Insulation for copper pipework

[hompoo]

Hi there! I'm new to the forum posting for the first time :smiley2: Just wondering what the current 'best practice' is regarding insulation of copper pipes in a bathrooms... Refurbishing our shower room and the pipes leading to the shower valve (via Hans Grohe universal 'i-box') are chased into concrete wall. (Hardiback board will then be used as a base for the tiles). A few questions:
1) Is Denso tape still considered the best thing to use on the pipework to protect from corrosion?
2) There seem to be different types of Denso... which is the right one to ask for (the pipes are 22mm thick)?
3) Would it be a good 'belt & braces' approach to use a 'felt' sleeve, on top of the tape?

Sorry to bore you with such a long post - specially at this time of night :yawn: but would very much appreciate any guidance/advice. Many thanks in advance!:smiley2::smiley2:

 

[Best]

Denso tape is a mess. It is also OTT in my opinion.
If the wall is going to be dry later, - which I assume it will be, then wrapping the pipes in a bandage of polythene, tightly around the pipes and taped with insulation tape will undoubtedly protect the pipe and give it slight movement. You could just use wide insulation tape by itself.
Self amalgamating tape would be really good, although not cheap. Don't plaster pipes in where you don't need to and don't use strong sand and cement mixes.
The biggest risk to copper pipes is dampness, particularly with sand and cement, concrete or various bricks.

 

[hompoo]

Denso tape is a mess. It is also OTT in my opinion.
If the wall is going to be dry later, - which I assume it will be, then wrapping the pipes in a bandage of polythene, tightly around the pipes and taped with insulation tape will undoubtedly protect the pipe and give it slight movement. You could just use wide insulation tape by itself.
Self amalgamating tape would be really good, although not cheap. Don't plaster pipes in where you don't need to and don't use strong sand and cement mixes.
The biggest risk to copper pipes is dampness, particularly with sand and cement, concrete or various bricks.

Thank you so much for your response Best, extremely helpful Just to clarify, the pipes in question are feeding hot and cold water to the mixer/ valve and they are located within the shower enclosure itself, so it is a 'wet area' as such by definition. Does this mean anything additional to the insulation/self amalgamating tape might be needed such as a felt sleeve on top of the tape? Just to give you the full picture, so far the builder has used a 'hair felt' strip (not sure why not a 'sleeve') that he has wound around the pipes, in the same way as you would wind tape around them - but, not being sticky, it is pretty loose, despite him 'securing' it at the ends with some tape (that tape is already peeling off). I am just a lay person but that didn't look right to me, hence my trying to do some research and finding this forum It would be nice to have an easy life and not have to tell him to change what he has done, but just to confirm: leaving it as is is not an option, right?

 

[townfanjon]

Depending how smooth the "chase " is it doesnt realy need anything , the protection from the tape is just there to keep chemicals off the copper, assuming its copper and not plastic .
It should be clipped into the wall and not touching any part of it , but I noticed the word "builder " sorry I have yet to see a builder who can "plumb" sorry !!

 

[hompoo]

Ouch! Oh dear - well they were listed on the Trustmark website as 'bathroom specialists' but from their website it is clear they do general building too...(They are also FMB members if that means anything). I hope I have not got myself into the wrong hands here :-( On the plus side they seem very obliging and have had some good reviews so I am sure they will do their best to comply with whatever I ask them to change... I am located in SW London, would you by any chance be able to point me in the direction of someone who could come and have a look and perhaps give them some 'instructions'? Very many thanks again for your help

 

[SimonG]

FMB = Federation of Master Builders i believe. About time builders stick to building.

 

[townfanjon]

Ouch! Oh dear - well they were listed on the Trustmark website as 'bathroom specialists' but from their website it is clear they do general building too...(They are also FMB members if that means anything). I hope I have not got myself into the wrong hands here :-( On the plus side they seem very obliging and have had some good reviews so I am sure they will do their best to comply with whatever I ask them to change... I am located in SW London, would you by any chance be able to point me in the direction of someone who could come and have a look and perhaps give them some 'instructions'? Very many thanks again for your help

Sorry but we all have experience of "builders" on here , they are probably fine, they might actualy employ a plumber.

Can you post some pics ?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

As above post some pics up and we can soon tell, but if they were good they already sould of protected them as hair felt is porous

 

[macackau]

Nothing wrong with bit of good old denso tape. I still use it now for any copper pipe that is going to buried in a wall and tiled/skimmed over. Yes it's messy and horrible but you know it will do its job in protecting pipe.

I came across this earlier this year, copper pipe, a gas pipe by the way, that wasn't protected at all and buried in concrete. Customer lucky to be alive

 

[jonnyswamp]

I also prefer Denso, though not behind skim as it can leach through when warm apparently (I haven't seen it myself yet, but others on here have
It should be fine for your pipes behind backer board
The last lot of felt lagging I used had a layer of thin polythene in the middle, so seemed waterproof, used it on blockwork walls before nail clipping first fix drops