Burying exposed UFH pipe

[looski]

Hello,

Recently we had underfloor heating retrofitted and one zone is a sunken lounge. Instead of running the pipes down the steps where the skirting used to be to make them easily coverable they've done..... This. For context this is right next to a fireplace and the main entrance so the opposite of tucked away - and we have a dog, and we all know dogs love chewing.

We should never have signed it off but we were just so happy to see the back of them so getting them back isnt an option. Yes, lesson learnt!

I want to know - can we jackhammer into the concrete steps to bury the pipe and re construct the steps or is that too dangerous to do next to a pressurised pipe? Will anyone touch this with a barge pole and if so, do I need a builder a handyman or a plumber?

Thanks!

 

[Mr diy a lot.]

Breathtaking workmanship. They should be ashamed. One wonders what other parts of the job they applied the same botched ‘don’t give a sh*t’ approach to. Anyways hopefully it is all working etc as it’s stands and I fully understand that you just needed to see the back of the cowboys so you can get on with your life. Sometimes this is the right approach - take the hit, learn the lesson and move on.

I reackon you would be toiling to find someone willing to start messing around too much with this car crash and then becoming liable for someone else’s botched workmanship. This might be a job for you, a mate and some can-do attitude.
It would be helpful to see a picture from further back in the room so one can understand the spacing and layout of the room in relation to the fireplace hearth.

There is not much slack on those pipes for rerouting them or burying them further without draining system and putting in new pipe in that area.

Options.
1. Drain the system, hack out the concrete top and bottom of the steps and redo the whole pipe situation again in that area with proper positioning and properly thought through route. Prob chased into that wall or something and then fill in all gaps with new cement etc.

2. Leave pipes as is. shutter the step and repair concrete to widen and lengthen the steps to encase the pipes forever. This might create an issue with the hearth feature and the step feature now touching. So maybe thinking more about how these two features can either be made made to blend together somehow or a more enhanced separation is created.

Option 1 probably what I would go for. It feels like a diy job tho unless you are flush with cash.

good luck.

 

[Mr Chibs]

Jesus, that's a bodge, sorry.

As mentioned, I Don't think you'll be able to bend the pipes sufficiently to hide them, there doesn't look like enough slack to re-route them.

Perhaps if you don't want to drain the system, and as a work around, perhaps you could add concrete to make the treads deeper, so add say 70mm thickness to the face of the riser to encompass the pipes, you might have to do this to each step to balance them up... depends if you have the room etc.

 

[SandyLyon]

That’s shocking, makes you wonder what the rest of the install is like if he’s happy to leave that on show.