Tiling around a radiator

[ali84]

Hi there,
Im about to tile around my radiator on the wall, however,just wonderin how easy is it to remove the radiator or shud i just fit tiles behind it, as close as i can?
Cheers
Ali

[Fekin]

http://http://www.helpwithdiy.com/plumbing/removing_a_radiator.html

Hope this helps

Just remember that the water that can leak out from the valves could be black and generally very dirty, so have a few old towels to hand, and don't do the removal when the heatings been on

[grumpygrouter]

Definately remove it first if you can. If not, is it possible just to twist it forward away from the wall?

[bigneil]

close valve at each end, then loosen the nuts slightly, (slight seepage may occurr) lift off brackets, and fold over forward. dont forget to find something approprate to rest it on, a couple of boxes of tiles maybe. then tighten up the nuts again with radiator still attached but leaning forward.
i usually take the brackets off too and refit them on the surface of the tile. Once you have got it all back together keep an eye on it for a day or two in case it is leaking.
And if you don't feel 100% confident call a plumber
good luck

[365drills]

Best to remove radiators I always think.

[Dean G]

Originally Posted by bigneil

close valve at each end, then loosen the nuts slightly, (slight seepage may occurr) lift off brackets, and fold over forward. dont forget to find something approprate to rest it on, a couple of boxes of tiles maybe. then tighten up the nuts again with radiator still attached but leaning forward.
i usually take the brackets off too and refit them on the surface of the tile. Once you have got it all back together keep an eye on it for a day or two in case it is leaking.
And if you don't feel 100% confident call a plumber
good luck

Hi to add to this when you drain from loosened nuts open the air valve to let water flow faster otherwise you may think its empty when actually you may have an air lock.

[justlyndon]

Alway remove if you can it looks so much better and as above its easy to do plus if your cheeky you can also put it in your quote

[Mark B]

If you are going to completely remove it rather than just loosen it from the wall you will need to know what type of heating system it is. If it is a sealed (aka Unvented) system then reconnecting and refilling the radiator is a little more involved and probably best left to a plumber if you're unsure as to what you're doing.

Mark.

[faithhealer]

And watch out for microbore pipe (as opposed to 15mm) because they bent/shear just by looking at them. I always hold the valve in a pipe wrench (or similar) whilst I crack the nut.