Where to put the plumbing?

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Gearing up for a reno and am hoping to find a creative plan for plumbing.

The space (17x45) was originally work rooms with cement floors and no heating/cooling or plumbing. In the 50's the space was turned into a SFH. When they reno'd they built a wood framed, raised floor and ran the plumbing for the radiators and water lines underneath.

When we reno this summer, I'd like to totally eliminate the raised floor and restore the cement floor. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to do that. The A/C comes in via the ceiling so no worries there. However, we have baseboard radiators for heat, which means pipes for the radiators. We also have 3 copper pipes for water (hot, cold & return) running from one end of the space to the other. We are in Chicagoland so I can't put the water lines in the walls or they will freeze and that still doesn't take care of the radiator lines.

Is there another solution or is the raised floor the only way to go?

Featured Answer

Curt D'Onofrio

9 years ago

If i ran the water pipes on exterior walls ;
1) Have the walls insulated of course, then run the pipes on interior side of insulation

2) Install pex plumbing. If freezing does occur pex expands (i hear up to 3 times its diameter), so it resists bursting. My neighbor has this in her crawl space, and sure enough her pipes didn't burst.
See more info http://www.pexinfo.com/

3) Wrap pipes with thermostat controlled heating tape

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Comments (8)

Jeff H
9 years ago
Would not recommend plumbing pipes on exterior walls. Use interior walls and attic space, may have to do a little jackhammering as well.
kday72 thanked Jeff H
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kday72
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Curt! Our inspector won't approve PEX where I live so it wouldn't meet code. I think the only thing we can use is copper.
kday72
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Jeff! Can you run pipes in concrete? I thought I'd read there would be an issue with corrosion, not sure.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
9 years ago
I would check into having light weight concrete poured over existing floor to keep this as simple as possible and give you the look you want and the ability to run all the pipes where they make sense. There are even very interesting vinyl flooring that would work,I used the Mannington Adura Manhattan in a job where the client wanted steel flooring it looks awesome . I think a concrete floor in a very cold climate is not practical it will have to be covered with rugs all over the place. The pic is of the Manhattan .
kday72 thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
Jeff H
9 years ago
Yes you can run water lines in concrete. Remembered it is a living space it will be heated, interior floors will not get below 32* to freeze.
kday72 thanked Jeff H
kday72
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for all the thoughts! Good to know we can run the lines in the concrete if needed.

The thought behind keeping the concrete floor is thermal mass. We have lots of windows but have big eaves, so we get lots of sun in the winter and we are shaded during the summer. In theory, having a concrete floor would generate heat from sun exposure in the winter and be cool in the summer.
Jeff H
9 years ago
Put the copper pipes in the foam insulation sleeves.