Hello,
I have a small space in the hall that I need to seal, it looks like this:
This is the right side of the space,
Here you can see the hoses/pipes going into the floor.
This is the left side of the space.
A lot of pipes going towards the toilet. We can also see hoses and cables going through the wall that are connected to the heat pump.
Through all the pipes going towards the toilet, we can also glimpse a drain.
There are a few possible solutions to this, the question is if there are more and which is best in this case?
- A water cabinet around the pump itself is probably the safest but involves quite a lot of work, likely work I cannot do myself. Additionally, it risks not fitting into the current design.
- Disconnect the pump from the wall and brush on some type of waterproof coating in several layers. A mat would probably be far too difficult to put in place considering all the existing pipes and hoses. The difficult part will be sealing on the left and right where the hoses and pipes go, perhaps foam sealant can be used here? Will it hold tight?
- Place regular age-resistant plastic underneath, i.e., against the wooden floor and walls at the bottom of the box. Then install a moisture detector. The risk with this is that the plastic gets damaged and it becomes difficult to seal where the hoses go left and right i.e., towards the toilet and out towards the underfloor heating.
- Cast up to the floor, i.e., level with filler or similar. The disadvantage is that it becomes much harder to access pipes and hoses if problems occur. From what I understand, you shouldn't encapsulate such things too well? Otherwise, it would probably have been much easier to just fill it up. Any water leakage would then be visible on the floor outside.
I have a small space in the hall that I need to seal, it looks like this:
This is the right side of the space,
Here you can see the hoses/pipes going into the floor.
This is the left side of the space.
A lot of pipes going towards the toilet. We can also see hoses and cables going through the wall that are connected to the heat pump.
Through all the pipes going towards the toilet, we can also glimpse a drain.
There are a few possible solutions to this, the question is if there are more and which is best in this case?
- A water cabinet around the pump itself is probably the safest but involves quite a lot of work, likely work I cannot do myself. Additionally, it risks not fitting into the current design.
- Disconnect the pump from the wall and brush on some type of waterproof coating in several layers. A mat would probably be far too difficult to put in place considering all the existing pipes and hoses. The difficult part will be sealing on the left and right where the hoses and pipes go, perhaps foam sealant can be used here? Will it hold tight?
- Place regular age-resistant plastic underneath, i.e., against the wooden floor and walls at the bottom of the box. Then install a moisture detector. The risk with this is that the plastic gets damaged and it becomes difficult to seal where the hoses go left and right i.e., towards the toilet and out towards the underfloor heating.
- Cast up to the floor, i.e., level with filler or similar. The disadvantage is that it becomes much harder to access pipes and hoses if problems occur. From what I understand, you shouldn't encapsulate such things too well? Otherwise, it would probably have been much easier to just fill it up. Any water leakage would then be visible on the floor outside.
Electronics enthusiast
· skåne
· 712 posts
If you are afraid of leakage and that you wouldn't notice it for a long time, it must be easier to install some sort of .leakage warning device
You can, but it would be a boring story if it starts leaking. There's a risk you might have to go into the bathroom next door as well.F FRS05 said:Can't you just leave it as it is?
A moisture alarm is probably a better alternative then.
Yes, that's definitely easier, but the problem occurs when you're not at home, for example, at work. If you manage to seal it off, the water will obviously take another path but may cause less damage then. It might be that this is standard in most houses actually and that I'm just being a bit too fussy.
Apologies for the confusion, the other thread was about age-resistant tape that can withstand moisture and is not intended to solve this specific problem, although it could have been an option.R RoBo said:
This thread is about alternative ways to address a potential leak.
But what do you think about filling it up with polyurethane foam? It can be cut out if needed and is said to be waterproof and water-repellent. Furthermore, it's likely much easier to put in place. The downside is that if you need to cut out the pipes again, there's a high risk of cutting into insulation and similar around the pipes.
How strong is the waterproof layer that is rolled/brushed on? The idea is that you are supposed to tile over it, but what if you don't? Will it still hold even if there's some wear from hoses?
It would be convenient if you could just brush on the bottom and sides with something like Byggmax waterproof membrane and then use foam sealant on the sides where the hoses run. Last but not least, you'd place a water alarm in the space.
However, since it's a wooden house, it moves, so there is a risk of cracks forming. According to the description, you should add special strips for corners and edges, but it will be hard to do that well in this space. I know that painter's caulk/latex caulk almost always cracks, so I suspect that problem could also exist with a waterproof membrane without reinforcement in the corners.
Otherwise, the option remains to lay 2 layers of age-resistant plastic; it's quite robust, so the risk of it getting a hole is small.
When you can't use a water cabinet, how is something like this usually solved? Do you just set up water sensors as a rule?
It would be convenient if you could just brush on the bottom and sides with something like Byggmax waterproof membrane and then use foam sealant on the sides where the hoses run. Last but not least, you'd place a water alarm in the space.
However, since it's a wooden house, it moves, so there is a risk of cracks forming. According to the description, you should add special strips for corners and edges, but it will be hard to do that well in this space. I know that painter's caulk/latex caulk almost always cracks, so I suspect that problem could also exist with a waterproof membrane without reinforcement in the corners.
Otherwise, the option remains to lay 2 layers of age-resistant plastic; it's quite robust, so the risk of it getting a hole is small.
When you can't use a water cabinet, how is something like this usually solved? Do you just set up water sensors as a rule?
Went to Bygg Max to buy their tätmembran, assuming this is what's needed? Unfortunately, they only had the 15 l boxes in stock for 1000 SEK, and that's way too much for this small space, so I'll have to wait a bit.
The plan now is to apply a waterproofing layer with tätmembran and fogsum around the pipes on the left and right sides. The waterproofing will hopefully be applied in 3 layers, but I don't know how flexible it is, so I'll either put silicone in the corners on top of the waterproofing or use those binders available for seams.
The plan now is to apply a waterproofing layer with tätmembran and fogsum around the pipes on the left and right sides. The waterproofing will hopefully be applied in 3 layers, but I don't know how flexible it is, so I'll either put silicone in the corners on top of the waterproofing or use those binders available for seams.
Sounds like a good idea, but it will be difficult to install a telltale pipe. It is a pit about 10-15 cm down below floor level and that's where the water will gather first. Once it reaches the floor level, it will of course also spill over the floor, at that point, you can only hope that you've sealed it well enough.Jonatan79 said:
You could probably put an inclined board under the pump and then cut out the hole for the hoses, which would of course also need to be sealed. However, that sounds like quite a lot of work.
It's always a balance between effort and benefit. Things can almost always be improved; the question is just where it's reasonable to draw the line.
I was about to buy waterproof rubber lining, but after talking to the manufacturer, it turned out that it must be tiled within 7 days or else it will develop drying cracks. It cannot be left exposed even if it's in a cabinet like in this case. The manufacturer mentioned that this wasn't unique to their product but applies to all similar products.
So, now I'm considering filling the pit with foamed sealant to level it with the floor. This will likely require quite a bit of foamed sealant, but it should be possible if done in stages.
What do we gain by doing this? The water will run out to the sides, i.e., the walls and spill over onto the tile floor. As it runs over the tile floor, it will likely reach the embedded floor heating (water-based), and I assume it will eventually pass through it and continue downwards.
Of course, I understand that the only thing that can stop the water is a waterproof cabinet, but my understanding is still that if the water gets into the pit, it can cause more damage quickly compared to if the hole is filled. You can't expect to be home when the leak occurs, but if I have an alarm, there's a good chance I’ll at least discover the leak within MAX 9 hours.
Then it obviously depends on how big the leak is, but somehow it feels safer to fill up the bottom and make it reasonably watertight. Additionally, there's a greater chance the water will spill over onto the tile floor, which can be beneficial if the alarm doesn't notify for some reason.
What would you do?
So, now I'm considering filling the pit with foamed sealant to level it with the floor. This will likely require quite a bit of foamed sealant, but it should be possible if done in stages.
What do we gain by doing this? The water will run out to the sides, i.e., the walls and spill over onto the tile floor. As it runs over the tile floor, it will likely reach the embedded floor heating (water-based), and I assume it will eventually pass through it and continue downwards.
Of course, I understand that the only thing that can stop the water is a waterproof cabinet, but my understanding is still that if the water gets into the pit, it can cause more damage quickly compared to if the hole is filled. You can't expect to be home when the leak occurs, but if I have an alarm, there's a good chance I’ll at least discover the leak within MAX 9 hours.
Then it obviously depends on how big the leak is, but somehow it feels safer to fill up the bottom and make it reasonably watertight. Additionally, there's a greater chance the water will spill over onto the tile floor, which can be beneficial if the alarm doesn't notify for some reason.
What would you do?