Exposed pipework trailing across your bathroom wall, whether it’s waste pipes or water pipes, is not an attractive sight to behold, especially if you’re planning a new bathroom and want a new bathroom suite, tiles and flooring. The last thing you want is a blot on the bathroom design, and that’s exactly what exposed copper piping could look like.

One way to deal with the unattractive pipework is to box it in. There are a couple of options available to you when boxing in pipework, and the choice that is more practical for your needs will depend on whether you are installing a new bathroom or want to hide pipes to your existing suite without changing your bathroom design or decor.

If you are just boxing existing pipework in, you can take the DIY option and use wood, either tongue and groove or thin planks of wood, to create a box around your pipes at 90 degrees to the wall and floor. Depending on the type of wood you use, you could then paint this to match existing wood in your bathroom, such as skirting boards. If you haven’t got gloss painted skirting boards, but instead have stained wood, you could use wood stain to match the wooden boxing to your existing woodwork. If you’re not confident boxing the pipes in yourself, you could call a local carpenter or joiner who could assist with this task, guaranteeing a quality finish.

The other option if you are tiling your bathroom, which unless you have saved tiles that match your existing walls is only open to people who are redecorating the bathroom and retiling their walls, is to use plywood to box the pipes in in the same fashion as above, but to tile over the box afterwards to blend in with the rest of the wall. This can give a nice effect rather than having the stained wood or painted wood boxing, and has the benefit of not needing to be repainted or restained in future; just wiped down when cleaning the rest of the bathroom.

If you choose to tile the boxing surrounding your pipes, you may prefer to call a professional tiler. Another consideration is to ensure you still have access to the pipes in case of burst pipes or if you may want to remove parts of your bathroom suite in the future. A good tradesman will provide an access panel so you don’t have to worry about gaining access if problems do arise in the future.

Related posts:

1. Bathroom Designs – Traditional Victorian Roll Top Baths
2. Different Types of Showers for your Bathroom
3. Installing a New Bathroom in Your Home
4. Tiling A Room – Tile Over Existing Tiles or Start Afresh?
5. Choosing The Best Type of Kitchen Tiles or Bathroom Tiling Finish