Question: how to seal steam pipe gaps?

What product should I use to seal the ceiling & floor gaps where my 1950s coop’s steam pipes pass through? They are exposed pipes, and I intend to keep them that way, just want to paint them. I know I’ll need to find escutcheons to make it look better, but first want to seal the spaces where bugs can travel between apartments/floors. BTW, I’ve had water come spilling down my bathroom steam pipe 3 times in the past year, from a neighbor upstairs who is apparently prone to overfilling the bathtub or (help me, God) plugging up then flushing their toilet… I am a bit worried about where future leaks from the Mystery/Inconsiderate upstairs neighbors will go once I seal that open gap.

Eyrie

in Bath & Kitchen 10 years and 11 months ago

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eman134 | 10 years and 11 months ago

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http://www.cableorganizer.com/abesco-fire-rated-foam/ or any similar product (3M makes an equivalent)….after it sets, you can carve it back with a serrated knife

steam_man | 10 years and 11 months ago

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You can find intumescent fire caulk in the caulk/paint section at Lowes. You can ask them for the mineral wool insulation as well, I don’t know the name of any brand.

Eyrie | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Thank you all for your responses! Guess I should’ve done this before posting, but I just pried down the loose escutcheon at the ceiling, resulting in a rain of debris, and the realization that the gap is bigger than I’d guessed. Looks like around an inch leeway around the back, and maybe 1/8 inch or even touching (!) around the front. Photos attached. Can any of you recommend the *exact product* I should buy for sealing this? Is there an expanding foam that meets fire code, is appropriate for steam pipes, and won’t offgas nasty stuff? Which can be sanded flush so the new escutcheon fits flush this time? I expect my neighbor’s mishaps will continue to run down/through this whatever I do, which I prefer to having water spreading around in the ceiling. My goal is to close up the potential bug highway. Thank you all again for your patience and advice!

greenmountain | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Exposed steam pipe in a 1950’s multistory coop bathroom? That pipe is your radiator. It rises through several floors and expands and contracts with each cycle, moving more in relation to your floor and ceiling, if you are on a higher floor. You can fill the gap, but you can’t stop the movement, It will not be water tight. It would probably take a complete make over of your neighbor’s bathroom by a specialist to block flood water from coming down. Visit your neighbor and try to get their cooperation. In this link to a bathroom by Green Mountain, a stone escutcheon around the radiator pipe is sealed to the waterproof membrane under the tile, not the pipe. The pipe is free to move through the hole in the stone. The stone escutcheon is elevated about 1/2″ above the tile, as is the threshold under the door, which is also sealed to the waterproof membrane under the tile. In this system, the shower drain will prevent floods. But, if the drain is blocked, however unlikely, more than 50 gallons of water could be contained before overflowing the stone. Waterproof membranes rise about 2″ up most of walls, but about 7′ up the shower walls. http://www.houzz.com/projects/152834/Barrier-Free-Shower-Stalls “Barrier free” free in this case means “curbless,” but the barriers I describe, block flood water, not people.

eman134 | 10 years and 11 months ago

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you an also use intumescent expansion foam, but that will not stop water leaks from above…eventually, after repeated leaks your ceiling will drop chunks of plaster

steam_man | 10 years and 11 months ago

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The legitimate and code compliant way to do so is to seal the gap with mineral wool and then cap that with a bead of intumescent fire caulk. Both products can be purchased at a good local hardware store or Lowes or Home Cheapo. Cap the whole thing with a floor escutcheon.