Page 136 - The City and Guilds Textbook: Plumbing Book 1 for the Level 3 Apprenticeship (9189), Level 2 Technical Certificate (8202) and Level 2 Diploma (6035)

The City & Guilds Textbook: Plumbing Book 1

HEALTH AND SAFETY VALUES AND BEHAVIOURS
● Always wear the
correct PPE. Cutting It is advisable not to cut chases in walls in a room containing carpets and
chases in walls will furniture but, if this is unavoidable, ensure that all furniture and carpets
require the use of
safety goggles (not are either placed to the far side of the room or covered with dust sheets,
glasses), gloves, and that all doors out of the room are closed. Using an angle grinder on
overalls and a very masonry, concrete and stone produces excessive amounts of dust and this
good dust mask of must, wherever possible, be prevented from escaping from the room you are
the correct type to working in. If possible, open a window to allow some of the dust out.
stop the plumber from
breathing in the dust.
● Always check the angle
grinder beforehand to INDUSTRY TIP
ensure that:
■ it is in good Be wary of installing hot and cold water pipes in a wall where they are going to be
condition and concealed or tiled over. It is an offence under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations
carries an in-date to bury pipework carrying hot and cold water in any wall, floor or ceiling where that
PAT test certificate pipework will, eventually, be inaccessible.
■ the correct masonry
cutting wheel is
installed
■ the wheel is secure Associated trade skills: making good the
and the wheel building fabric
guard is in place.
During the installation process, there will be many occasions where the building
fabric will need to be worked on. Holes will need to be drilled or broken through
with a hammer and chisel, chases will need to be made to accommodate
pipework, and floorboards will need to be lifted and replaced. Unless it is
specified in the contract that these will be repaired by other tradespersons
on-site, they will have to be repaired by you, the plumber.
Making good involves having a few basic skills of another associated trade such
as a bricklayer, plasterer and joiner. We have already seen the methods of lifting
and replacing floorboards (see page 119 of this chapter); here, we will look at
making good the holes we have made in walls.
By far the easiest holes to repair are those made by drills and masonry bits.
These will require pointing with a 4:1 (four parts sand to one part cement)
mortar mixed to fairly stiff consistency. A pointing trowel should be used for
this. Larger holes may need the replacement of broken or half bricks. Any new
bricks used should match the existing wall bricks. The finished wall should be
pointed with a pointing trowel and cleaned with a soft brush.
Patching plaster can be a tedious task. The type of plaster used will depend on the
wall surface. Sand and cement rendering will need a smooth-finish plaster and
plasterboard will need a plasterboard-finish plaster. The two are very different:
board finish dries much faster and so is harder to ‘skim’ to a smooth finish.

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