Hiding heating pipes in dry lined walls

[Serel]

Hi chaps,

I have dry lined walls in the house i've just bought and want to hide the ugly pipes that run down the corner of the wall in the front room.

I have cut out a channel of the plaster board behind the pipes, which just leaves the breeze blocks behind now.

Can I plaster straight on top of the pipes so it's flush with the rest of the wall or am I going to have to channel out some of the blockwork (so the pipes sit back into the wall more) so I can put some fresh plasterboard infront of the pipes and then plaster on top of the plasterboard... does that make sense?

I'm worried that if I don't have something separating the pipes from the new plaster that the heat from the pipes will crack the new plaster...

thanks

 

[FredFlintstone]

I'd do the latter. Plastering over pipes may cause the plaster to crack as the pipes expand when hot and will crack the plaster because, unlike the pipes, plaster isn't flexible.

 

[RF Lighting]

I'm no plumber, but AFIK there can be problems with the chemicals in plaster corroding the copper of the pipes over time, and ultimatly resulting in a leak.