Uninsulated copper pipes

Murph25

I have just moved a radiator in the hall of my house. When I dug up the concrete floor, I noticed that the copper pipes are not insulated. I laid Qualplex to the new radiator and insulated it before re-concreting.

My question is, how much heat am I losing through the rest of the house with no insulation on copper pipes running through concrete floor??
And, would it be worth digging up around pipes in the floor,laying insulation on them and then re concrete???

RKQ

Quite alot of heat would be lost, I'd imagine. But this heat should rise into the house especially if the slab is insulated.

No insulation is a worry mainly because the insulation prevents the conc. sticking to the copper pipes - therefore the pipes can expand and contract without bursting!

I don't think its worth digging up the floor, as this is a messy and dusty process.

Murph25

I dont think the main/older part of the house has any insulation under the concrete floor.
As for the extension on the back, judging from the visible workmanship of the cowboy builder, I suspect they have cut corners there too.
Before I lay the wooden flooring over the concrete,just thought it would be now or never to insulate the pipes.
I know it would take me a few days to dig up the pipes,but if it saves me hundreds of euros over the long term, it might be worth the extra elbow grease.

ART6

I'd agree with RKQ about the concrete sticking to the pipes. Could be a long term problem especially at joints.
If you're going to lay wooden flooring over the existing concrete then you will be effectively increasing the insulation above the pipes to some extent, and making any heat loss potentially worse since more of it will be conducted away through the concrete than will be radiated upwards from it.
A lot depends on how the pipes were laid in the first place. If it's an old house and the CH was a retrofit, then the floors will have been cut for the pipes and the filling around them should come out fairly easily. In that case I'd dig 'em out!

jack of all

Also bear in mind that concrete has pretty aggressive reaction on copper if the concrete ever gets wet. Anytime that copper is in contact with concrete (especially in the case of a water cylinder for example) it's a good idea to isolate the two.Most people would probably wait until their pipework gave trouble before ripping it out, but if you want to get the job right I think it's a good idea. It's crazy that the original installer neglected to do so given that pipe wrap is so cheap by comparison to the rest of the materials used in plumbing. It would be a good time to replace ex. radiator valves with TRVs also.

RKQ

If its only a few rads on the ground floor of a semi, then its worth considering digging them up. As Art6 says, if its a reto-fit they might be easy to find and dig out.

If they are in a poured slab then they'll be hard to find and difficult to remove conc on pipe without bursting / denting or cutting. There could be two pipes to each rad, depending on construction date.

Terrible to think the plumber / builder didn't wrap them in armaflex just to save a few bob - literally pennies!

Let us know how you get on.

wasim21k

i think i m in same boat but its to late to dig them as floor is already laid,
(i m not sure but can see from one thing when i rang my builder asking about water tank lid and was told we dont supply lid for water tank you have to buy yourself :mad:)

Murph25

I have ripped up the old laminate flooring and if you stand above the pipes it is just like having under floor heating. But where I have laid the new insulated pipes you can feel no heat at all.
I think that has made up my mind. I am going to rip the whole house to bits and insulate the lot!!!
Some pipes are under poured slab and some were fitted at a later date into the concrete.
Lets hope I dont make too many water features when I am digging them out :eek::eek:.