DIY - Bathroom installation - General plumbing Question

[SteAppo]

Hi all

I started to clear out my bathroom this week and plan i DIY job for a full refit - bathroom suite, flooring, tiling - the works! - And im knackered already (its only Tuesday)

The room is now pretty much empty bar a few capped off pipes and i am now doing the pain staking work of preparing the walls for tiling and fitting a new window.

I am needing to decide where the sink, toilet and bath feeds will need to be located soon as i will be wanting to fit laminate flooring in next couple of days. I want to move the existing route of the pipes to reduce boxing in. The hot feed is 22mm to the bath, with a 15mm running from it to the sink. On further examination under the boards the hot seems to originate from a 15mm pipe increasing to 22mm - Is there a need to keep it this way? any benefits?

The reason i ask is that i need to take it back to the point where it is 15mm in order to re-route, so therefore if there is no reason to increase it to 22mm i wont. It seems that in the past, the length of 22mm pipe had something else running from it, but this is now capped off.

any advice much appreciated.


Ste

 

[Softus]

Where is your bath hot water supplied from?

Open vented cylinder?
Unvented cylinder?
Heat store with heat exchanger?
Combi boiler?

Regarding capped-off dead legs, I would remove them - they're not healthy, with a risk of Legionella in the worst cases.

 

[SteAppo]

Hi Softus

thanks very much for your reply. I have a combi boiler installed. When i looked under the boards there are alot of old pipes as the house recently had a Combi and Central Heating installed including all new pipes. I have got rid of loads of dead pipes over the last few days.

Like i said, i have traced back the Hot supply in the bathroom to find it originates from a 15mm pipe, incresing to a 22mm. It has (as you say) a dead leg of 22mm then leads to the bath. I need to cut the pipe at the point of it being a 15mm in order to re route to the sink and bath. I am not sure if there is a need to increase back to 22mm - would they be any benefit? any point?

In doing this i will also get rid of the dead leg, thatnks very much for the advice on them being a potential problem - i was not aware.

Many thanks

Ste

 

[Bahco]

Keep it to 15 mm if you have a combi.

 

[Softus]

I have got rid of loads of dead pipes over the last few days.

Don't dump them - you'll get more money that you'd expect from a scrap metal dealer.

I am not sure if there is a need to increase back to 22mm - would they be any benefit? any point?

No - as Bahco has observed there is no benefit in inreasing to 22mm. In fact, there's a benefit in keeping it to 15mm, as long as its lagged, because there will be a shorter lag in delivering hot water to an outlet when the pipework is cold.

 

[SteAppo]

Thanks alot guys, it REALLY helps to have your input

as long as its lagged, because there will be a shorter lag in delivering hot water to an outlet when the pipework is cold.

It does surprise me just how littling lagging is used throughout the house, even with a new CH/Combi boiler installation. Do plumbers lag pipes as standard? (Just a general newbie question)

Thanks again, quite looking forward to taking these pipes tomorrow. Not looking forward to the tiling though

 

[Softus]

It does surprise me just how littling lagging is used throughout the house, even with a new CH/Combi boiler installation.

It used to surprise me - now it just disappoints.

Do plumbers lag pipes as standard?

The good ones do.