foreigneRS

I could do with a bit of advice, or preferrably someone to do a little cash job for me.

I'm in the process of renovating my lounge which had a monstrously large fireplace in it. In the hearth was a gas tap that was not connected to anything. I've removed the hearth and fireplace and will be closing up the fireplace to box it out for satellite box etc and putting the tv on the wall above. You can see from the picture how big the hearth was and the gas tap is in the top right corner. Basically I'd like to get rid of it completely so that I can lay new flooring over the whole area.

What needs to happen? Presumably the concrete floor around the tap and pipe leading to it needs to be cut out to give space for a fitting to blank it off? But how do I do that without knowing which way the pipe goes in the concrete floor?

Thanks for any advice

155lee

iTrader: (10)

if that is m.i pipe then there will be a threaded elbow just below the surface.chip away the concrete,turn gas off,test then remove the upright piece of pipe then screw in a threaded plug the same size (probably 1/4") then test the gas again.or follow the concrete channel back as far as you can if you want to remove all the pipe and cap it further back.

THE RADMAN

iTrader: (2)

stupid question but i presume youve turned it on to see if its still live?

rs220bhp

If it is still live it should have been capped off when it was decommisioned. May have had a new supply run from the meter cos iron usually leaks after a while. Where abouts are you located? I could cap it if your local

foreigneRS

thanks for the advice

i haven't yet turned it on to see if it's live as i was concerned that the tap might be seized and i wouldn't get it turned off again then we'd be without gas for hot water for a bit. but i think it's worth a go so will do that this morning.

rs220bhp - i'm in binfield, just the other side of bracknell and the a322 to woking mate and would really appreciate it if you could come over one evening this week to cap it off if it is live if you could, i'll pm you my number and address and we'll go from there

foreigneRS

It's most definitely a live tap - gas pisses out when you open it. I will turn off the supply and chip away the concrete around it to see what's what below.

foreigneRS

OK, so I've dug out the concrete and found the 90 degree elbow as you can see from the pics.





Is it now a case of unscrewing the vertical pipe and getting a bung to fit into the 90 degree fitting and screw that in with a bit of ptfe tape?

Can you get that type of fitting from b&q/wickes/homebase that are open today, or is it a specialist plumbing place job for tomorrow?

Do I just get a pair of stilsons on the pipe to undo it? Looks pretty rusty to me so best to first soak it with penetrating fluid and then work the joint open and closed until it comes undone?

Thanks very much for giving me any advice please

Red16

Gas actually rots PTFE tape so you cant use that, you have to use a special gas sealant/paste.

I'd be suprised if there wasn't another form of isolation just before or actually inside the house somewhere, have a look for it so you're not removing the pipework you just mentioned with the pipe pressurised with gas.

You should be able to get the fittings you require from B&Q etc, at a guess i'd say it looks something like 1/2" BSP.

foreigneRS

I have isolated the gas in the house before the meter, not a problem. Removed the pipe and taken it to both Homebase and Wickes which are close, neither of them have any blanking fittings.

Wickes have 1/4" extensions and 90 degree angles which I tried and fit, but no blanking plugs. Will have to wait until tomorrow now and go to a proper plumbers merchant, of which there are 3 within 50m of work.

Both Homebase and Wickes also sell gas fitting PTFE tape though, which must do the job but as it will be buried under a concrete floor I think I'd rather use a joint sealant paste which I will get tomorrow unless rs220bhp fancies popping round this evening or tomorrow evening to finish the job for me for a few beer tokens?

Steve the Plumber

iTrader: (11)

Gas PTFE or a Boss white or similar (jointing compound) will be fine!

foreigneRS

Thank you to everyone for all the advice

The gas pipe is now the least of my concerns - the massive hole in the floor where I dug up the old hearth and found a trench through the entire concrete floor to the earth below with a 4" ceramic pipe leading out of it is somewhat concerning. But at least it explains why the room always felt damp and cold because the hole was filled with loose earth with no damp proofing anywhere to be seen.

To remedy it I intend to fill the hole with crushed hardcore and concrete to a level a couple of inches below the concrete floor level. I will then put down a damp proof membrane before filling it with more concrete and then some self levelling compound. I will then paint over the whole lot with paintable damp proof stuff to totally seal it before the laminate flooring goes down. Does that sound about right?

The rest of the job is to fill in the massive fireplace hole with some shelving for the satellite box, playstation etc and mount the tv on the chimney breast above. Should look good when done I hope.

foreigneRS

can anyone tell me about the fireplace / hole in the floor?





i am presuming that there was a back boiler in the hole in the chimney stack, and then maybe a coal fire (as we have a brick built coal shed out the back of the house) in front of that. The big hole has a 4" pipe feeding it that I presume was a fresh air feed for the fire?

The hole was full of loose earth, then a sand base had been laid onto which roof tiles had been placed, then more sand and then a couple of concrete flags. That lot had then had some quarry tiles stuck on top. The room always felt cold, and I guess it was because damp was finding it's way through that lot?

I have now filled the hole with the crushed roof tiles and poured concrete in it. I then plan on painting over that and the seam with the other hole with paintable damp proof course, and then filling to floor level with self levelling compound and painting it again. Is that a good way of doing it, or should I be laying a membrane in the hole before filling to floor level with self levelling compound?





Thanks for any advice

the original

shoulda left the waste pipe, you coulda had a shit while watching the tv then

Retro Al

iTrader: (1)

Good idea! lol

Im over next weekend stu, i will pop round for a chat you cunt

foreigneRS

all filled in now and laminated over. have gained an extra 1/2 square metre of floor space