Tracing wall for shower pipes.

[budest]

Hi guys,

Question for you experts out there.

I am seeking to trace this wall to bury the pipes for a shower but have hit a snag.

The picture I uploaded shows the centre line (red) and green lines show roughly where the pipes need to come down. The left pipe however can't come over anymore as there's a joist in the way (blue). I am toying with a few ideas but I'd like to hear what you guys suggest?

*I plan to cut a piece out of the plasterboard ceiling and replace it as it literally crumbled when I removed the tiles.

As always, thanks.

 

[Madrab]

Bring them up through the floor

Seriously though, they're plastic, bring it down past the joist then offset it right and down to were it needs to be. Ideally cut the chase deep enough to get clips to hold it

BTW I presume you meant chase and not trace?

 

[blup]

You can cut a notch in the joist if it's deep enough, not ideal as you'll have to come away from the end and double back. Or just drop it down and cover it with coving. If the plasterboard is that bad you could overboard and drop the ceiling.

Blup

 

[budest]

Bring them up through the floor

Seriously though, they're plastic, bring it down past the joist then offset it right and down to were it needs to be. Ideally cut the chase deep enough to get clips to hold it

BTW I presume you meant chase and not trace?

Hey mate, thanks for the reply.

You may not believe me but that was one of the ideas I had but I wasn't sure if slightly bending the plastic pipe in a wall was acceptable or not. I'm trying to be all pro, ya know!

Followup question for ya - if I may?

Can I bury the plastic pipes if I lag them? For some reason I believed they needed to copper to be buried and plastered over?

I thought the correct term was trace but obviously not lol.

 

[budest]

You can cut a notch in the joist if it's deep enough, not ideal as you'll have to come away from the end and double back. Or just drop it down and cover it with coving. If the plasterboard is that bad you could overboard and drop the ceiling.

Blup

Thanks for the response mate. Regarding the ceiling, I'll have a plasterer take a look at it and see what he thinks.

 

[Madrab]

Plastic will flex enough for you to put an offset on it (an S shape) to get it back on track to where it needs to be. Plastic is ok buried in a wall, it's only copper that really needs covered when being filled over

 

[budest]

Plastic will flex enough for you to put an offset on it (an S shape) to get it back on track to where it needs to be. Plastic is ok buried in a wall, it's only copper that really needs covered when being filled over

Smashing! Thanks.

One last question regarding re 'chasing'.

My plan is to cut the outline with a grinder and then use brute force and ignorance with the help of a hammer and bolster to knock the block out. I'm not afraid of hard work but would an easier option be to use an SDS? I'm looking at a cheeky Dewalt as I may need it eventually to lift kitchen floor tiles and help me bore a hole in a cavity wall for a vent. Of course I've never done any of the above before

 

[Madrab]

Depends what material's in the wall really and what you need to take out to have enough depth to be able to fill over and then add the wall covering.
Angle grinder to run the outline for sure, an SDS can sometime be too brutal though but again is down to how much material needs to be removed. If it's brick/block then cutting straight lines down the channel to the depth required will make it easier to be bolstered out.

 

[budest]

Depends what material's in the wall really and what you need to take out to have enough depth to be able to fill over and then add the wall covering.
Angle grinder to run the outline for sure, an SDS can sometime be too brutal though but again is down to how much material needs to be removed. If it's brick/block then cutting straight lines down the channel to the depth required will make it easier to be bolstered out.

Great info, thanks.

One last thing, I have a plasterer arranged for Wednesday so I need to have the trace done and pipework sorted tomorrow. Where would I locate the shut-off valves?

 

[Madrab]

Shut off valve need to be accessible of course, if the pipework is down from the attic then I would have them up there. Don't forget to lag/insulate if the attic is unheated

 

[budest]

Shut off valve need to be accessible of course, if the pipework is down from the attic then I would have them up there. Don't forget to lag/insulate if the attic is unheated

This is a downstairs wet room so the pipes come down from between the floor boards and ceiling.

 

[Madrab]

Ah ok, so what's up above? can a little access door be made?

 

[budest]

Ah ok, so what's up above? can a little access door be made?

There is a small landing that leads into the hot press. I I believe the pipes for the shower run under this part of the landing. What I was thinking of doing is cut a section of floorboard and get access to the pipes and to add a coupler to both and do away with the isolation valve that exists at the minute as they will be pointless buried. That would also do away with a coupler being buried. Is that overkill? Could a Speedfit coupler be buried safely?

 

[Madrab]

Could a Speedfit coupler be buried safely?

Yes, as long as they are fitted/installed properly.

 

[budest]

Yes, as long as they are fitted/installed properly.

Thanks for everything. Tomorrow’s D Day so I’ll let ya know how it turns out. If I don’t reply in 48 hours it’s because I’ve flooded the house