Central heating pipe dropped through ceiling down to rads?.

[egginyourface]

Good evening all,


After some advice on replumbing the central heating pipes in my flat. I live in a 2 bed flat with concerete floors. I was thinking about having the pipe work run up through the loft then chased down to the rad position.

Will this cause the boiler to work harder due to losses of heat ?
Will pipes have to go deeper so wall doesn't crack?
Is it better to use plastic or copper?

In your professional opinion is it better we chase pipes into floor or just run pipes surface?

I've asked a few plumbers that I work with for advice but they all come up with something different.

Your advice would be much appreciated

 

[buckley plumb]

why not surface mount less work and mess - pipes in loft lagged

 

[kris]

Hi egg obviously the boiler will have to work harder when fed from above as your adding alot of extra length onto the system but is your walls solid aswell

 

[chris watkins]

Surface copper every time, properly installed it adds to the heat outputs i.e. smaller rads, once painted to match you will hardly notices it.

 

[kris]

Surface . Buckley do you do goverment funded jobs lol

 

[Ermintrude]

Don't like to bury pipes unless it's a radiant wall job (like ufh). If you bury pipes wall will steal 50% more heat than if surface fixed; due to the fact solids conduct heat much more readily than air.

 

[kris]

It is messy chasin walls or floor but if you minimise where the rads are position for less pipework then its hidden for me . Everytime

 

[kris]

It depends on your preference if you want shown or not shown. Obviously there are pros n cons both ways. Alot depends on the layout of your flat to be honest.

 

[buckley plumb]

Surface . Buckley do you do goverment funded jobs lol

no mate and only ever use copper . some chasing out for 15mm copper

 

[buckley plumb]

what do you cover pipes in to stop plaster cracking and corrosion.used to use pvc cable cover for 10mm copper but prefere 15mm these days

 

[stevetheplumber]

up and over is the way most flats are plumbed now days IT will make no difference to the boiler.
The way you actually do it will depend on the present construction of your flat new flats are mostly 10 mm hidden behind the plasterboard but i assume your walls are finished which leaves surface pipework or chasing into the walls assuming the walls are capable . A well planned surface job isnt an eyesore as pipes can be dropped where they wont be seem behind doors behind curtains inside cupboards or in dead corners also you can often run rads back to back or side by side to reduce the number of drops
the other method is to go around the rooms just above skirting once painted youll hardly notice them its not unusual for older flats to have pipe work run this way
There are also various types of plastic trunking systems available but they do tend to be expensive and time consuming to fit
loss of heat inj the loft is overcome by lagging the pipes in cold areas

you could also do a mixture of all the above get some quotes and explore the options

 

[buckley plumb]

did one of those compressed carboard walls last year in a bungalow easiest I ever done . went up loft with a cap end on a piece of overlow pipe and forced it down the wall making hole behind rads for the 10mm speed fit 1st time I used plastic pipe in ages

 

[egginyourface]

Thanks all for the advice,

I would be doing the chasing of walls as I have experience in this... (Guess what I'd do for a living) Then I will be getting central heating guy to run pipe work.

Ideally would be be nice for pipes to be hidden in the wall.

I have another question, is it over kill to put a thermostat in each room so that I can isolate each room individually?

 

[Ermintrude]

You a dirty spark?

Stat in every room is excellent. Use a programmable stat. Fit each room or each cluster of rooms to a 22mm two port normally closed valve. Use the microswitch to bring boiler in .

 

[egginyourface]

Yes I'm a lovely spark... Lol

Its only two bed flat but I like the idea of controlling temp in each room. What would you do In your place?