Stud Walls – Fitting Pipes
If you are planning to construct a stud wall to create a bathroom, for example, you might need to fit plumbing behind the plasterboard. This is fairly easy to do, as long as yoiu remember a few simple rules.
Height
Installing pipework behind plasterboard takes a bit of thought. At some point in the future you, or future occupants of your house, might want to drill into the wall to hang shelves, etc. Bear this in mind and make sure any horizontal pipework stays lower then 300mm from the floor level. This will drastically reduce the chance of hitting the pipe when drilling at a later date.
Planning and Marking
Plan out carefully where the pipework will need to run and mark the studs or noggins where it passes them. Keep in mind that waste pipes need a slight fall along their horizontal length. Transfer the marks around to the side of the studs or noggins.
Cutting Notches
To create a notch for a standard copper water pipe, take a drill bit slightly larger than the pipe and drill through the studs and noggins, close to the front face. Cut into the stud or noggin from the front to create a notch. For waste pipes, which obviously require a larger notch, again take a drill bit slightly larger than the pipe and drill through the middle of the stud or noggin. Before cutting into the hole from the front of the timber to create the notch, cut a 300mm by 25mm section out of the front of the stud. Once the waste pipe is in place, you can screw or nail a 300mm strip of 25x50mm timber to strengthen the stud.
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