Plumbing for new radiators

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OhPinchy

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I'm running in the first fix plumbing for 2 radiators before plastering. I want all pipes to come out from the walls as opposed to up from the ground, and I'm looking for tips on how to best do this.

I have the first rad done - basically got the pipe centres from the radiator suppliers (designer vertical rad) and ran the pipes out from the walls (concrete blocks with 1 inch battens) at those centres, leaving room for a bit of movement when I slabbed over it, so there'll be a small room to play around with (will fill the gap where pipe leaves wall afterwards).

It was quite tricky to get the pipes centred correctly so I'm just wondering if there's any tips anyone has to help with it for the second one which is a standard rad about 1280mm pipe centres I think. I had an idea to cut a piece of timber to size, cut 1/2" holes in it at the correct width, and then fit this over the pipes where they come out of the wall to ensure they are the correct distance apart (would also make it easy to get a level) before clipping them to the wall and then slabbing (after removing the timber). Does this sound like a good idea or are there better ways of doing it?

Also, on the first rad I had to use 2 tectite fittings due to no access and I think I forgot to put inserts into the qualpex at the ends going into the tectite (all other fittings are compression and have the inserts). I had the pipes fitted with blanks on them for 2 days before slabbing and had no leaks - do I still need to go back, take off the slab, disassemble the tectite joints and add the inserts?
 
Tectite's technical guide states you must use a support liner inset when used with a plastic pipe, you're probably best off to remove a small square of slab around the joints and redo these critical areas. As for locating the other pipe centres- I'd use 3/4" or 1/2" ply as a suitable ground and clip to this or if possible fix the ply immediately behind your dry lining and bore an oversize hole for the pop-out. Depends on your detail.
 
Thanks. I will cut out a sqaure bit of slab to get access to the fittings and redo them to be sure. Do I need a Tectite removal tool to undo the tectite fitting or is there a manual way of doing it? If I do need it, it'd probably be cheaper just pulling the pipe out and using new Tectite fittings.

I'll be fitting 3/4" ply for grounds for the second rad, but will clip the pipes into the concrete blocks once I've positioned them correctly (that's the bit I was finding tricky and thoght my template piece of timber could help with).
 
There is a plastic tool which is available to help remove the Tectite fittings, however with a couple of flat blade scewdrivers and some manual dexterity you should be able to slide the fitting off the pipe. It's simply a matter of pressing in the green plastic insert on the fitting to release the grab rings. Be careful that you don't score the plastic pipe when removing the fitting, as this may affect any new joint you make! Can you not leave the template ground in position behind the dry lining permanently?
 
Thanks Carpenter. Picked up a tectite removal clip for €1 - its 3/4" but does the job on 1/2" aswell.

There are 1" battens nailed to the concrete blocks - I can't have the template at the back of the slab as the thickness of the elbow joints would mean I'd have to chase out for them which I'd prefer not to do. Instead I'm using chrome compression elbows to bring it out from the wall, and this means that the little bit of the elbow that does protrude will actually look fine. And I'm using chrome clip-on covers on the copper pipes to make keep all visible plumbing gear in chrome, just like the rads themselves.

I've used plywood between the battens as grounds for the rad brackets.
 
Sounds good enough, lot of work for two rads, isn't it? i was thinking you could eliminate the chrome elbow by using a bend but it probably wouldn't look as neat. A soldered elbow would be neat too, or what's often done is to turn the TRVs 90 degrees so that your tail connects directly in without using another elbow fitting to make the connection. Don't mind me, I'm just teasing out the options! (on my lunch break- how sad!)
 
how informative you mean!

"Sounds good enough, lot of work for two rads, isn't it?" not sure if that's meant to be rhetorical but yep, it is a lot of work for 2 rads, but I suppose it'll be worth it in the end - looks much better having them come out from the wall.

One is a vertical designer rad with no TRVs, the other is a normal rad - I took the pipe centres off rad in the living room as it's same size room, and the TRVs are running horizontally on that so will do the same here - like the way it looks and means I have accurate pipe centres to work off (just have to buy a same sized rad and it'll fit).
 
We normally have the pipes coming out of the wall and we use those outdoor tap fittings buried in the wall, they look like an elbow with a plate at the back, they work quite well.
 
My remarks were abolutely rhetorical, sounds like you're taking the time to get it right, should pay off for you in the end. As for the other fitting that Viking House refers to, that's a "wall plate elbow" (see- how sad!)neat way of doing it but would be a little pricey on a big job?
 
Thanks Carpenter - yeh, have to say I was well happy with it when I got the second rad sorted last night, think it's worth the effort, especially as there's a wooden floor going under it. Budget overruns mean I have to do all the plumbing (except gas) in the extension: 3 rads and a kitchen, and thanks to the skills I've learned here (mainly from your good self) and elsewhere, it's not proving too much of a hassle.

Got my hands on chrome elbows this morning for the 3rd rad today, but have to say Viking House looks to be on the money with the wall plate elbows. [broken link removed] they don't seem too pricey online, but could be in bricks and mortar here. Will go with the chrome elbows for now, but defo will consider the wall plate elbows in the future.

By the way, I'll vouch for Viking House as an excellent and most helpful source of knowledge: I've seen many of his posts over on boards.ie (I'm FrankGrimes over there VikingHouse - the guy you gave the lime to for free. Worked a treat by the way, thanks again). He's a fountain of knowledge on all matters to do with sustainable building, particularly how to best build a house with excellent insulation.
 
Was Viking House banned for any particular reason? Had a look through his posts and i cant find too much wrong in what he said. He gave advice on most topics
 
Posts breaching the guidelines will always be deleted, so will not appear in such searches.
Leo
 
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