blackbluecat writes:

In our bedroom we have baseboard (it's hot-water-based) running along
one of the walls.

Our bed's headboard is right above the baseboard and my wife complains
of the heat heating up the bed and her head, making her very
uncomfortable (and before any of you suggests a new wife, that's out of
the question, so keep on reading). ;-)

Glad to hear you married a millionaire's daughter. ;-)

1)Move the bed. Is that an option?

I had an idea a few days ago, which consists of having a plumber
replace the middle section of the finned pipe in the baseboard with
regular copper pipe and putting some pipe insulation around it to
ensure that the section under the bed radiates NO heat whatsoever
(visit http://www.frostking.com/pipeinsulation.php to see what I mean).

Won't work, sorry. That product's designed to maintain a minimum level of heat
for the water IN the pipe. Cuts down on leakage but doesn't eliminate it. So
if you went that way you'd still have some heat coming through, probably ca.
50% of what you've got now.

Questions:
1. Does this seem like a good approach (other than the wife-replacement
solution that's out of the question)?

Depends on whether you're willing to void the manufacturer's warrantee (if any
still remains, and whether the water loop is under pressure. If it's a low
pressure system you could probably void the warrantee by your ownself.
Hacksaw, thick wall copper pipe, deburring tool and compression fittings if the
pressure's less than 50 psi.

2. How hot will the pipe get? The insulation on the web site above is
rated for up to 210 deg. Farenheit; will this be enough or do I need to
get industrial-grade insulation?

If you choose to go this route the 210 is fine. If you're running hot water
through the pipes I'm guessing the outer surface of the line wouldn't exceed
125-135 F.

3. What about just wrapping insulation around the mid-section of the
baseboard (the part under the bed) and forego any plumber's
involvement?

This is worth a shot, just for s's 'n' grins. If you can find some cloth
that's fire retardant (at minimum, if not fireproof), simply block the section
that runs behind the bed.

Drink plenty of black coffee, sit up all night and monitor for at least 3
nights. ;-)

Or, if you don't mind removing and capping the whole system, get an electrical,
non-circulating, radiant heat appliance and put it in the coffin corner of the
bedroom.

HTH,

Marc