One for the Lateral Thinking Plumber .....

[Hudson]

Ok.... i had an extension to the house completed about a year ago. In the new bedroom (with a standard chipboard floor), i have one radiator on the outside facing wall. All is well with the extension and the size etc of the radiator. My problem is this :

When the builders drilled the holes in the chipboard floor (from underneath) they did so with a 15mm drill, which is the exact size of my pipework, a great fit you would think. It is, but ever time you walk in the room after a 15 min break or so the floor has ''bounced back'' and you hear an audible ''click'' as you put your weight on the floor area around the radiator and it's pipes.

Given the tight fit of the pipe work coming from the floor how can i stop this rather annoying sound..... i did think of using a drill and a very small drill bit to use 'gentle' drilling to dig out the surrounding floor around the pipework thus giving more room for the pipe to flex when you stand on the floor, needless to say this is worrying me given one slip of the drill and hey presto....

Any ideas much appreciated, and although this is no major problem and the builders did not know it would happen, after a year or so it is very annoying and i would like to try and solve it.

N.B I also did think of trying to ''lubricate'' the pipe by swamping the bottom of the pipe where it meets the floor with say wd40 or copper grease. Not to sure though.

Cheers.

 

[ChrisR]

Standard stuff. Wrap in eg cardboard, then use split type holesaw and a rubber strap. Chipboard is easy, proper wood takes longer. If you use 22mm you can slip in a split bit of overflow, which you probably will need, because the pipe will still spring against one side.

 

[chrishutt]

Alternatively try squeezing some silicone grease or similar into the gap. The lubrication might be sufficient to stop the noise. The lubricant would need to remain viscous at high temp (80C) so as not to be completely adsorbed by the chipboard. If it doesn't work you can still do what ChrisR suggests (clever, that).

 

[Agile]

As there will be no gap it will not be possible to get silicone grease into the gap.

As the chipboard is porous then it will largely absorb any oily liquid.

As I dont like fiddly work I dont think I would be doing the Chris R solution although this will work well.

I would possibly try a few drops of engine oil every few weeks or if it was for a pedantic customer then I would use a 6 mm wood chisel to chip away with the bevel on the pipe side. That would take about 10 min per pipe against Chris who would still be cutting his enlarged hole an hour later!

Oh yes, since it was the builder's fault why not get him to do it?

Tony

 

[scatmanjohn]

Agile wrote:

As there will be no gap it will not be possible to get silicone grease into the gap.

As the chipboard is porous then it will largely absorb any oily liquid.

and then wrote:

I would possibly try a few drops of engine oil every few weeks

 

[Beans-on-Toast]

Ah, I'm glad someone else notices these ridiculous traits.....!

 

[fitz1]

use a fine wood chisel.

 

[scatmanjohn]

Ah, I'm glad someone else notices these ridiculous traits.....!

He is a good fella really.

He gives out lots of free advice in his spare time which he can be only commended for.

I just like a bit of banter when he writes seemingly strange things.

 

[Beans-on-Toast]

Agreed............!

 

[fitz1]

nothing else to do in those nursing homes ..

 

[noodlz]

use a fine wood chisel.

Exactly....bish bosh...jobs a good un!

In wrong section...should have been for the lateral thinking chippy.

 

[Hudson]

Excellent guys, cheers. Chris R may well have hit upon the solution. Given i have had this ''issue'' for about a year i do not mind it taking a bit of time to achieve. I did think of calling the builder back but thought better of it when if all i can find is a ''noisy'' radiator pipe after a huge double extension i feel i may be a little bit harsh in calling him back !!!

I will give all the above ideas a fair crack, but given my DIY skills resemble that or Mr Bean i may well be back on under a different section with the title of HELP.

Cheers again.

 

[ChrisR]

If you make a real horlicks of it you could always resort to paintable versions of these:

 

[Hudson]

a top idea but all should be ok as the pipes are covered by carpet, so any mess should be all hidden. Cheers again.

 

[ModernMaterials]

Bearing in mind that oily lubricants probably won't work here (as previously discussed), you could try candle wax.

Melt wax around the pipe and into the small gap. The heat from the pipe will keep the wax soft and allow it to work into the edge of the chipboard.

You may find that this in itself solves the problem. If it doesnt, the initial reason i suggested wax was so that you could then get some graphite dust
into the gap afterwards (by rubbing pencil 'lead' on some fine sandpaper)

Graphite is an excellent lubricant used by locksmiths all the time and the wax would hold it in place.