Radiator Covers

[GRains93]

[attachimg=17]Running a business can be a costly exercise...
thankfully, I've been a tradesman for a while, and can cut costs where needed and do a lot of it myself!

however... time is always a bit factor! there just never seems to be enough time in a day to get stuff done so when it came to getting radiator covers, my partners decide to just buy one... i wasn't again the idea, it was £45 delivered, already primed, and ready to go!

But when it didn't fit, and had to be altered it was just easier and cheeper to build our own..

Two 8 x 4 sheets of MDF later, and a mountain of saw dust! they were done!

painting wasn't an issue...
a year ago i brought an air compressor to maintain my motorbike, but it was rarely used...
But it came in handy and paid its self off countless times, using the car sprayer attachment.. i had the covers painted in a day! a beautifully hot day, and three coats of paint later and they were fitted by the end of the day!!

PERFECT if i say so myself ,)

total cost was about £90 - £100
that built us 4 rad covers!
not bad for a under 2 days work

 

[ear3]

Nice work.  Question -- if one were to use actual hardwood for the covers, is it better to put some flashing or other material on the inside to prevent the wood from getting too hot?  I ask because my wife recently moved a nice wooden radiator cover near to the top of the honeydoo list.

 

[GRains93]

Nice work.  Question -- if one were to use actual hardwood for the covers, is it better to put some flashing or other material on the inside to prevent the wood from getting too hot?  I ask because my wife recently moved a nice wooden radiator cover near to the top of the honeydoo list.

Thank you i owe it all to my dad a very good teacher!!

it would be wise to.. I'm not an expert, but the last thing you want is a radiator turning into a roaring fire hehe

if it was me it just use 5mm MDF as a veneer on the internal side of the rad cover...
I should imagine there is also some kind of fire treatment you could treat the wood with before use, in my experience, most treatments are flammable.. so i would shop around a bit...

Ahh the old honeydoo list!! accompanied by a 6 monthly reminder XD hehe

 

[Cheese]

Question -- if one were to use actual hardwood for the covers, is it better to put some flashing or other material on the inside to prevent the wood from getting too hot?

[member=37411]Edward A Reno III[/member]
I read a UL study a number of years ago that gave a safe temperature range of 170-180 degrees F. It was based on 100 years of worldwide data gathered from buildings using hot water or low presure steam (212F max) heat. Specifically monitored were those areas where holes were were cut in floors or in walls to allow for the passage of heating pipes. As long as there was no direct contact between the wooden structure and the metal pipe they believed the 170-180 number to be valid.

So, I'd just make sure there's an airgap between the radiator and the cover and that the cover has a lot of ventilation area.

 

[ear3]

Thanks [member=44099]Cheese[/member] and [member=58675]GRains93[/member] for the advice.

 

[Rob Z]

Edward, following up on what Cheese said, we have built numerous radiator covers while working in Alexandria VA (old houses with radiators being the usual source of heat), and felt that a few inches of clearance between the radiator and the wood was sufficient. 

I asked my HVAC sub once how hot the water was by the time it reached the radiator, and I think he said ~140F (maybe I'm off a bit on that number??).  But the point was I didn't have to worry about the wood and the heat as long as there was clearance between the two.