Underfloor heating question

Apr 03, 2018 13 Replies

I only have the bare bones of this from my daughter at present.



She has new "wet" underfloor heating laid. The tiller was laying floor tiles on the screed,, and cut through the tubing (angle grinder?).



Is this repairable, or is it a break up the floor and start again job?


pex-al-pex fittings are available

it is at least dig enough space out to put a coupling in and then bury it all again

Further information: It seems it was just above the floor, involving some expanding foam that presumably he was tidying up.

Suggests maybe that the screed wasn't deep enough to start with, if not deep enough for pipe alone, won't be deep enough for a repair coupling, what's below?

Reminds me of the time many years ago when a mate of mine wanted to put a carpet edging strip in a doorway. Victorian flat conversion in Bristol, concrete ground floor presumably replacing rotten timber floor. Drilling to screw and plug, went straight through his mains water supply, less than an inch below the surface. There was only just room to get in a compression fitting, I think I had to "trench" a few inches in each direction so that I could distort the copper downwards a little.

I read it as where the pipe comes out of the screed. In my case, the pipes come curve up and come out about 45° inside a cupboard and continue curving to the vertical.

SteveW

If so, I'd expect to chop the screed back until where the pipe was horizontal, to avoid having the repair coupler under any strain on the curve, best to have it buried in replacement screed after re-pressure testing ...

Whatever make the system is .. there will be a repair joint for the pipes

Phoe would help - but it could be where the pipes emerge,

In that case, you can use a push-fit coupler. I personally wouldn't be happy with any joints *under* the screed 'cos it's a right pain if they ever decide to leak.

Reminds me of a friend having a kitchen done professionally. The electrician had laid the electric heating element on the floor ready for the tiler to tile over. The way the tiler grouted was to bang the trowel edge into the gaps to get the pointing in, and, you guessed it, he cut through the element at probably every tile edge. Up it all came again...

How one trade likes to bugger up the work of another...

Personally I wouldn't use a pushfit coupler in concrete. The O-rings have a rated life of 25 years, although I've had them fail after 10. Also, the expansion and contraction cycling combined with a pushfit coupler that will and up firmly immovable in the concrete might result in stresses the seals won't handle long term.

I would use a standard brass compression fitting with pipe inserts, and I might wrap it in denso tape to protect from the concrete (and to give it a bit of padding).

(Can't help thinking there should be a sort of solvent weld fix for this where you push the two ends into an oversized length, painted with a suitable solvent. Electrofusion weld would be another alternative if there isn't a suitable solvent for the plastic.)

Remember to ensure system is pressurised to max normal working pressure when laying the replacement concrete.

'Twas on a Monday morning the gas man came to call ...

Flanders and Swann

"It all makes work for the working man to do" - Flanders & Swann

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