Ugly Pipes

[iandandav]

When I have done plumbing to now (radiator pipes) I have been able to route them under wooden floors. My new place has solid floors so I am looking for ways to hide the pipes. I dont want to cut into the floor to hard and messy. Upstairs is not a problem, for downstairs I can route the pipes in the ceiling as the plaster board hasnt been put up yet. But this still leaves the problem of pipes having to come down the walls to reach the radiators downstairs. I not only dont want pipes on the wall but I dont want plastic trunking on them either.

What are the solutions.

Is it acceptable to bury pipes in render of the wall?

An idea I was thinking is to cut channels in the render and lay the pipes in them. But where as the rest of the wall will be plastered I would just plasterboard over the channels so that the pipes are not set in plaster and can be reached relatively easily if there is a problen by removing only the strips of plasterboard over the top of them. Is this technique commonly used in such a situation or are there other approaches.

 

[Agile]

Why do you think that pipes are ugly?

There are skirtings available with space included for pipes.

There are covers available for surface mounted pipes.

Tony

 

[iandandav]

Why do you think that pipes are ugly?

There are skirtings available with space included for pipes.

There are covers available for surface mounted pipes.

Tony

They will spoil the look of my to be nice smooth plastered walls

I will look into those skirtings they sound ideal for any horizontal sections

Dont want any tacky strips of plastic spoiling my nice plastered walls

 

[Agile]

http://www.talon.co.uk/products/skirting-cover.html

They can look like this!

 

[cumbriahandyman]

 

[iandandav]

Yes thats what I want to do, so looks like its a suitable solution. My concern was the effect of the heat from the pipe on the plasterboard over time.

The video wasnt so good because he kept showing (to much) a bare wall where the pipes were beneath, theres nothing to see. What I wanted to see was a close up of the valve area.
Can anyone can see if the valve outlet was pointing down or into the wall?

Did the pipes run to the valves under or on the plasterboard. The video showed the pipes exiting the wall together in the middle of where the rad would be, suggesting they go on the surface of the plasterboard

If on the plasterboard the limited space would make it difficult to form a 90 deg bend to meet the valve, or did he use elbows or something else?

 

[Whitworth]

http://www.johnguest.com/Home/appli...nse/Inch-Size-Accessories/FLOW-BEND-CLIP.aspx

These can be used to create a bend in plastic pipe. It gives you the minimum recomended bend. Good as you can run the hidden pipes in one piece and thus reduce potential leaks with fittings.

 

[dreadnoughtheating]

And of course when you or yours decides to hang a picture/cabinet etc, you will use a pipe detector won't you?

Indoor water feature springs to mind. What is it about pipes on show anyway?, paint them if you have to and you'll soon forget they are there.

DH

 

[iandandav]

And of course when you or yours decides to hang a picture/cabinet etc, you will use a pipe detector won't you?

Indoor water feature springs to mind. What is it about pipes on show anyway?, paint them if you have to and you'll soon forget they are there.

DH

It just looks unprofessional to me. I know its common practice and quick, but if Im doing it myself and have as much time as I want then why not.

They also trap dust over time especially where the clips are, and painted pipes may look ok at first but over time they get grubby and paint starts flaking so you repaint but its too much hassle to remove the old stuff so it looks all bumpy and with the dust it pick up while it dries because its near the floor it just ends up looking worse and worse. And those white plastic trunking stand out like beacons especially if you want dark walls.

As for hanging paintings its easy just dont hang them centrally above radiators. If you sell the house tell or leave a note for the buyer, tell the estate agent. Use it as a selling point, easy cleaning, no dust traps etc.

The last time I did a central heating system plastic pipes wasnt around or maybe was but not commonly used. I was just going to use copper until I read the above post.
How do the compare with copper, price, reliability, ease of fit etc,
are they just used for speed and econony?
Is copper the best choice if you can budget for them and in no rush?