Under floor heating pipes

[doctor Bob]

Hi,
Anyone know how to find out where the plastic heating pipes are?

Thermal imaging is an option but surely there is an easier way. I know roughly where they are give or take 50mm but it's a bit risky.

they are under tiles, close together 100mm as it's low temp and in 50mm scree.

Give me some ideas, over to you genius's / genii?

 

[finneyb]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/forum/speake ... s-4159812/

Scroll down to amonra Jul 2012 - s/he has used a sensitive wood/metal detector set to wood.

Brian

 

[Beau]

Wet the floor, turn the heating up and watch. The water soon evaporates from the lines of the pipes.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Hi,
I know roughly where they are give or take 50mm but it's a bit risky.

they are under tiles, close together 100mm

If they are at 100mm pitch, I know where they are "give or take 50mm" without even having seen the room :lol:

If you put the heating of full whack, and took one of those hand held non-contact thermometer things with the laser pointer and scanned across the floor, would there be enough of a temperature modulation to give a clue ? Or wet it and see if a pattern appears as it dries ?

Edited to add: Beaten to it !

 

[oakfield]

Keep drilling holes in the floor until water comes out?

Some of the underfloor heating pipes have a very thin metal layer running through them, maybe a good detector would pick them up?

 

[sunnybob]

The first question is why do you need to know?

 

[doctor Bob]

The first question is why do you need to know?

I need to drill some holes ...........

The heating system is a low heat system, so it doesn't evaporate of in lines.

No metal in the pipe.

I'll try stud detector and see what happens.

Thanks chaps. theoretically 2 holes I have about a 90% chance of no problem with just pot luck but best not to hey :lol:

 

[sunnybob]

You have 50 mm of screed, is that not enough for the screws? set the drill stop to 45 mm and youll be fine.

 

[porker]

Could you disconnect from the manifold and temporarily put some hotter want through the loop and pick up the temperature difference as already mentioned. The other thing that occurred to me was whether you could run a metal 'snake' down the pipe to get a reference and assuming the spacing is uniform measure from this. (I have quite a long metal think for drains but maybe not long enough maybe 8').
Don't know exactly why you are drilling but is it possible to use a adhesive instead?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[sunnybob]

Porker, underfloor heating pipes are a couple hundred yards long with 180 degree bends at each end of the run.

 

[Dee J]

Underfloor heating pipes generally have a layer of aluminium laminated in the plastic (wiki pex pipe)... Might be detectable. Otherwise you're with thermal methods or don't drill.

 

[Mark A]

If it's possible, use a good adhesive to fix whatever you're doing to the screed?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[porker]

Porker, underfloor heating pipes are a couple hundred yards long with 180 degree bends at each end of the run.

I was only advocating pushing it down one run not the whole length of the pipe and reference from this known position. My drain snake is 8m but depends on access.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[No skills]

Has the new stripper pole arrived?

Thermal camera (ala plumber or sparks) might work, was the pipe fixed down with metal ties or the spikey plastic things.

 

[SVB]

For two holes in screed, could you hand drill (at least pilots) with extreme caution blowing / inspecting once you're > 45mm down?

 

[doctor Bob]

Has the new stripper pole arrived?

Thermal camera (ala plumber or sparks) might work, was the pipe fixed down with metal ties or the spikey plastic things.

Indeed, I squeezed into the leotard this morning, chaffs a bit having it on all day in this heat but just can't get the damn pole fixed to the floor. Think it was snapped into a plastic sheet.

 

[doctor Bob]

For two holes in screed, could you hand drill (at least pilots) with extreme caution blowing / inspecting once you're > 45mm down?

My cojones are not that big!!!!!

 

[Duncan A]

Would a concrete thickness gauge work?
http://www.hammond-concrete.co.uk/concr ... rete1.html
These can be used to locate flaws, bubbles, rebar etc buried in concrete.
No idea if they can be hired, or for how much.
Duncan

 

[RogerS]

Tell the police you suspect there's a body buried underneath. They'll bring along their ground-penetrating radar if you're lucky. If not, then it will be Kango hammers. Either way - job done.

 

[Beau]

The heating system is a low heat system, so it doesn't evaporate of in lines.

So is ours and wetting the floor and seeing where it evaporated first worked fine when we had to work out where to screw to our floor.