Design - Running Services

A lot of floors require services to be run below them in order to route cables or pipework to the necessary location in a property, the guidance below outlines where in the buildup the range of services can be installed however for each situation the correct type of pipe or cable should be selected and advice of a qualified electrician or plumber should be followed.

• Cables and Wiring: Wiring can be installed on top of the Glapor, at the base of the limecrete slab if it is run in a plastic conduit to protect it, galvanized conduit should be avoided and where possible flexible conduit is preferred with pull cords as this allows for wires to be replaced or added to later. If there is underfloor heating in the slab then the suitability of this approach should be checked with the electrician. In some instances, wiring can be run below the Glapor layer in the sub soil, however this does require the cable to be suitable for below ground installation and should be specified by the electrician. 
• Hot / Cold Water & Central heating pipework: Running pipework through the limecrete slab is possible, but care must be taken to ensure the pipes are run in conduit for two reasons. When hot water is run, with the temperature being higher than that of the Underfloor heating, the pipework will expand and if trapped within the Limecrete this can create issues. The other issue is heat transfer which is applicable for all types of pipework, both hot and cold, hot pipes will lose heat to the slab and cold pipes will absorb heat from the slab reducing the efficiency and warming up the cold water supply. We recommend the use of plastic pipework and to avoid copper as this will cause more condensation and potential corrosion issues below the limecrete slab, plastic pipework also allows continuous runs with no joints below the floor. 
• Drainage: Drainage pipework is best run below the Glapor level wherever possible, using the necessary falls, this means only the vertical sections of pipe affect the Glapor. Once the drainage pipes have been run in channels in the sub-soil they should be surrounded by pea gravel or similar before beginning the Glapor installation. If this is not possible and the drainage needs to be installed within the Glapor layer, then care must be taken to ensure adequate compaction around and above the pipe. Any Glapor below the pipework must be installed and compacted first, the pipe should be laid to the correct falls and then the Glapor to either side installed and compacted, finally any Glapor of the top can be laid and compacted. 
• Water / Gas Supply pipes: Main supply lines for water and gas pipes are best run below the Glapor layer in the sub-soil, once the excavation has been completed, an additional channel can be dug for the pipes and they can be laid as a buried pipe (using the appropriate materials). Laying these in a wider diameter conduit is recommended in case future alterations are required.