Protective pipe for underfloor heating forgotten in the area of movement joints

In the meantime, in connection with the issue of the movement joints being handled by my floor installer, I have noticed another defect (in my opinion).

In the area of the movement joints in the dining room and kitchen area (L-shaped room), it seems that the protective conduit around the connection + pipe of the underfloor heating was forgotten. According to the underfloor heating manufacturer and probably also various standards, the underfloor heating pipes at the intersection points with the movement joints should be fitted with 30 cm of protective conduit?

I have also proactively had this issue recorded in the defect report, and stated that I want further feedback on it.

I am now wondering how serious this whole thing is or could become?

I hardly believe that the screed installer will replace the screed just to put protective conduit around it. Rather, I think this will likely lead to talking about an extension of the warranty (which would be preferable to me) or financial compensation (the general contractor will probably prefer to settle with me for €500). But how should one assess the whole thing? Or should I better start looking for an expert or assessor?

Here, two trades have clearly failed. Plumbing and screed. Where does the late realization now come from that no protective conduit is present? Basically, this is a defect that can lead to significant damage. The party responsible is the heating engineer, who must also bear the costs of correcting the defect. So, screed out, protective conduit in, screed in. This will likely cause a lot of bad mood. I hope you can resolve it without legal assistance.

Can’t help here .....but I would be interested to see how it looks for you (so with photo) and how it should be done correctly.

Thanks in advance!

Here, two trades clearly dropped the ball. Sanitary and screed. Where does the late realization that no protective conduit is present actually come from?

Well, I noticed it afterwards when my on-site flooring installer inquired about movement joints and their incorporation into his flooring. When I looked at my photos and videos from the construction phase, I noticed that no protective conduit had been installed in the area of the movement joints between the dining room and kitchen (however, everything in the area of the doors had protective conduit).

During the handover with the general contractor, I had the issue of movement joints in the underfloor heating recorded in the snagging report, requesting information on whether it was properly executed or not.

And today I received the cavalier information by e-mail from the heating engineer that protective conduit had been installed at the sites known to him or where, to his knowledge, protective conduit should be present.

He said he couldn’t tell me anything else and that I should contact the GC’s site manager, as it might be possible that the screed installer also laid protective conduit.

All of this and my photos confirm to me that there is 99.99% certainty that no protective conduit was installed there. Especially since the underfloor heating manufacturer explicitly points out the protective conduits in its installation instructions.

In this context and considering the wording of the e-mail, it means to me that the heating engineer doesn’t even know the installation instructions of the system manufacturer.

Ergo, tomorrow I will discreetly hint to the site manager that he needs to act promptly if he ever wants to have the final invoice paid without withholding.

Generally, the pipe belongs over expansion joints and I would also demand the free rectification. Anything else is a risk for you. Please initially keep the retention exactly for that reason! The construction manager must prove proper installation (photos). Since you can prove the opposite with photos, demand dismantling!!!! If none of this helps, initiate the "replacement performance" procedure. How to do this, your trusted search engine or also PM will tell you.

It was also forgotten by the plumber here, but our surveyor and screed layer both pointed it out. Thus, it could still be done in time.

The question is, what happens if it is forgotten. When do the pipes burst and everything including the floors has to be removed?