Chasing Shower pipes

[Joe Shmoe]

Hi folks.

Intending on fitting a shower in the corner of a brick walled bathroom.

What's the correct procedure for chasing the pipes into the brick wall?

Do I need to sleeve them in larger pipe or insulation? Do I pack bonding plater in afterwards to help lock everything into place before tanking and then tiling?

Some youtube vids show anything from 22mm pipe sleeve to plastic piping that's been cut and rejoined with gaffer tape?

Doing the work is easy, just getting the low-down on the correct procedure seems to be a bit more tricky!

 

[MikeG.]

I would do my level best to keep them out of the wall altogether. Run them up the face of the wall behind a false wall , or bring them up the other side in a boxing and then have them project through the wall at mixer level. Something. Anything but house them in the wall. Honestly, access to pipes behind a shower can save you literally thousands of pounds if something goes wrong.

 

[Rorschach]

I'm with Mike, I would happily sacrifice a few inches to build a false wall, either in the bathroom or even better in the room on the other side of the wall, then fit an access panel. Have seen this done in a friends house, the access panel is covered by a large picture, takes seconds to open it up and access the pipework should there be a problem.

 

[That would work]

And if using plastic, count the inserts out at the start and count 0 at the end! (hammer)

 

[Dee J]

Basically anything to isolate the pipe from the wall - both to allow thermal movement of the pipe and to avoid corrosion of the pipe. After that then some sort of thermal insulation would be a good idea too. And, as much as possible, avoid burying pipe joins.
Hth

 

[Joe Shmoe]

Hmmm. I sense a theme here.... Thanks gents.

The shower will be located in the external corner so access from another room is a no-go.

What is the norm here then? Build out a false wall by a 5/6" just to keep the pipes from being buried? Or do people run chromed pipes down the face of the shower wall?

Pipes come in at ground level.

 

[Doug B]

I’ve never had a problem with buried shower pipes I always do mine in copper with soldered endfeed fittings as the plastic fittings are so big & I’m not a huge fan of plastic, the copper is wrapped in tape & these days I fill the channel the pipes are in with spray foam as it insulates the pipes as well as filling the channel but prior to spray foam I used bonding.

You say the walls are brick, in that instance I would cut the channel with a 4” grinder with a vacuum attached I also use a cyclone separator between the vac & the grinder & it’s surprising how little dust escapes.
Always pressure test your pipework before filling in around them & also remember to flush your pipework before installing the shower valve.

HTH

 

[owen]

You could always just screw 2x1 battens on to the wall with tile backer boards/tanked mr plasterboard across them. No chasing and if you use packers between the battens and the wall you can get the wall perfectly level/flat.

 

[MikeG.]

........What is the norm here then? Build out a false wall by a 5/6" just to keep the pipes from being buried?

Yep. Less than that if the pipes are near the outer end of the void where they can be reached.

Or do people run chromed pipes down the face of the shower wall?

If they drop from the ceiling then this is an OK second best to the above, just. Coming up from the floor would just look weird.

Here's mine, just plastered a couple of days ago. We have loads of room so I built a really generous compartment depth (besides, it helped with the headroom):

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If they rise from the floor on the surface, you'd have to shift the tray away from the wall as well, which would be daft.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I burried my pipes in the wall. No problems 15 years on. 15mm copper, sleeved in plastic electrical conduit IIRC. Copper and soldered fittings wherever inaccessible.

The idea of cleaning around & behind pipework in a shower doesn't appeal.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Depending where your supply comes in you can sometimes fit the pipework with a slow bend at the bottom leaving the connection outboard of the tray - maintenance work under a tray is a pig, and the fewer joints there the better.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Sheffield Tony, above makes an excellent point - electrically insulating copper pipes where they run through masonry stops a lot of corrosion.

I'm also very undecided about plastic pressurised water piping too, as my initial experiences weren't good at all. It may be better nowadays (and it certainly is cheaper than copper, obviously), but I prefer not to use it if possible. I'm very careful to clean any flux residue off the outside of the copper before putting any electrical barrier on.

As a rule, if I have to bury pipework, that's for the shortest possible distance I can get away with. For example the shower over the bath has its piping clipped on the wall up to the bath rim, only going behind the tiles for the last two or three feet, where it's unavoidable.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Dunno about electrical insulation, I just chose the electrical conduit as its inner diameter is just right for 15mm copper, and I expected otherwise the movement might crack the tiles. Of course everything is earth bonded under the bath.

 

[Dee J]

"Of course everything is earth bonded under the bath."

Don't think that's a thing anymore.