Central heating repipe

Hello all.

I am a total dunderhead as far as plumbing goes so please bear with me. I live a modern house - 5 years old. All of the pipework for heating etc downstairs is under concrete floors. To cut a long story very short, we have had leaks in the pipes located under a wetroom. Upon investigation it seems that the copper pipes for the central heating and hot water are rotting and as fast as we repair one, another pipe leaks. The advice we are getting is a re-pipe for downstairs water and CH as the chances are all of the pipes are bad. Reluctantly I feel I may have to accept this as the cost and upheaval of ripping up all of the downstairs floors is more than I can bear. I know in general terms what a re-pipe will mean ie pipes coming from downstairs and running along the walls. What worries me is what it's going to look like - is it discreet - can we have some flexibility in terms of where the pipes go?

Thanks in anticipation.

The pipes obviously have to go to each radiator!

Thats usually in 15 mm and is often fitted in plastic ducting.

The boiler pipes are more substantial and again can be boxed in.

Sometimes, all the downstairs can be done around the walls above the skirting, in other cases it has to come down from upstairs in each room.

Really the contractor should be advising you about all this!

Tony

I would first of all contact the NHBC if it is covered by them, as this sounds a large installation fault rather than a small rectification that would come under the general 2 year cover all warranty for faults.

It sounds as if the copper was laid bare in the screed and was either not the plastic coated type or protected in some manner.

Sloppy and bad installion rather than a fault.

Failing this, which I do think you should push the point home, how about your house insurance policy?

Only downside is that as NHBC are self regulating you may have to push hard. I suppose you could always try BC.