How deep in concrete should central heating pipes be?

[Redmax]

I need to remove some concrete from my living room floor for two reasons:

- I need a channel for some ethernet cabling, so maybe 3-5cm deep by the same wide
- I want a wooden floor, and having taken up the carpet today there's quite a ramp in the floor up to the (double) door. I'd probably need to remove about 3cm at the highest part.

The rest of the floor looks pretty level and there's evidence of self-levelling compound. It suits me to remove the ramp rather than build up the other levels because at the highest current level the wooden floor will be uncomfortably higher than the tiled floor in the hall.

Looking at where the radiators are in the living room, there's a very strong chance that there are central heating pipes where I want to remove concrete.

Is there a 'convention' as to how deeply the central heating pipes should have been buried in the concrete (I know that's no guarantee mine will have been done that way but it's a start)?

Is there any tool that could tell me how deep any copper piping might be?

Thanks

[Simpo Two]

I started with a hammer and small cold chisel from where the pipes went down into the concrete and just proceded with extreme caution.

It might be easier to prise the skirting boards off and run the cables behind those - in fact you can get skirting with a top channel for exactly that purpose.

[Jonnas]

Seeing as I have just dug a run of pipe up to fix a sodding leak I have just measured from the top of the screed to the top of the pipework at 65mm. I think it will vary depending on the date of construction and the particular circumstance of the building you are in. However, 2.5" - 3" would be typical.

[steve2]

you cannot guarantee how deep the pipes are as i have seen them 6mm to 60mm below the surface and have hit a couple over the years (carpet fitter)
As a rule they should be at least 50mm below the surface, you could try a good quality pipe detector but your best bet is to hide the cable either behind the skirting or run it round the expantion gap when you fit the flooring

[Spudler]

steve2 said:

you cannot guarantee how deep the pipes are as i have seen them 6mm to 60mm below.

Absolutly.
I refurbished a house a while back and the GAS, YES GAS PIPE! was covered by the fat from floating the concrete, ie:2-3mm.
NEVER assume anything.

[nomisesor]

Our gas main was about 3-6 inches below the surface of the front garden - at least it was yellow plastic covered steel pipe, not lead or plastic, so a spade or mattock wouldn't have gone through it.

As above, gentle exploration with hand tools sounds to be the solution.

[dave_s13]

Shouldn't the copper pipe be run withing some kind of conduit? Given copper shouldn't be in contact with cement?

[Simpo Two]

dave_s13 said:

Shouldn't the copper pipe be run withing some kind of conduit? Given copper shouldn't be in contact with cement?

I was advised to use a kind of hairy tube made out of recycled battledress; can't remember the proper name.

[Spudler]

Felt lagging.

[russ_a]

IIRC it's against Builging regs to have copper pipes in direct contact with concrete, though I wait to be corrected.

[MOTORVATOR]

Will depend on the age and type of construction. In the old days it was normal to just bury them in the screed before we had the need to install floor insulation. Sometimes they would be put into a rebate beforehand sometimes not.

More recently it is common to run the pipework in the insulation mat between the floor and the screed or bring the whole lot from the upper floor.

You should be able to trace the pipework by ringing the floor. Take a hammer and small hits across the line of pipework and you will hear where the pipes are.

[DrDeAtH]

if you are putting copper pipes in concrete, wrap them in DENSO tape, felt lagging wont protect them.
wear gloves when you use it, or you will hae stinky sticky hands.......

[Wings]

Simpo Two said:

It might be easier to prise the skirting boards off and run the cables behind those - in fact you can get skirting with a top channel for exactly that purpose.

+1 Exactly what I did some 9 years ago in a ground floor flat with concrete floors, although instead of copper piping, I used plastic behind skirting board.

[anonymous-user]

Mine were about 30mm below surface (when I found it with as SDS drill at the weekend!). Why they were routed that way is a mystery!

[Griff Boy]

russ_a said:

IIRC it's against Builging regs to have copper pipes in direct contact with concrete, though I wait to be corrected.

The issues is always allowing for the expansion and contraction of the pipes when hot. Will either crack the concrete or the pipe eventually.

[dave_s13]

Griff Boy said:

The issues is always allowing for the expansion and contraction of the pipes when hot. Will either crack the concrete or the pipe eventually.

I thought the issue was more to do with cement being corrosive to copper. Increased risk of burst pipes over time depending on the quantity of cement in the mix????