Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is. The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

Thanks for your help.

You need to give more details of the construction of your property before any useful advice can be given.

Richard

Tricky Dicky wrote:
You need to give more details of the construction of your property before
any useful advice can be given.

Richard

Bog standard brick built house with cavity wall insulation fitted. Concrete
floor on the ground level, with plasterboard ceiling onto wooden joists.

"Simon Finnigan" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with
double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

When you say 'a lot' are to be replaced by doubles, how many exactly do you
mean?
A double is simply two radiators fastened together, how powerful is your
boiler - make / type?


Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is. The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

there's no reason why you can't do this, although the amount of work to fill
a small hole where the old pipes were is negligible.

"Phil L" wrote:
"Simon Finnigan" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with
double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

When you say 'a lot' are to be replaced by doubles, how many exactly do you
mean?
A double is simply two radiators fastened together, how powerful is your
boiler - make / type?

Worcester Bosch 35 IIRC, but I'm not there at the moment to check. I'm
looking to replace two singles with doubles, and the rest will be replaced
like for like.

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is. The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

there's no reason why you can't do this, although the amount of work to fill
a small hole where the old pipes were is negligible.

To run the pipes across the room would take quite a bit of messing about to
tidy it up properly, and it would need to re textured to match the existing
ceiling. Running them boxed in just below the ceiling would be a lot lot
easier :-)

Simon Finnigan wrote:
Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is.

Not what you asked, but IME opposite the window is the very worst place
to put a radiator. It creates a steep temperature gradient across the
room, and the resulting air circulation makes the room feel colder than
it is.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

"Simon Finnigan" wrote in message
...
"Phil L" wrote:
"Simon Finnigan" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones.
A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with
double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to
be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

When you say 'a lot' are to be replaced by doubles, how many exactly do
you
mean?
A double is simply two radiators fastened together, how powerful is your
boiler - make / type?

Worcester Bosch 35 IIRC, but I'm not there at the moment to check. I'm
looking to replace two singles with doubles, and the rest will be replaced
like for like.


I can't see this being a problem

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is. The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the
radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the
pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do
it
this way?

there's no reason why you can't do this, although the amount of work to
fill
a small hole where the old pipes were is negligible.

To run the pipes across the room would take quite a bit of messing about
to
tidy it up properly, and it would need to re textured to match the
existing
ceiling. Running them boxed in just below the ceiling would be a lot lot
easier :-)

The pipes aren't 'run across' the room, they are cut off at floor level,
then pulled up from above.
A new hole is made above the new location and they are dropped down there,
again, from above.
This will leave a 50mm hole where they used to be, but it's up to you.

In article ,
Simon Finnigan writes:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

I would do a set of heatloss calculations for each room, and work
out what power output you need. Then work out what radiator sizes
you need to achieve this (possibly allowing for low temperature
condensing operation, even if you don't have one at the moment).

Then look at how these sizes you have calculated compare with what
you currently have - for example, this will hopefully show up your
existing hall one as too small, by way of confirming your calculations.

Anyway, you will now have the power required for each room, and it's
a matter of chosing the number and shape of radiators required to
meet this.

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is. The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

The pipes will generate dirty heat marks on the nearby ceiling over time.
Do the radiator pipes currently come down from the ceiling?
If not, you will need a means to bleed air out of the two pipe runs, and
also to drain the radiator as it won't be able to drain over the loops.
Is there a nearer feed by taking the radiator supply from another room?

Radiators are ideally put against outside walls, because that would
otherwise be the coldest part of the room. If you put them against an
inside wall, you will create a larger temperature gradient across the
room. If there's also a roomstat in that room, you also need to consider
its position versus the radiator (not above or close-by, and ideally not
on the opposite wall facing the radiator).

Thanks for your help.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Mike Barnes wrote:
Simon Finnigan wrote:
Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is.

Not what you asked, but IME opposite the window is the very worst place
to put a radiator. It creates a steep temperature gradient across the
room, and the resulting air circulation makes the room feel colder than
it is.


I haven't found this to be the case. I did this in a room and fed the
new radiator from a unit in the next room through a wall. This gave 2
radiators in parallel but in different rooms, worked twice.

On 03/08/2014 19:45, Simon Finnigan wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

You really ought to take the opportunity to do a proper heat loss
calculation for every room and size the radiators from that. There is no
guarantee that the radiators you have now are actually the right ones
for the rooms.

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is.

If you have a suspended wooden floor and the joists run parallel to the
patio door, you can get a radiator that drops into a trough between the
joists and has a floor grille to release heat in front of the patio
doors. It can be done with a concrete floor, but that involves a lot
more work.

The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

Dirty marks on the ceiling above the pipes. Can you not access the space
above the ceiling by lifting floorboards above?


--
Colin Bignell

Mike Barnes wrote:
Simon Finnigan wrote:
Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is.

Not what you asked, but IME opposite the window is the very worst place
to put a radiator. It creates a steep temperature gradient across the
room, and the resulting air circulation makes the room feel colder than it is.

It will be on the adjacent wall not the opposite sorry, the radiator will
be the opposite side of the room from where the pipes currently enter the
room.

The window (and replacement door) get a LOT of sun throughout the day and
the room is consistently one of the warmest, even with the radiator turned
off. The temperature gradient isn't something that will come into play in
this room, but thanks for the idea.

"Nightjar \"cpb\"@" "insert my surname here wrote:
On 03/08/2014 19:45, Simon Finnigan wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to have my 35 year old radiators replaced with modern ones. A
lot of the panels are only a single panel, and will be replaced with double
panels where there is a need for more warmth - the hall way for example.
The combi boiler is more than up to the job, but are the any issues to be
aware of before I start getting people in for quotes?

You really ought to take the opportunity to do a proper heat loss
calculation for every room and size the radiators from that. There is no
guarantee that the radiators you have now are actually the right ones for the rooms.

The house used to be fine, it's the change in use and having to keep all
the downstairs doors closed that is causing the real issue, in that rather
than the radiators in three rooms being able to heat the air rising up the
stairs, now only the hall radiator is doing this job. A bigger radiator
here would be useful (and is one of the main reasons for doing this) and
the radiator in the bedroom could do with being better as well. And a
radiator, not a towel rack thing, in the bathroom, so that the room can
actually heat up :-)

I'll have a look at the calculations, can anyone suggest a good website to
make life easy?

Also I'm wanting to move a radiator to the opposite side of a room, to
allow a patio door to be installed where the radiator currently is.

If you have a suspended wooden floor and the joists run parallel to the
patio door, you can get a radiator that drops into a trough between the
joists and has a floor grille to release heat in front of the patio
doors. It can be done with a concrete floor, but that involves a lot more work.

It's a concrete floor throughout, which is why I'm looking to take the
supply pipes along the top of the walls rather then hide them under the
floor.

The
easiest way would be to run the pipes feeding the radiator horizontally
along the top of the wall before running them down to supply the radiator.
Taking them through the ceiling wouldn't be the preferred option as it
would mean repairing or replacing a perfectly good ceiling, and the pipes
wouldn't bother us being run visibly. Are there any reasons not to do it
this way?

Dirty marks on the ceiling above the pipes. Can you not access the space
above the ceiling by lifting floorboards above?

It can be done, but not easily - it would mean moving a lot of heavy
furniture to access the floor boards across the area the pipes would be
running.

On 05/08/2014 13:35, Simon Finnigan wrote:
"Nightjar \"cpb\"@" "insert my surname here wrote:
....
Dirty marks on the ceiling above the pipes. Can you not access the space
above the ceiling by lifting floorboards above?

It can be done, but not easily - it would mean moving a lot of heavy
furniture to access the floor boards across the area the pipes would be
running.


About par for a typical DIY job then :-)



--
Colin Bignell

"Nightjar \"cpb\"@" "insert my surname here wrote:
On 05/08/2014 13:35, Simon Finnigan wrote:
"Nightjar \"cpb\"@" "insert my surname here wrote:
...
Dirty marks on the ceiling above the pipes. Can you not access the space
above the ceiling by lifting floorboards above?

It can be done, but not easily - it would mean moving a lot of heavy
furniture to access the floor boards across the area the pipes would be
running.


About par for a typical DIY job then :-)

It would likely involve having to try and move either fully assembled
double wardrobes, or a fully built double bed, out of the room entirely.
Neither item of furniture is really up to being stripped down and rebuilt
either.