Where and how to hide heating pipes: skirting boards and boxes for hidden laying

The choice of material for work

Before proceeding to the design of a protective box or screen, you need to choose the right material. The advantages and disadvantages of certain solutions are indicated in the table.

How to hide heating pipes in the floor or wall

Hidden laying of pipes for water supply and heating in a multi-storey building requires a permit for this. It is necessary to order a rework project and coordinate it with the housing office, which is difficult to do. In addition, if a leak appears, neighbors can be flooded, since the malfunction is difficult to quickly fix. It is best to hide the heating pipes in a load-bearing wall or floor of your own home.

The advantage is an increase in heat transfer through building materials, as well as an improvement in the appearance of premises without communications. Modern polypropylene or metal-plastic pipes have a very long service life.

Design rules for heating systems with pipes built into the walls:

• The use of reinforced pipes for heating with expansion loops against temperature expansion.
• Collapsible fittings can leak over time. Only welded structures can be bricked into walls, for example, heating system elements made of polypropylene pipes. In an extreme case, for detachable pipe connections, viewing windows are left in the walls through which you can inspect and tighten the threaded connections.
• It is advisable to insulate the pipeline in the wall. This is especially true of metal products, on the surface of which condensation forms upon contact with concrete.

It is important to install thermal insulation on the outer walls, which can take energy into the external environment.

The supply and return flow in the strobe is laid through separate channels or with a distance of at least 10 cm between them.

What pipe elements should not be masked

This paragraph concerns the option of masking, in which the pipes are laid in a gutter in the wall and are firmly walled up in it under a layer of a special solution, and then under the facing materials. In this case, you need to be extremely careful. Indeed, if any damage occurs, in order to eliminate them, you will need to irretrievably ruin the walls. It is not recommended to immediately hide the newly made wiring under the cement mortar. Yes, plastic, steel or copper pipes have a very long service life, but if the soldering is done poorly, you may not see it immediately. Sometimes the seam can be too thin in one place and leak, and this is not visible immediately, but only the next day. Therefore, give the pipes and their joints the opportunity to experience the pressure of the water and stand for a couple of days in a free state. And only after you are convinced of their tightness, you can close up the grooves.

So, you can sew into the walls:

• Welded steel or copper pipes without threaded connections;
• Brazed plastic pipes without threaded connections.

It is not recommended to mask the following elements without quick access:

• Metal fittings for connections that have a L-, T- or X-shape. There is an increased risk of leakage in these areas.
• Connections made with threaded elements;
• Places of installation of meters or filters.

Features of factory products and homemade products

Thinking about how to close the heating pipes in a room, apartment owners begin to select suitable options from factory products or homemade structures

Prefabricated protective screens and boxes

A large assortment of factory products in various designs can be found on display stands and specialty store shelves:

• You can find corner, rectangular or rounded structures designed to hide vertical heating pipes and piping located close to the floor or ceiling surface. There are protective boxes for masking the heating system running around the perimeter of the room or separately passing heating pipes.
• Factory devices are usually represented by boxes made of durable plastic, installed along the contour of the pipes on a metal frame made of galvanized steel profiles. The decorativeness and performance of the product depend on the quality of the starting material - polypropylene used to create the plastic screen. For example, when buying low-grade polymer products, the snow-white surface of the box loses its attractiveness and begins to turn yellow over time.
• Metal protective products. Boxes, painted with modern dyes that can withstand prolonged contact with hot pipes, are organically combined with any interior color finish. In addition, they protect the tube surface from dust and dirt accumulation. Spectacular mesh or perforated screens made of metal, covering the heating wiring, ensure maximum heat transfer and create coziness in the room.
• Protective screens made of MDF. The products are distinguished by their attractive appearance and good performance properties. In order to preserve the flow of thermal energy, ventilation openings and openings with decorative grilles are installed in such elements.

A significant disadvantage of factory products is the limited number of models and sizes.

Self-made protective structures

Unlike factory protective screens, homemade boxes can not only cover unsightly heating wiring, but also give the interior style its own "zest". For example, an interesting and original plasterboard overlay in the form of an exotic palm tree with graceful carved leaves will help to disguise the central heating riser or other unsightly pipeline in an unusual way.

Homemade protective screens can be created with various building materials:

• Brick masonry. For this method of camouflage, face red, silicate brick, finishing bassoon or clinker stone are suitable. The result is an effective protective screen that reliably protects heating communications and serves as a kind of room decor. A significant disadvantage of this "masking" method is the laboriousness of the process, the availability of the performer's qualifications and the inability to disassemble the masonry in the event of technical malfunctions of the heating system.
• Plasterboard sheets. The protective casing is made on a metal or wooden frame made in the places where pipes pass and sheathed with plasterboard. In conditions of high humidity in bathrooms and toilets, a moisture-resistant green gypsum board is used. To service various shut-off valves and taps, revision doors and hatches are installed in the casing, and ventilation grilles installed in the surface of the box will provide warm air circulation.
• Plastic or board lining installed on a metal frame made of galvanized profile rolled products or wooden blocks. The principle of the device is similar to the device of drywall boxes.
• Wooden protective box. Natural wood will certainly match any interior solution.

The choice of a home-made protective structure or a factory product depends on the design of the premises, the style of decoration and the personal tastes of the inhabitants of the apartment.

Do-it-yourself heating in a private house made of polypropylene pipes: schemes
Polypropylene pipelines are increasingly being installed in homestead buildings. They have low thermal conductivity, which reduces heat loss during the transportation of the coolant. System installation process ...

How can you hide communications in the kitchen?

Special sleeves are considered the most common disguise. With their help, pipes can be closed quickly and cheaply and, if necessary, can be easily accessed.

The water pipes can be hidden in the cabinet above which the sink is located. Pipes cannot be seen by outsiders, and you can easily fix the leak (if it occurs!).

And if suddenly there is a leak, you will not be able to find and fix it. As a result, you will have to disassemble the wall or take out all the furniture from the kitchen.

Long gone are the days when heating radiators were in a prominent place. They are currently being disguised.

Special wooden lockers are built for them, which let the heat through and look very beautiful. They can be painted in any color. Large "battery" boxes are used as cabinets.

Gas pipes are also hidden in boxes made of various materials. The box can be ordered in any color solution and decorated with decorative elements.

Hide heating pipes under drywall

This option is suitable for both rooms and household premises: bathroom and kitchen. The advantages and disadvantages are almost the same as in the previous method. The only difference is that you do not need any approval and project: there is no transfer of engineering networks. So there can be no claims on the part of the law.

The advantage of this solution is that you can easily hide the heating pipes in a panel house, since it is almost impossible to groove there, and there is nothing: the thickness of the plates is very small (except that it is unrealistic to obtain permission). But getting to communications is almost as difficult. Unless you can make one of the panels with hinges and a latch. To be able, if necessary, to easily get to the valves or pipes. Fortunately, today there is a variety of fittings that will allow you to implement your idea.If you are going to "mask" the heating in the bathroom or toilet, you can provide a revision hatch located in key places.

You can make one of the panels (top) with magnets

The order of collecting the box in any case will be the same: first, assemble a frame of the desired shape from metal profiles, then attach finishing materials to it: drywall, MDF panels, plastic panels, plywood or OSB plates, finally. Some of these materials require a finish, some do not. But then finishing work is already underway. Such a box may look like a cabinet, a shelf.

To hide the heating pipes in drywall, you must first assemble the frame

One of the options for the frame can be a false wall. Neither the order of work, nor the principles are different. All the difference in volumes: both the frame is larger, and the surface that requires plastering. But the order is the same: first, the crate is attached to the wall. If the depth of the profiles is enough to hide the pipes in the thermal insulation, this is good. If not, you will have to mount another crate at some distance. Alternatively, to increase the space, you can first attach a counter-batten, and then perpendicular to it, to which drywall or other panel material is already attached.

Often such boxes are used in a bathroom or toilet room, and they are all tiled with tiles, which are "planted" on glue. The seams are filled with standard grout, the corners can be closed with plastic corners.

The photo below shows an option of how you can beautifully hide the heating pipes with a false panel along the wall.

One way is a false wall. Looks attractive

How to close heating pipes in a wall or floor

At the stage of a major overhaul or construction of a room, you can hide the heating pipes in the wall or floor. It is impossible to say unequivocally whether this is a good option or not.

Firstly, if you are going to hide communications in an apartment of a multi-storey building, and not in a private household, you may have problems. Alteration of utilities, according to the law, requires a permit. Not only will you need to order a rework project, you will need to agree on it later with the operating organization. And the chance to get permission tends to zero. Even if you have obtained a permit, or are modernizing / equipping your home, there are pros and cons to this solution.

Not everyone wants the heating pipes to be in plain sight

Pros. firstly, they do not spoil the appearance of the room, and secondly, their heat transfer increases, since the thermal conductivity of building materials is better than the thermal conductivity of air. That is, it turns out that by hiding the pipes in the walls or floor, you increase the heating efficiency. But this is on condition that you will not protect them with a heat insulator, but this solution also has negative aspects (described below). To all this, such a solution has a rather large disadvantage: in the event of a leak or the need for replacement / repair / revision, you will have to destroy the wall with all the ensuing consequences. We are not talking about the quick elimination of the breakdown at all, and if you live in a high-rise building, then you are guaranteed to flood your neighbors ... So it is better to hide the heating pipes in the walls in your house: at least you won't have to pay for repairs to your neighbors.

This is what a radiator might look like if the pipes are hidden in the floor.

However, more and more people are doing this. And all because modern materials have more than a solid period of trouble-free operation, some of which are tens of years. For example, the service life of some types of polypropylene products is 50 years. Almost the same number of high-quality metal-plastic products serve.Copper has the longest service life - up to 100 years - although there are also disadvantages here: too high thermal conductivity of copper can lead to the fact that most of the heat will go to the walls, and nothing will reach the radiators, and copper is very demanding to the conditions. and if they are not observed, they can collapse in a matter of months. A pipeline made of high-quality similar materials may well lie in the wall for more than a dozen years and at the same time, there will be no problems for all the time.

It is only important to choose high-quality material and lay it correctly.

Masking heating pipes in the wall

Pipes, risers and radiators can be masked in several ways. A fairly popular option is to hide communications in the wall or in the field

At the same time, it is important to replace old pipes with new ones in the apartment before such work. Better to choose plastic communications

Otherwise, leaks will occur, which are quite expensive to fix.

You can disguise the heating pipe in the wall using drywall

The sequence of installing pipes in the wall:

1. First, a communication scheme is created. In this case, the cross-section of the pipes, thermal insulation and the thickness of the wall layer, which must be repaired, are taken into account.
2. Next, you need to make a hole in the wall. This is a special recess in which communications will be placed. Provide places for elbows and tees.
3. Then, insulation is put on the pipe and mounted in the provided niche. Communications should be well secured, ensuring a secure fit.
4. The pipes are fastened using brackets. For this, holes with dowels are made in the wall. They will fix the device.
5. Next, you should check the performance of the pipes. Only after that the niche is closed.

The second method involves sealing pipes in the floor. First, they think over the styling scheme. A groove is made in the floor. The top of the pipe should be slightly below floor level. Then the pipes are insulated, checked and laid. The communications are closed with concrete mortar. For normal water circulation, a pump is provided.

The concrete screed must be of sufficient thickness to prevent the floor from falling through during use.

But when hiding the pipes in this way, you should be prepared that in the event of a leak, you will have to completely disassemble the floor or wall.

That is why it is important to keep all risks to a minimum. Select solid pipes or with a minimum number of joints

This option can be called a warm floor.

Box on the frame for the heating main

If you have already carried out the laying of the heating system, and now you want to hide it, you can hide the pipes in the box. It is made from plastic, drywall or wooden materials that are attached to the frame. Before stitching the pipes into the box, make sure they are intact!

To mount the box you will need:

• metallic profile;
• self-tapping screws with dowels;
• cladding material;
• screwdriver;
• cutter;
• knife for cutting sheathing material;
• drill;
• profile cutting scissors;
• measuring instruments.

The first step is to build a frame for the box. It is made from a metal profile or wooden bars, which are fastened with self-tapping screws. First, markings are carried out around the pipes, depending on their location on the floor, walls and ceiling. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the width of the profile or bars, the size of the finishing material and the distance from the pipes to the walls of the box.

Heating pipes should not be located close to the box. Leave a free space between them with a width of at least 3 cm.

In the case of closing the risers located in the corner of the room, it happens that the walls are not even. It is more expedient in this embodiment to make the corners formed by the walls and the box 90 °, and equalize the protruding angle along them.After marking, proceed to the installation of rack-mount profiles to the walls. Then they attach the guides to the floor and ceiling. The profile is fastened together with a cutter.

The height of the corner frame for vertical pipes is more than 1.5 m. Therefore, for its strength, it is necessary to fix horizontal jumpers. If the distance between the posts is more than 0.25 m, they also need to be strengthened

Further, depending on the design of the future box, one or two corner profiles are mounted. If the distance between the posts is more than 0.25 m, you need to make additional jumpers parallel to them. If the racks are higher than one and a half meters, you need to install horizontal jumpers. After the construction of the frame, they begin to clad it. If drywall is used for this purpose, then before closing the heating pipes with it, it is necessary to remove the chamfers from the sheets. This process is skipped if the box is subsequently tiled.

After all the elements of the frame have been installed, they proceed to cutting the sheathing material. This should be done so that there are fewer joints.

Initially, the side elements are fixed, and then the central ones. After the completion of the installation work, the final finishing of the box is started. A plasterboard structure can be pasted over with wallpaper or painted to match the walls. Special corners are applied to the plastic elements so that the joints are not visible. Plasterboard is reinforced with a corner profile. The box looks very interesting, the front part of which is a stained-glass window. To enhance the effect produced, you can build a backlight inside.

The disguise of heating pipes can be turned into a real work of art, a decorative stained glass window with internal illumination looks interesting

Some structural elements can be made removable or hinged with small doors for system maintenance.

In rooms where heating elements occupy a large wall area, it is possible to build a false wall. They do it according to the same method as the box. First, the frame is mounted, and then sheathed with a suitable material. However, keep in mind that a false wall reduces the area of ​​the room. Also, a ready-made box is used to hide the heating pipes. On sale, you can choose the right option for any room design.

To mask heating elements, you can purchase a ready-made box made of perforated metal. Small holes allow heat to enter the room

Drywall box

This option is one of the cheapest.

To create a drywall box, you will need drywall itself, metal wall and main profiles, a hatch, screws and dowels, as well as tools (a perforator and a screwdriver with nozzles). Additionally, you can purchase decorative items.

Stages of creating a box:

1. Design. To begin with, it is worth deciding where the box will be located, what its dimensions will be, where the hatch will be located. The distance between the box and the pipe should not be less than 3 cm.
2. Installation of the frame. This stage begins with attaching the wall profiles to the wall or wall and floor, if the box is in contact with it on one side, using dowels. Then two more ribs of the box are installed at a distance from the pipe so that the square frame comes out. Jumpers perpendicular to them are installed between the ribs, which are fastened with self-tapping screws.
3. Plasterboard sheathing. This material is attached to the metal box using special small self-tapping screws. It is recommended to take a moisture-resistant drywall. It is suitable for both bathrooms and residential areas, where condensation can also form. Determine the place for the hatch.
4. Installation of the hatch. The hatch is best located in places where there are wiring, taps and various devices. For convenience, it is better to purchase a ready-made hatch with a door, which is easy to install on the frame between the plasterboard sheathing.
5. Finishing work. There are many finishing options. For example, you can cover drywall with putty and then paint or plaster. You can cover with tiles or wallpaper and decorate the corners with decorative elements.The choice of the final coating depends on the general style idea and aesthetics of the room.

How to hide heating pipes - 3 easiest and most effective ways

An open pipeline is unlikely to be able to decorate any interior, so many people ask experts on the forums - how to hide heating pipes in an apartment or house so that the housing design looks more attractive? There are several options for solving this problem, which I will tell you about below.

An example of a hidden heating system

Pipe masking options

Among all the possible methods, the three most effective options for masking pipes should be distinguished:

Let's consider the features of each of these methods.

Option 1: hide pipes in the floor and walls

Before I tell you how pipes are walled up into walls or hidden in the floor, I will give several important rules that must be followed:

• only a new pipeline can be hidden in the floor or walls. Do not try to hide old highways, as problems may arise later;
• plastic pipes expand strongly under the influence of high temperature. This is especially true for polypropylene, the linear expansion of which reaches 5 mm per meter. Therefore, during the installation of the pipeline, it is necessary to provide for the required number of expansion joints;
• before you hide the heating pipes made of metal-plastic or metal, you need to put on heat-insulating casings on them, which will reduce heat loss;
• regardless of the material from which the pipeline is made, detachable fittings should not be walled up so that they remain freely accessible.

The process of laying pipes into walls is carried out in the following sequence:

1. first of all, you need to draw up a wiring diagram and, in accordance with it, mark the location of pipes on the walls;
2. then, according to the markup, you need to make the channels with your own hands. To do this, you can use a perforator with a chisel included in the impact mode;
3. to securely fix the pipes in the grooves, holders or brackets are installed. To install the latter, you should use the dowel-nails;
4. then heat-insulating casings are put on the pipes, which can be fixed with plastic clamps, after which the pipeline is installed in the grooves;
5. after assembling the heat pipe, it must be pressurized (checking work under pressure), which makes it possible to identify leaks and immediately eliminate them;
6. at the end of the work, the grooves are sealed with cement mortar. For better adhesion of the composition, they must first be cleaned of dust and primed.

The grooves must be carried out taking into account the thickness of the insulation and the mortar for embedding.

It is even easier to hide the heat pipe in the floor. As a rule, pipes are laid on the base before screed, after which they are poured with concrete. In this case, heat-insulating covers are used in the same way, and the system must be pressurized.

If it is not planned to pour a screed on the floor, the pipes can be laid in the space between the logs and the subfloor. To beautifully decorate the place where pipes enter the floor and exit, use special pipe linings.

I must say that after the installation of the pipeline, it is imperative to draw up an executive diagram on which the locations of the pipes are indicated. This is necessary in order not to violate the integrity of the heating system in the process of subsequent home repairs.

Option 2: mount the frame

Installation of a heat pipe in grooves is the most optimal solution. However, if the system is already mounted, then it can only be hidden with the help of a box. You can make the latter from the following materials:

To make a box, you need to prepare the following materials and tools:

Indoor installation

With a closed installation of pipes, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules, non-observance of which can lead to unpleasant consequences.

Important! A feature of the hidden installation of sewer pipes is the ability to check their condition and carry out cleaning and repair work. Before solving the question - how to hide the pipes, you need to familiarize yourself with the installation rules

Before solving the question - how to hide the pipes, you need to familiarize yourself with the installation rules.

Concealed installation rules

• in the process of designing a structure, it is necessary to take into account the location of water and sewage meters. You can provide free access to these devices using inspection hatches or a freely removable panel;
• before starting work, all pipes must be installed in accordance with the standards: have a certain, connecting joints checked for tightness;
• if necessary, provide access to their structure for periodic cleaning and condition check;
• during installation, tearing structural elements of the pipe should not be subjected to mechanical stress.

Compliance with these rules will prevent unforeseen problems with the operation of the sewer system.

How to close pipes in a box

Closing pipes with additional structures is the most common method. In this case, you can choose several options for forms and design solutions.

The construction material can be varied: drywall, plastic panels.

False wall

With a relatively large area of ​​the toilet, the most optimal way would be to make a false wall.

It is a solid structure, the dimensions of which are close to the dimensions of the wall.

Being at a certain distance necessary to hide the sewer pipes, its installation is done right next to the ceiling and floor.

Depending on the materials used for the external cladding (plastic, drywall, tiles), the technology and method of mounting the supporting structure are used.

The advantage of such concealment of sewer pipes is the variability of forms.

Video: Repair of a typical toilet in a multi-storey building

For optimal distribution of free space, the following types of false walls can be used:

• oblique;
• box;
• multilevel box.

Oblique false wall

With the small dimensions of the toilet room, you can use the method of point-hiding pipes. In particular - riser structures.

When designing this structure, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• after installation, the panels must not come into contact with the pipes. This is necessary to prevent the ingress of moisture that occurs on the surface of the pipes;
• the size of the front side of the false wall must be calculated so that inspection hatches can be installed. Ideally, this is a split wall with removable panels.

Square box

The square design of the decorative wall is the most common and can be of the following types:

• box with a height from floor to ceiling. Hides the riser pipe;
• rectangular structure with an upper horizontal surface at an arbitrary level (multilevel type).

The requirements for the installation rules for this structure are the same as for oblique false walls. This method is optimal when deciding how to close the pipe in the toilet.

Multilevel box

To make the most of the false panels, a combined method of closing pipes is often used, when square and multi-level ducts are mounted.

This technique will allow you to hide all the sewer pipes, while maintaining the free space of the toilet.

The horizontal surfaces of short boxes can be used as shelves.

Strobing

Grooving is the process of making pipe recesses in a wall.

The use of this installation method allows you not to reduce the size of the toilet due to additional structures.

This method has strict limitations on the technical parameters of walls and pipes:

• maximum pipe diameter - 50 mm;
  
• when gouging a load-bearing wall, the depth of the furrow should not exceed 15% of the wall thickness;
• due to the specifics of the technology, it is impossible to hide the riser and pipe from the toilet in this way;
• it is imperative to provide for the installation of inspection hatches throughout the entire pipeline.