Can I put up stud wall rather than box in bathroom pipe work?

[Wren03]

Hi folks,

The bathroom pipe work in my flat goes along 2 walls of my bedroom and is boxed in. I cant put any furniture against these walls and ideally I want to put up 2 stud walls so I can use the space (I’d rather not have a built in wardrobe around the pipe work). However a friend told me they believe that the pipes need to be left accessible, giving the example that if they were under the floorboards they would be accessed by lifting a floor board and a stud wall would prevent access. Is this a building standard requirement? And do you think the stud walls are a good or bad idea? I don’t wish to build shelving around it as I’ve nothing to shelve, much prefer to put my furniture against the wall but I won’t if it’s not advisable as I want to sell the flat on eventually.
Any advice appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[phatboy]

In a flat the floors are often concrete with pipes buried in Concrete walls also have pipes fitted within them.

Just try to avoid any joints in the hidden area.

 

[endecotp]

Is this a building standard requirement?

This stuff is regulated not by the building regs, but by the separate "water regs".
See:
https://www.wras.co.uk/consumers/advice_for_consumers/what_are_the_water_regulations_/
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1148/made
http://webarchive.nationalarchives....y/wsregs99/documents/waterregs99-guidance.pdf

In the last of those docs, see G7.1 on page 14 and figure 3.2f on page 18; inside an internal stud wall is OK.
Your friend is basically correct that pipes must be "accessible", but the threshold for "accessible" allows removing plasterboard from a wall

 

[^woody^]

If lots of joints, then best left open. If just lengths of pipe with joints at the end or branches then can be built in.

 

[John D v2.0]

If it's a gas pipe or a flue it's not ok, but water is ok.

 

[Wren03]

Thank you. There aren’t many joints and it’s water pipes (waste and potable) Consensus is stud walls, one with a vent for access.
Cheers