Laying pipe in the bathroom.

JohnyChevyEG

JohnyChevyEG

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I have sort of a weird configuration, and I was wondering if anyone has heard of running copper pipe on the outside of a wall, along the floor. This is just a pipe going to go to a toilet. I will use clamps to keep it sturdy, and no one will be stepping on it. This way, I dont have to rip out an existing wall, for a partially finished bathroom that will be used once or twice a year.
 
It's going to run along the floor in a basement. I'm going to tee off the supply line to the sink down there, and it would make things a lot easier. Only 2 of the walls are unfinished, so working in the infinished will be easy, the toilet just isn't in one.

Also, I read that running pipe through non bearing studs is okay? Do I just drill holes the size of the pipe or should I go a little larger for the holes? I realize that this is another question. This is going to be my first plumbing project. The drain pipes are in place, I just need to tap into the existing 1/2 copper to get water to everything else.
 
Drill the holes larger than the pipe. Two reasons. First it will give the pipe some room to expand/contract with temperature. Second, it's a heck of alot easier to run the pipe from stud to stud if your holes don't line up perfectly. As far a running the toilet supply on the outside, there's nothing really "wrong" about it, it just will never have a real finished look. If I was doing it, I bite the bullet and cut out some sheetrock, notch the studs, cap the notch with a thin piece of metal to be sure never to drill into it. Patching drywall isn't really to hard. But it's your home so whatever is OK with you and yours is what you have the be concerned with.
 
FWIW, one of the trendy home magazines I saw recently showed a bathroom with all of the source plumbing exposed. The copper was all highly polished, and there were no visible solder dribbles. So, apparently if you make it pretty exposed is good.
 
pipe

No, exposed is retro. I imagine they had the heating ductwork, or whatever, exposed also to give the look of the early days when piping was retrofitted into existing homes.
 
Gary Swart said:
Drill the holes larger than the pipe. Two reasons. First it will give the pipe some room to expand/contract with temperature. Second, it's a heck of alot easier to run the pipe from stud to stud if your holes don't line up perfectly. As far a running the toilet supply on the outside, there's nothing really "wrong" about it, it just will never have a real finished look. If I was doing it, I bite the bullet and cut out some sheetrock, notch the studs, cap the notch with a thin piece of metal to be sure never to drill into it. Patching drywall isn't really to hard. But it's your home so whatever is OK with you and yours is what you have the be concerned with.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm probably just going to end up tearing the drywall out. Thanks for the info.
 
The "thin piece of metal" Gary mentioned is commercially available in the big box stores as a "Nail Stopper", made by Simpson Strong-Tie. They're cheap and come in several sizes.
 
Mikey said:
FWIW, one of the trendy home magazines I saw recently showed a bathroom with all of the source plumbing exposed. The copper was all highly polished, and there were no visible solder dribbles. So, apparently if you make it pretty exposed is good.
Click to expand...

Is there a way to paint copper? This is giving me an idea, that I think might actually turn out to look good, if I make this bathroom into a old style. I have some antique stuff that I think would look really nice in there, and If I make all the pipes exposed, maybe I could paint them to match the walls.
 
Sure, you can paint anything. But think how snazzy it would look if it were polished, instead! And, you'd only have to re-polish it every 2 or 3 days! Or polish and clear lacquer, etc. Maybe paint is the answer, but I'd hate to cover up that copper.
 
Mikey said:
Sure, you can paint anything. But think how snazzy it would look if it were polished, instead! And, you'd only have to re-polish it every 2 or 3 days! Or polish and clear lacquer, etc. Maybe paint is the answer, but I'd hate to cover up that copper.
Click to expand...

every 2-3 days? Surely you mean years.
 
Copper tarnishes fairly quickly unless you protect it with something...you might get a couple of weeks
 
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