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andrelaplume2

Is this pipe in the way....pics

andrelaplume2
15 years ago

I spent an hour meticulously laying out a closet that should be deep enough to store most of the boxes we have yet not so deep as to stick out into the room too much, long enough to hide a few plastic pipes yet allow access if ever needed and hide and secure he water meter from the kids, again, I think allowing access for repair / replacement. The closet, as laid out would be 18" deep on the inside (about 22" outer dimension) and would contain a 6.5 foot area with 2 - 3Â sliders and an approx 30" wide (24" bi-fold door) in front of the water meter. Pic # 1 is a lame attempt to show this.

I finally got it worked out, stood back, looked down, left and right and all looked good. Then I looked up! Darn main water pipe rides right along the outer edge of where the inner edge of the top plate was to be! See Pics 2/3 . You can see the location IÂd like to put the top plate. Is it ok to put it here? I do not want to weeken the joists that already holes boared thru them. I do not want to mess up the pipe. Can I put one 16D nail thru the center of the top plate into each joist? Is that too close to the pipe? Is 1 nail per joist sufficient? Will the pounding of the hammer cause any issues with the pipeÂwould it better to screw it? Code issuesÂyou get the idea. The top plate is 10Â long, again with a drop down of 4/5 inches over the two openings. ThoughtsÂ.


Closet area.......


Here's the pipe that run up from the water meter....

How close can I safely get / nail to the pipe...

Comments (12)

  • beer_geek
    15 years ago

    You can put the top plate whereever you'd like. However, I would put a metal stud guard on the joist where the hole is to protect the pipe.

    {{gwi:1383022}}

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    well the pipe runs parallel to the top plate...if I put the plate on then I'd be trying to nail the top plate thru it...unless you are suggesting to put up the top plate and then push the metal plate up against it to protect the pipe from future activity....

  • sparkywannabe
    15 years ago

    From picture 3 it looks like you have about 1" between the outer edge of the top plate and center line of the pipe. That should be enough clearance to get two nails per joist. Put the outer nail on a slight angle so you don't run a chance of hitting the copper line. I would drill a small pilot hole (1/16") first to give the nail a line to follow.

    Also, your basement layout looks a lot like mine. I am building two separate closets, one for sewer line one for water meter with 7 feet between. If you are installing drywall inside the closet don't forget you lose 1" of the inside space. I had my closets 22" on the outside and that only gives 17.5 finished on the inside which was not enough for the shelving I want to install. I finally made them 24" outside which will give 19.5" finished inside.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    yes, drywall inside...I wanted 19" inches..it will be close unless I get close to the pipe. Did you shelve around the water meter or just leave it dead space?

  • sparkywannabe
    15 years ago

    I haven't finished yet, still building the closets, but I plan on shelving around the meter. All shelves will be wire shelves with a solid shelf above and below the meter to give it some protection.

  • velvetfoot
    15 years ago

    Do you guys already have furnace rooms or are you building them?

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I have a heat pump which I will enclose on 2 sides (one side already against a wall..I will put a bifold or accordian door accross the front to allow for access. Sadly, smack dab in the middle of the basement, across from the heat pump, is 12 linear feet of my washer, dryer, water heater, sink and , water softener up against a concrete wall...no real way to enclose this area, ie make a laundry room; without blocking passage to the other area of my basement. I am still thinking of ways to divide / hide this area...leaning towards vertical blinds. I'd love to at least throw some XPS up inback of these appliances but tehre's a lot of pipes there and I am unsure I can squeeze 2" of material in back of them without getting aplumber involved.

  • beer_geek
    15 years ago

    Does the 3rd picture show the location of the top plate? To me, it doesn't look like the top plate is directly below the pipe. Is that correct? If so, you will have plenty of space to nail through the top plate and into the joist. I would still put the stud guard to stop any drywall screws from going through the joist and into the pipe.

  • sparkywannabe
    15 years ago

    My furnace is in an unfinished area of the basement, approx. 300 sq ft. There is also a work shop, laundry and hw tank in this area as well. As part of the remodel, I have decided to replace the 26 year old furnace so I will have a sealed combustion system. There is enough make up air in the space for dryer and the hw tank.

  • velvetfoot
    15 years ago

    Thanks. I'm thinking a little ahead. I have an oil boiler, hw tank, oil tank, manifold, and breaker panel to hide. Not sure of the door(s) yet. The boiler gets its air from inside.

  • schreibdave
    15 years ago

    In addition to a few carefully placed screws I would also use construction adhesive to adhere the top plate.

    Also, I believe that the floor joists would have been less compromised if those holes drilled for that pipe had been centered in the joist rather than near the edge.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I decided to put the nail plates in, offset the 2 X 4 a bit, use 1 nail per joist but perhaps put a nail in each joist.