Do you first fix after plastering or before?

[Tonidee]

Hi all,

I'm hoping for some advice on this please as i'm really not sure what to think...

We are doing up a large 5 bed house at the moment and it is completely stripped back to bare brick (no ceilings etc..) but is now almost ready for plastering. It needs a totally new heating system and all new pipework to bathrooms doing.

The sparky has done his first fix and we had a plumber come round to quote and he has said he didn't want to fit any of the hot water/new boiler system pipework work until the house is plastered, floors screeded etc...

Is this normal as our builder says it sounds a strange when the house is a blank canvas to work on at the moment?

Many thanks

Toni

 

[AMW]

When we do new work we'll 1st fix upstairs before it boarded and skimmed then 1st fix downstairs after then the floors are screened or floating floor laid, no reason why yours can not be done this way.

 

[plumben]

I'd ask how he plans to run pipe work, as theres no point in first fixing pipes if they can go in later, like upstairs under the floors to the rads, if tails went in first they'd just get covered in plaster,

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks AMW,

So normally gas fitters would do the first fix before plastering, is that so you can hide the pipe behind the dab & plaster boards?

I should have mentioned that there is a loft conversion too so the pipes have got to go up two floors to get to that.

If the house is fully plastered when he starts then I'm fairly sure he could only get to the loft and certain radiators by be surface mounting pipes. That would be a real shame if he could actually hide them at this stage

Toni

 

[Sharp Point]

Sounds like he wants the job, but he's to busy to start and just toying for time.

It would be wise to 1st fix prior to floors going in, but from past experience other trades can knock the hell out of precisely placed pipes and thus make lining up of copper tails to rads nigh on impossible.

 

[Tonidee]

Thanks plumben,

That's a good point - I hadn't thought about the plaster on the tails.

I've no idea how he'll get up to the loft room though unless he goes up with the soil pipe and if we plaster that before he comes I cant see how he'd get up without surface mounting?

Also, how do you get the hot and cold water up the wall to the showers if you wait till after its plastered - isn't it easier to get them up first?

Toni

 

[AMW]

Rad tails clipped in the place they should be then upstairs floors go down never had problems with pipes not lining up for the rad tape over ends of pipes no problems

 

[stratplus]

Think you should be getting some more plumbers to have a look/quote for you Toni and go through some options.

 

[plumben]

Thanks plumben,

That's a good point - I hadn't thought about the plaster on the tails.

I've no idea how he'll get up to the loft room though unless he goes up with the soil pipe and if we plaster that before he comes I cant see how he'd get up without surface mounting?

Also, how do you get the hot and cold water up the wall to the showers if you wait till after its plastered - isn't it easier to get them up first?

Toni

He might not want to bury pipes behind plaster boards for future access, if he's seen a way of avoiding it, its never a bad idea to future proof, and personally i'll always avoid putting pipes in screed where possible

As for shower pipes, they'll have to go in before the walls tiled,

as said though as long as pipework's clipped and protected there shouldn't be an issue if pipework's first fixed before plastering, but some people prefer/fixing it easyer to just wait till its plastered and hand the rad's then pipe up

I'd give him a call and get him round and tell him your concerns and see what he says/get him to go over his POA with you

 

[stevetheplumber]

1 would only first fix anything that was going in the plaster which reraly shouldnt be much other than showers or taps that come out of the walls bringing pipes out the floors for the plasterers to tread on isnt good
only exception would be micro bore behind plaster board and pipework in screedas