How to hide pipes in the bathroom: we choose the way ourselves

According to the purpose, the pipes laid in the bathroom are divided into:

• plumbing;
• sewer;
• heating.

As a rule, the latter are laid in bathrooms only in private homes.

According to the material of manufacture, pipes are distinguished:

• metal;
• plastic;
• metal-plastic;
• polyvinyl chloride;
• polyethylene.

Metal (cast iron and steel)

They have not been used for wiring communications for a long time, but they are still preserved in some houses of the old building (Soviet or even pre-revolutionary). Copper pipes, on the contrary, are modern and technologically advanced, but their minus is a high price. During installation, they are connected by soldering or using fittings.

Plastic (polypropylene)

Most suitable for connection to water supply, sewerage and even heating systems. The advantages of such pipes are low weight, strength, ease of installation and, most importantly, reliability. They are connected by thermal welding, so that the whole structure becomes monolithic. Such pipelines can be safely hidden in boxes and walled up. They withstand high water pressure, do not rot or rust.

metal-plastic

Easily bent in different directions, which allows the use of these pipes for the installation of complex structures. But, unlike plastic ones, they are not welded, but connected with metal fittings and collets, because of which there is a risk of leaks at the joints.

PVC (polyvinylchloride)

Polyethylene (made of cross-linked polyethylene)

These pipes are also unreliable and unsuitable for wiring communications in bathrooms.

The use of pipes of different types in the photo

When distributing communications, pipes of different diameters are used: ¾ inch (19.05 mm) for laying highways and ½ inch (12.7 mm) for connecting plumbing. These standards are optimal for arranging bathrooms in multi-storey buildings. With private development, you need to remember: the larger the water analysis, the larger the diameter of the pipes will be required.

Eight options for closing plumbing, choosing the best

There are many ways to hide plumbing in the toilet and bathroom. But before considering specific methods, you need to know the answer to the main question - pipes are masked during their laying or they want to hide already laid communications.

In the first case, the pipes are poured with a floor screed or removed into niches hollowed out in the walls. In the second, they construct boxes or special furniture structures, install roller shutters, etc.

To choose the best option for masking pipes with all their bends and branches, first the pipeline routes are marked on the wall with a pencil. Or draw a diagram on paper, keeping the scale. After that, they decide where to ditch the wall, and where to install the box or build some other structure.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pipe masking methods on the picture

Basic Solutions for Sheltering Vertical Pipes

Plastic panels

Covering plumbing with plastic panels is one of the easiest and most budgetary ways to equip a bathroom with your own hands. But the main advantage of this method is that, if necessary, the structure can be disassembled without particularly damaging it, and reassembled after repair work. Therefore, plastic is often used for sheathing not particularly reliable pipes.

Required tools:

• level;
• ruler and tape measure;
• pencil.
• hacksaw or jigsaw;
• drill;
• screwdriver or stapler;
• pliers.

Materials used:

1. PVC panels are not thinner than 8 mm;
2. dowels;
3. Self-tapping screws or staples for a stapler;
4. Lighthouses (wooden bars 4x5 cm);
5. Starting and corner moldings.

For fasteners, it is better to use not staples, but self-tapping screws. This will make it possible, if necessary, to quickly disassemble the structure without damaging the plastic.

Sheathing is performed in the following sequence:

Video: How to build a box of plastic panels in half an hour

How to build a do-it-yourself storage cabinet

Behind the panels that hide the pipes, there is a lot of free space. It can be used for business if you build a structure in the form of a cabinet with shelves.

Required tools:

• jigsaw;
• drill with nozzles;
• screwdriver;
• level;
• roulette;
• marking pencil.

Materials used:

• wooden planks for guides;
• Chipboard or plywood for shelves;
• doors or shutters;
• dowels;
• self-tapping screws;
• fittings (canopies, handles).

Roller shutters look aesthetically pleasing and modern

How to mount a vertical box

Sewer and water pipes of large diameter are often hidden in boxes. The frame of the box is mounted from aluminum profiles and sheathed with moisture-resistant drywall or plastic panels. Drywall is most often tiled with ceramic tiles, but other finishing methods are also possible (washable wallpaper, self-adhesive film, etc.).

Required tools:

• level;
• roulette;
• square;
• pencil;
• drill;
• screwdriver;
• metal scissors;
• drywall knife or hacksaw for plastic.

Materials used:

• aluminum guide profiles 27×28 mm;
• ceiling profiles 60×27 mm;
• dowels;
• moisture-resistant wall drywall (12.5 mm) or PVC boards;
• self-tapping screws.

How to install a false wall

This method is used if the water supply and sewage routes are located along the far wall. All wiring is sewn up with a solid plasterboard partition or plastic panels.

The tools and materials used are the same as for the construction of a vertical plasterboard or plastic box.

Before you hide the pipes, it is advisable to photograph them in order to know the location in the future.

How to hide pipes in the wall

To cover the pipes in this way, special cavities are selected in the wall. It is best to do this at the first stage of a major overhaul, since wall chasing is a very dusty and dirty process.

Required tools:

• roulette;
• level;
• grinder or perforator;
• putty knife.

Materials used:

• fasteners for pipes;
• plaster mortar.

Two main ways to cover pipes located horizontally

The first method is to hide pipes under drywall, the principle of work remains the same as when laying vertically. During a major overhaul, water pipes can be hidden in the floor screed. This is not as difficult to do as it seems.

The horizontality of the screed is checked with a level

The pipes in the bathroom can be left open or hidden. From an aesthetic point of view, the second option is preferable. But with this method, the reliability of pipes and their connections is of great importance. If there is a risk of emergency situations, it is better not to pack the pipes hermetically. In this case, they can be hidden behind roller shutters or furniture doors. Selected correctly, such elements will give the bathroom an interesting modern look.