Greetings, working on phase 1 of a "bath" project I mentioned before,
and I have some questions I would "love" to bounce off you...
I demolished a couple closets, now I am getting ready to move the
radiator that was between them.
I traced the pipe. Appears to be 1.25". Big old Cast-iron radiator
is midway on outside wall. Pipe runs 6' under the floor
between the joists to the center load bearing wall, there is an
elbow in the wall to go down to the boiler, accessible from the stairs.
Plan is to install a recessed radiator between the studs in that wall.
Looks like I'll need two elbows and two 6" nipples to feed the radiator.
(I bought the 6-section, 13.5" radiator and valve and vent already).
My hope is that this 6-section radiator will provide the heat needed.
(Suffice it to say, this is a serious factor in a marriage
By putting this small radiator at the head of my bed, even if the
room is cold, at least I'll be warm. And if my wife finds it is not cold
enough, she can still open a window 12' away on her side (Canadians! .
Notes: the old radiator is a thick cast iron 8-section. Also, a second
8-section on the other side of the room has been turned off for two
years, wife's orders...that one will be replaced by another recessed
one when the bathroom is built. (The room will shrink a bit for the bath,
from 12 x 21 less 38" for closets = 12 x 18....down to
12 x 21 less 66 for bath = 12 x 15.5)
However, I am thinking - IN CASE 13x20" is not enough heat,
perhaps I should be prepared to install a second 6-section radiator
between the studs near the foot of my bed. This leads us
finally to my question: To be ready for this possibility, I could use a T
instead of an elbow...so that I won't have many hours of work to put
in a T later if I decide to add the second radiator....
Thus, I plan to have: pipe from boiler comes up, elbow, Tee
to go up to first radiator, and a plug.....Later, if I am cold, I can
replace the plug with 6' pipe (running through the joists, below the floor)
and its elbow and new radiator...This would avoid the risk of needing to
redo everything if the second rad is desired (since pipes thread one way
(BTW, I am planning to use metallic Radiant Barrier left over from the attic
to line the wall behind the new radiator).
Second question...Radiator came with no instructions...
This radiator will be set into a load bearing wall. a few options
come to mind...sitting the radiator right on the bottom plate...
or installing something harder for it to sit on, so that over
time I don't need to worry about whether it is level, or sinking in.
...or, I didn't yet cut the baseboard...should I install it above
the baseboard? I'm pretty sure that's not beneficial.
Third...no instructions...I know about levelling (or not quite)
a big cast iron radiator (my plumber used nickels, I guess cheaper
than washers..)....Do I level recessed radiator in a similar way?
I have some pieces of oak floor (cut from under old radiator
or I have some 1/4" scrap steel plates in my shop.
Fourth/last...when and how should I paint the recessed radiator?
I heard that you could even paint with latex in off-season,
but if you paint in season, the latex won't cure right, and will
smell bad forever (and that's probably very unhealthy).
Many thanks to all..
PS will post to a blog around Jan 2.
and I have some questions I would "love" to bounce off you...
I demolished a couple closets, now I am getting ready to move the
radiator that was between them.
I traced the pipe. Appears to be 1.25". Big old Cast-iron radiator
is midway on outside wall. Pipe runs 6' under the floor
between the joists to the center load bearing wall, there is an
elbow in the wall to go down to the boiler, accessible from the stairs.
Plan is to install a recessed radiator between the studs in that wall.
Looks like I'll need two elbows and two 6" nipples to feed the radiator.
(I bought the 6-section, 13.5" radiator and valve and vent already).
My hope is that this 6-section radiator will provide the heat needed.
(Suffice it to say, this is a serious factor in a marriage
By putting this small radiator at the head of my bed, even if the
room is cold, at least I'll be warm. And if my wife finds it is not cold
enough, she can still open a window 12' away on her side (Canadians! .
Notes: the old radiator is a thick cast iron 8-section. Also, a second
8-section on the other side of the room has been turned off for two
years, wife's orders...that one will be replaced by another recessed
one when the bathroom is built. (The room will shrink a bit for the bath,
from 12 x 21 less 38" for closets = 12 x 18....down to
12 x 21 less 66 for bath = 12 x 15.5)
However, I am thinking - IN CASE 13x20" is not enough heat,
perhaps I should be prepared to install a second 6-section radiator
between the studs near the foot of my bed. This leads us
finally to my question: To be ready for this possibility, I could use a T
instead of an elbow...so that I won't have many hours of work to put
in a T later if I decide to add the second radiator....
Thus, I plan to have: pipe from boiler comes up, elbow, Tee
to go up to first radiator, and a plug.....Later, if I am cold, I can
replace the plug with 6' pipe (running through the joists, below the floor)
and its elbow and new radiator...This would avoid the risk of needing to
redo everything if the second rad is desired (since pipes thread one way
(BTW, I am planning to use metallic Radiant Barrier left over from the attic
to line the wall behind the new radiator).
Second question...Radiator came with no instructions...
This radiator will be set into a load bearing wall. a few options
come to mind...sitting the radiator right on the bottom plate...
or installing something harder for it to sit on, so that over
time I don't need to worry about whether it is level, or sinking in.
...or, I didn't yet cut the baseboard...should I install it above
the baseboard? I'm pretty sure that's not beneficial.
Third...no instructions...I know about levelling (or not quite)
a big cast iron radiator (my plumber used nickels, I guess cheaper
than washers..)....Do I level recessed radiator in a similar way?
I have some pieces of oak floor (cut from under old radiator
or I have some 1/4" scrap steel plates in my shop.
Fourth/last...when and how should I paint the recessed radiator?
I heard that you could even paint with latex in off-season,
but if you paint in season, the latex won't cure right, and will
smell bad forever (and that's probably very unhealthy).
Many thanks to all..
PS will post to a blog around Jan 2.