Hep2o - mice rodent rat damage

[Johnnie Godman]

Hi,
We developed our m house 4 years ago and used literally 100s of meters of Hep piping.
We had our first leak (between ceiling and first floor causing plasterboard of ceiling and wall to come down, etc) 2 weeks ago.
Cause of leak, a mice chewing through the central heating pipe during the summer months.
Beware of using plastic piping.
Johnnie

 

[quality]

There are loads of plastic plumbers around with no insurance or not traceable.
Sorry for you and your ceiling post where you are there are plenty of genuine decent plumbers on here

 

[kimbo]

Unfortunately there are a lot of places that you are not allowd to solder because your insurance wont cover it so plastic is the only alternative. That said using copper is a dying art but if you are known to have a rodent problem then any plumber worth his salt would not use plastic.

 

[sparra1100]

i dont use plasitic anyway unless its in a place were its impossible to get copper never heard of not being allowed to solder as long as your carefull and have water and damp cloth about and a heat mat

 

[ecowarm]

Trap the rats/ mice as poisoning makes them thirsty and will chew through more pipes

 

[WaterTight]

i wonder how they know there's water in the pipes

 

[AWheating]

in propertys where you are not allowed to solder you are better off using pressfit type fittings or brass/copper pushfit then using plastic, as most listed building tend to have a rodent problem of some sort.

 

[markfxy]

I doubt it was a mouse probably movement causing chafing on a screw or nail, Never had a problem with plastic, Plastics fantastic!

 

[ecowarm]

seen loads of pipes chewed
they can either smell or hear the water, either way they know its in there.

 

[samh]

i wonder how they know there's water in the pipes

I think its to do with their whiskers and sensing changes and stuff.

 

[SimonG]

It's the vibration in the pipe that attracts them, same with cables. Always copper if there's a rodent issue.

 

[sheff paul]

I think its to do with their whiskers and sensing changes and stuff.

On one job we had some 'thieving gypsy mice' who ripped out all the copper and left the plastic ...

 

[kimbo]

i dont use plasitic anyway unless its in a place were its impossible to get copper never heard of not being allowed to solder as long as your carefull and have water and damp cloth about and a heat mat

Read your insurance policy especially the small print.

 

[Best]

Hep say " not suitable for anywhere there are rodents ", or similar wording. I say, where do you not get mice? Even the best sealed up homes, with careful owners, can end up with a mouse. I wouldn't use plastic pipe if at all possible. Mice will chew many things, especially plastic. I am told their teeth keep growing, so they have to keep using them. Any plumber who thinks plastic pipes are safe, are deluded.

 

[Guest123]

i wonder how they know there's water in the pipes

They can smell it.

 

[johnnyplumb]

Plastic pipe + mice = £

 

[Guest123]

Practically EVERY house in the UK, from humble dwellings to multi million pound mansions have mice in them at one time or another and you never know they are there. Particularly bad in the Winter as they come indoors to the warmth and will eat bloody well anything.

Wonder if nine out ten mice that have expressed a preference like Speedfit over Hep?

 

[Best]

Depends if they are served with cheese or not! Mice love Mars bars, so put a bit Mars bar on traps to get them.

 

[bert large]

Seem to remember reading somewhere that mice don't like eating Speedfit for some reason. Different flavour I suppose.

 

[Guest123]

An old farmers trick is to spray cats pee where the wee buggers are living. Don't think I'll try it for myself first. Wonder how he got the cat to pee on demand for him?

 

[markfxy]

You talking about me pal!

 

[johnnyplumb]

Someone once told me that sugar is used in plastic pipe production and this is what attracts the mice. Don't know if there's any truth in it though.

 

[Guest123]

Someone once told me that sugar is used in plastic pipe production and this is what attracts the mice. Don't know if there's any truth in it though.

2 spoons of Speedfit with milk please.

 

[mrlennie]

Seem to remember reading somewhere that mice don't like eating Speedfit for some reason. Different flavour I suppose.

was it in a speedfit brocshure by any chance? lol

 

[Best]

They eat holes straight through the middle of the little black hard plastic covers on the ends of capacitors on some oil burners. As they can do that, then plastic pipes are soft food for them. Anyone with plastic pipes in their house should worry when they hear a mouse. It might make public appreciate copper plumbers.

 

[WaterTight]

i'd be suprised if anyone has ever been successfully sued over an installation of a pipe that a mouse chewed through, known problem or not.

 

[WaterTight]

not that threat of being sued is the only thing to worry about of course. care and duty to customers is primary, just a thought.

 

[Guest123]

i'd be suprised if anyone has ever been successfully sued over an installation of a pipe that a mouse chewed through, known problem or not.

For other reasons, polybutelene pipe is banned in the US. All the coils I've bought have stickers saying "Not for sale in the USA".

 

[Best]

A few years ago, at a trade exhibition, 2 Speedfit guys, ( who looked like real plumbers ), were demonstrating Speedfit. When my brother said to one of them, that he heard mice & rats eat it, the guy grinned, nodded & then said " sure, if you tell a woman a rat ate it, she will be more worried about the rat in her home, than a flood!". Well at least he was honest!

 

[kirkgas]

An old farmers trick is to spray cats pee where the wee buggers are living. Don't think I'll try it for myself first. Wonder how he got the cat to pee on demand for him?

i've just realised i must have worked in a right few farmers houses over the yrs, that explains the smell

 

[kel4783]

Jg and hep2o are manufacturing push fit couplings and elbows with mice traps on them when u install them put some cheess on it and youll have no problem!

 

[andywatson]

I wish I hadn't read this thread.
I put in a bath with the taps in the middle of the long side. As it was against a wall and the taps were in the middle I had to use speedfit to be able to couple up the taps then push the bath the last few inches into place.

Should I expect trouble?
(Surely if plastic was so crap the word would be out by now and the mfrs would be bankrupt from claims?)

 

[Barry98]

Not while there's people buying it they won't

 

[lame plumber]

Rats can chew through concrete footings so a bit of copper or plastic pipe is not an issue to them!!!!

 

[Best]

I wish I hadn't read this thread.
I put in a bath with the taps in the middle of the long side. As it was against a wall and the taps were in the middle I had to use speedfit to be able to couple up the taps then push the bath the last few inches into place.

Should I expect trouble?
(Surely if plastic was so crap the word would be out by now and the mfrs would be bankrupt from claims?)

You probably could have used copper (if you were familiar with copper) no problem at all. Usually just needs a bit of accurate copper pipe work & connect to pipes when bath in place.
I wouldn't worry too much about rats & mice, - just try to keep them out of the house & keep traps set.

 

[Phil]

I'd be more worried about having to pull the bath out if the taps ever need replacing, I always talk my customers out of this and have wall mounted taps.

 

[Orry Clayton]

I'd be more worried about having to pull the bath out if the taps ever need replacing, I always talk my customers of this and have wall mounted taps.

No trouble if you use flexies.

 

[Hybrid]

No trouble if you use flexies.

I think Phil is referring to removing the tap itself. It's a pain having to remove the bath to undo the backnuts.

Back on topic i've seen a run of 2.5mm t+e where a rodent has eaten insulation the length of the cable on the neutral side only. Clever.

 

[kel4783]

Dont worry push fits are ok if there fitted properly with no stress on the joints.

 

[WHPES]

Just put poison down and take the lids off your storage cisterns. Poison makes them thirsty and they will jump into your cistern to die and rot safely in your domestic water supply and by contaminating your washing water with putrid matter they will save damaging your precious plastic pipework.

 

[stani]

Full house done in hep, nice rural location, and big bags of rodent bait.

 

[SimonG]

Prefer a good neck breaking trap, with the poison they tend to die in the walls, accidently moved a half mummified rat in a loft once, the smell was indescribable.

 

[Best]

View attachment 9911View attachment 9912

Full house done in hep, nice rural location, and big bags of rodent bait.

Lol! Brilliant! :smile:

 

[lame plumber]

View attachment 9911View attachment 9912

Full house done in hep, nice rural location, and big bags of rodent bait.

looks like they took a proper shower eating those through

 

[stani]

The one on the left was in an upstairs bedroom, where the son was, chip trays, 1/2 pies etc surprised the rodents were hungry for plastic, I got called when the water was pouring through the downstairs after the client had pressurised the system, and was bleeding the rads, the other was under downstairs rooms. Fitted carpets, plywood over floors etc, but that's what we are paid for.

 

[jase158]

had the same as in the pics in my dads new place, they had mice, dishwasher was showing a code that said water overflow, took side off and thye had cut through the waste pipe. Dsconnected it and told them to get landlord to replace. apparently they dislocate there bodies so dont need much room to get in.

 

[SimonG]

If you can push a pencil through a hole then a mouse can get in.

 

[Avatar]

Jesus!

SHould stress that this is a rare occurance otherwise you will have everyone reading this paradiod about mice damage . . .

Lets not blow things completely out of proportion shall we!

 

[dancinplumba]

Jesus!

SHould stress that this is a rare occurance otherwise you will have everyone reading this paradiod about mice damage . . .

Lets not blow things completely out of proportion shall we!

please dont blasphem.

 

[Best]

Rodents teeth keep growing I think - so that means they need to keep gnawing at stuff, hence that rats & mice will often chew at hard plastic, like plastic fittings.