chasing in pipe work above air bricks...

[snadge]

I am installing a new rad and as usual 'er indoors makes it difficult by wanting the pipes chased into the wall (we have the correct valves for this) -- I chiseled away one side then noticed the brick on bottom (left in picture below) above the air hole is sitting 'just' on the bottom brick, I looked at the other side and I also have to chisel through the brick above another air hole, iam worried that removing them the way thy are will severely weaken the wall - the chase on the right will take me through two adjoining bricks which I dont know if is safe or not? - I know the wall is tied in and that but I just want to be sure before I continue...

I could get away with the left one the way it is , but the right one i have to go straight through.

can anyone tell me if its ok for me to continue or not?

thanks

 

[dann09]

If you have a small angle grinder with a stone blade you could cut a chase on either side without disturbing the in-place bricks.

Clean out the air bricks - debris, spiders webs.

Take care to insulate the pipework because it will be exposed to external air through the air brick.

The horizontal wall plate that you have the joist tails sitting on, needs brushing off, and a careful examination for signs of fungal damage.
Do it now, now that you have the floor up.

 

[snadge]

If you have a small angle grinder with a stone blade you could cut a chase on either side without disturbing the in-place bricks.

Clean out the air bricks - debris, spiders webs.

Take care to insulate the pipework because it will be exposed to external air through the air brick.

The horizontal wall plate that you have the joist tails sitting on, needs brushing off, and a careful examination for signs of fungal damage.
Do it now, now that you have the floor up.

I dont have any grinder - I should point out that Iam not actually going THROUGH the air 'brick' (which I may have made it sound like) it was the concern of splitting those two adjoining bricks above the hole... would that be ok? as the pipe is being bent in it needs to go a good 3 inches back, so just the first lot of bricks Iam going through, I just thought there may be issues..

how do you mean to do it without disturbing the in-place bricks..?

yeah we have insulation foam for them.

as Iam hammer & nicker into it its a hell-of-a-job!! i have to go right through the first tier of block/brick for the pipework to get in because of the bend, I dont have the stuff or experience to solder elbows on and shouldnt use compression elbows in chased in pipes..(something I only found out after doing so with the kitchen towel rail..lol)

thanks again for your help

 

[dann09]

I'm not sure how you intend to chase out - what seems to be your intention is creating more work and difficulties for yourself. AAMOI, you can buy a 4 1/2" a/g with various blades for about £20-25. If you are into DIY it will come in well handy.

Why not stub up through the floor - if you have only v. basic skills, then going into a chase and then coming out to meet the rad valve might cause you a bit of difficulty.

If you dont intend to solder or use comp.fittg's then what pipe material do you intend to use?

If you persist with the chase business then splitting a couple of bricks will not weaken the wall.

I'm not criticising what you want to do, that's your business, but i'm merely pointing out an alternatives.

 

[snadge]

I appreciate the honesty and advice

I have chased in pipes twice before but not above air holes where it will create a larger hole, the others where just up through the block leaving them intact, no large hole etc..

I bend the pipes using a pipe bender, I bend the entire run so that there is only one join too the existing pipework where I used a compression straight coupler.

your right about the angle grinder and we will be doing more radiators and the bloody chiseling is a killer... I will talk to her about it as she is the money earner at moment and pays for everything, I didnt know I could get a Grinder with blades that cheap??? Ive used grinders hundreds of times years back when I used to be a Sheeters Mate along with Stihl-Saws so have plenty experience in using them.

yeah I will just continue with what I was doing, I just wanted to confirm it was safe to do so, I sorta knew it would but not being a "qualified builder" I thought it best to make double sure...better safe than sorry!!

thanks again

 

[dann09]

Just a note:
I cant visualise how you'll get the tight radius' req'd for bending the pipe - perhaps i'm not seeing it right.
.
Maybe, prior to bending, you can open-out a wire coathanger and shape it to the formation you intend, a profile, to see if you can indeed make the bends?

AAMOI, you dont have to stub out of the chase/wall at 90* to pick up the rad valve. You can angle the valve towards the merely angled ( not bent at 90*) pipe stub.

 

[snadge]

probably the picture looks deceiving to you? the channel (from top to bottom) is about 12-16 inches or so, I think the bend radius is about 4 inches, so plenty of room to get a bend in at the top and the bottom, I managed it upstairs anyway so shouldn't have any problems here, just with the bend you have to channel further into the wall than you do with an elbow.

BRILL idea about the coat hanger though..that should help make so much easier as previously I was measuring and marking the pipe where its to be bent 'from' (which was a quick learning curve upon first use of a pipe-bender hehe) - that will help me a lot thanks for that!

Im not so sure she would be happy if it was coming out at an angle lol,i know what you mean though if its slightly off just turn it a bit.

thanks again for the advice and help - much appreciated!