover with a sheet of polythene and carry on.

SandyLyon · 2 Aug 2014

PotatoHead said:
Don't worry about the pipes being close going up the wall, he's made the effort to separate them at floor level.

Each to their own, I wouldn't run them like that in my own house or a customers, if indeed one is MCW and the others are CH F & R and DHW. (If they are all Hot or all Cold then no problem)

Potentially you could have a MCW ( drinking water) pipe sat next to a CH Flow at 80 deg C, the sand and cement render will in turn transfer heat to the cold water, the cold water could be stood for a period of time without being drawn off, and we all know that certain bugs live and breed like wildfire in tepid water.

A number of assumptions I know but if there are Hot And Cold pipes dropping down, I would run the MCW at least 50mm away from the others and insulate if possible.

As you say, he has made the effort to separate them at floor level, that in itself would suggest they shouldn't be run close together.

andy183 · 4 Aug 2014

So the two pipes in the left hand corner where indeed hot and cold pipes. The builder is going to seperate them so that they are further apart and not touching. The rest of the time the pipes are already seperate so it is just a small adjustment.

The pipes aren't run the corner due to the way the building is organised e.g right turn staircase is in the corner.

The other two pipes are heating pipes so i think they should be fine.

I am going to go the the dot and dab as suggested.

Thanks for everyone's help.

SandyLyon · 4 Aug 2014

Have a look at the fixings I mentioned above. They really are excellent, I have used them on some pretty big radiators and a couple of huge televisions.

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Sand and cement render + copper pipes

longdogs

Similar threads