Set Square wrote:

** I find that aluminium foil takeaway food containers are good, because
they can be bent to fit in awkwardly shaped spaces

I use a cat litter tray (though a paint roller tray does at a pinch) and
a J-cloth draped over the radiator valve to get the water to run into
the tray. Have a bucket and a little baling container handy so you can
empty the tray out as the radiator's still emptying into it (may not be
needed for a small bathroom radiator).


Have you decided what to do with the radiator brackets? If you remove them,
and fit them back over the tiles, the rad will move out relative to the
orginal wall surface, and you may have to modify the pipework. [It might
also be difficult to get then back in exactly the same position]. If you
leave the brackets in place and tile round them, the rad will go back in the
same place - but the clearance between it and the wall will be reduced by
the thickness of the tiles. This is probably the best option unless this
will leave insufficient clearance.

Well why not check when you're removing the rad whether there's a bit of
play on the pipes so that you know you can bring the whole rad +
brackets out by the thickness of your tiles. Depending how old the
existing rad is you might consider replacing it if you can find a new
one of near enough the same width so you'll be able to get the pipework
to match up with it. Old rads on new tiles + decorations tend to look
tacky unless you do an antiques restoration job on them; a bathroom size
radiator isn't very expensive; and new rads can have better heat output
for the same size as old ones.