Calling plumbing experts

[tuan]

I want to running a cold water connection pipe round the outside of the house into the garage (fish room).
How should this be done?

I expect running a copper pipe around the outside along the wall is not a good idea as it'll probably freeze & split during the winter!

The grey foam lagging stuff you can get for these pipes are simply too ugly - so don't really want to do it that way.

Are there any relatively cheap insulated pipes that can be used?

[robin]

Why not use plastic JG Speedfit? Comes in all usual household sizes with connectors and reducers. Available at most DIY's & plumber's merchants. For a professional job all you need is a plastic tube cutter and everything snaps together. It'll connect straight onto copper pipe and copper compression fittings. Kids work. I've been using it for yonks. I don't think it's affected by frost but you need to check that out. www.speedfit.co.uk



Last edited by robin at Oct. 07 2002,22:07

[periclimenes]

The first year we moved into our new house we had a horrible winter. Then we recorded -15C on the outside wall (which has a clear view across 15 miles of pennines), I suppose mainly due to wind-chill. Loads of bursts, plumbers busy fixing everybody else's burst pipes. I thought "never again". No Bright Ideas [TM] from plumbers or insurers re prevention, ---so.......

we now have 20 metres of soil warming cable micropored to the cold water pipes switched by a frost-stat. Works a treat.
(Also you can tell if it's cold outside first thing in the morning 'cos the cold water seems unusually warm :-) )

[pavlo]

If you dont like seeing lagging then your best bet is to run the pipe underground, recommended depth 765mm Its a lot of work but afaik apart from using trace heating cables there is no 'nice' way to do it above ground. If you go underground then use MDPE pipe (the blue stuff).

HTH

Paul (Builder by trade)

[tuan]

Thanks chaps for some interesting ideas!

[Glenn'n'Emm]

Unless a water pipe is protected from the cold it will tend to burst whatever its made of.

The forces generated by the expansion of water as it freezes are huge. You wont contain those forces without some serious piping, either insulate, trace heat it or bury it and you wont have any problems.

Well apart from cost effort that is, oh why is it that i didnt want goldfish instead of marines?