I'm thinking of running pipes down one wall of my bathroom. There will be 5 pipes: hot water, cold water, gas, CH flow and CH return.
I also have a Grohe bath/shower mixer which needs to be wall mounted.
My idea is to make a tiled "box" 2.5 metres high (the height of the room), one bath width wide and one tile width deep. The pipes run inside the box and the shower mixer is attached to it.
Do you think this is a good idea? Do you think it would look silly? :-)
TIA
Mr F
If I understand your configuration correctly, yes it's a good idea, and no it will look fine. I did just that myself last week... in my case the bath sits in an alcove about 6" longer than the bath, and I boxed in the 6" floor-ceiling, with all pipework inside.
David
Sounds neat, but will you ever need access to the back of the shower unit? Could you make a section of the boxing removable? Phil
Fundamentally; that's what I did ... only my box was rather more than one tile 'deep' but from the bath's end to the room wall. Some things you might want to consider;- The tiling will be onto plaster-board? If so you'll need substantial timbers 3"x3" (?) to attach the timbers to . smaller sections of timbers are too flexible to mount plasterboard. As I see it; you're making an 'ell' of vertical posts: - two will be attached to walls ~ but the third(return) will be dangling in space and need bracing; you need to think this through; also consider carefully where any extra vertical posts should go considering the routing of your pipes and valves/outlets.
If using plasterboard : - give a few coats of PVA before applying tiles.
You'll need to 'noggin' the timbers to provide support for the shower connections.
In my case the plastic bath panel is detachable; so I brought the water pipes down in a U loop then up towards the shower bath taps - I placed full bore close-off valves on each of these water-lines - 'just in case': I can detach the bath-panel, reach in and cut off the water. { I've never had to invoke this 'in anger'; but what the hell!.)
BTW: Coming from a long line of cowards - I plumbed up and connected everything before I clad the structure and subsequently tiled - it was weird having a bath facing a collection of struts and noggins with copper pipes on view - but nothing leaked. it made the job take much longer - until the next weekend - but 'I'm testing it, Dear" sufficed.
I have a similar thing, if you have a shower screen it hides that the box is even there.
Its mich better than the old 6x6 box in the corner.
Rick
It sounds like a fine idea, just make sure you know the position you want your shower before you plasterboard/plyboard it. Put in some cross beams to firmly attach your shower to.
If you think you may need access to the pipes/shower you may want to have a removeable panel, this wouold also need suitable cross pieces to make sure it's firm once in.
I have a removeable panel on my soil box, I tiled the panel so that when in place the tiles line up with the ones on the wall, but instead of grouting the edges of the panel, I filled the gap with white silicone sealant. So if I ever need to remove it, I can slice the silicone with a knife, remove the retaining screws and the panel comes away. When you re-fit it, the silicone fits back together quite nicely.
HTH
Much better to use a sheet of Aquapanel (search the ng archives for lots of info on this) - it's waterproof and far stiffer than plasterboard so ideal for this purpose. I used 3x2 timbers for the framework, with no need for any extra support behind the panel across the 27"(?)width of the bath, which made life easier too. Firm as a rock.
David
I don't disagree - Aquapanel is a better choice than Plaster-board for something that will accept water fixings and tiles. I've used both - mainly because when I did the first installation I wasn't aware of Aquapanel. {BTW; 'Top Tiles' sell it]. However it's what's known as bl**dy heavy. A panel of the size mentioned is probably a two-man lift - and the structure needs to be capable of supporting it. Once affixed though, it'll be as solid as a rock - and forms an ideal surface for tiling.
I've only ever seen it sold in one size - 900x1200mm, which is pretty manageable - although I believe they also make 900x2400 too; though I wouldn't want to try using that!
David
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