I am dry lining a room with plaster boards, and then skimming the boards. Is it best to put wooden battens behind the boards where I am fitting a radiator (for the brackets), or are the plaster boards sufficient strength to hold the radiator if I drill straight through to wall. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Neil
I'd say it depends on the radiator - the one I've just fitted needs as much support as you can give it! - but even a light radiator will have exceptional requirements eg when someone uses it as a prop to pull themselves upright after picking up something they dropped behind the radiator.
The diffculty of drilling striaght through to the wall is that you may "pull in" the plasterboard as you tighten the fixings - leaving a bowed finish. So it would be better if you could stick some battens behind the plasterboard where the radiator will go. That will support the plasterboard when you tighten the brackets.
The alternative is to sleave the fixings - so drill the wall as usual, but make a larger hole in the PB. Then insert a drilled wood plug the same length as the distance from the finish face of the plasterboard to the wall surface so that you have something to tighten the brackets against.
Yes. If you can measure it accurately, have the extra wooden battens placed vertical so that the weight of the radiator goes down to the floor rather than adding extra noggins (sp?) between the existing studs.
Before adding the plasterboard, you may wish to drill one-inch holes in the middle of any bracing noggins as a contingency for cables in the future (if so, thread a piece of string through these to make life easier later). And insulation beneath the plasterboard for sound retention (and/or heat retention) whilst you are there?
Though it may be perceived that a radiator is not
*that* heavy, there may come the day when that single panel gets replaced with a double panel...My father being a joiner (carpenter), he always stated that before he would attach a waist-height shelf in an office he would ascertain the weight of the heaviest worker. The reasoning behind this is that some day someone will sit on the shelf, even if it was commissioned only for light goods. Ditto for radiators: someone's cheeks will adorn it one day.
HTH
Mungo
What's the board adhesive for (he said, admitting ignorance)?
Mungo
If you are then drilling right through it into a solid wall, and that is taking the bulk of the fixing load then yes.
Yes Neil, Just use plenty of extra board adhesive behind the plasterboard around and exceeding the area which the radiator will be fitted, if you know the exact position the brackets will be fitted then use a solid band of adhesive as once set, the adhesive will take a fixing very well. Franko.
Methinks the OP is lining a solid wall with plasterboard, not creating a stud partition as I think you interpreted it
That's how I did it for heavy loads, extra dabs where the fixings go. (then she changes her mind as to where they go!)
Yes, absolutely. Make sure they're plenty wide/long enough.
Thanks to all for advice. I am doing it tomorrow and will put extra adhesive in way of radiator brackets. Is it better to put a solid vertical run where boards butt each other.? ( I know it is going away from original query but I just thought about it. Neil
Ta Richard, I was off on the wrong track. My reason for posting originally is that I am about to replace a radiator in my son's bedroom and the wall that it will be fixed to is a stud partition. Hence the presumption that this poster had the same scenario.
Mungo
P.S. Anyone want to turn up at my house and do the re-plumbing of the radiator next week? My request relates to the gap you will work in: fourteen inches wide, about the same tall and the roof slopes down at 45 degrees. Problem 1: worm into the space. Problem 2: now do some plumbing... eeek! :-)
No need for a solid run of adhesive on the joints as long as the dabs are close enough together, it's a good idea to solid dab the skirting & ceiling line and any internal angles though - plus solid dab around any services eg: sockets etc. Franko.
In article , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com writes
Oooh, I can feel some plastic plumbing coming on . . .
That's great thanks. What is the maximum space between wall and board when using the dab method?. When I put door casing in I let it to far into room and think I may have to batten that wall. The door frames is 11/2 inches from wall to edge of frame. cheers Neil
If you are using 12.5mm board this means that you are looking at a 1 inch dab thickness - not a major problem as I have dabbed out to almost twice that in my time, normally due to the chippy doing as you've done with the linings or to cover up pipes, cables, dodgy blockwork etc. Just try to ensure that your drywall adhesive is of a good stiff consistency and that you put a good amount on the wall giving you enough room to pat back the board making sure there is good contact. It may feel a bit wobbly whilst you are doing it but once the adhesive has gone off it will all stiffen up and be fine. Franko.
Plastic Plumbing? And lose the ability to recite through the swear word dictionary?
As you may tell, I'm not looking forward to the task. But it has to be done, so just grin and bear it.
Last time I plumbed in there I tightened all compression joints apart from one (you can probably guess where this story is going).
My mother in law was downstairs, so I asked her to keep a look out for anything unusual when I went up into the loft (two storey house plus loft) and opened the valve to re-fill the central-heating header tank.
Once I opened the valve (not full bore) I then climbed back down the loft ladder then went to the radiator to check on its progress and bleed it. A minute or so later I hear the mother-in-law request my presence downstair. When I got there all she could ask was "Did you mean for there to be water dripping off the light pendant" as she points at the still-on light with water dripping off the bottom of the bulb! I cursed, switched off the light, bolted up the loft to close the header tank then armed myself with a pair of water-pump pliers and charged quite rapidly into the aforementioned fourteen-inch crawl way. Truthfully, you can't crawl in that space, it's more a sort of "worm" action, so as I am worming my way to the plumbing site I have to push the pliers ahead of me. And then the final straw: in my haste to get to the site I pushed the pliers a little too far and watched them disappear down the cavity wall with an ominous rattling sound.... Keeeeeyyyyriiiiiiiiist!
A loud shouted request for my son to get me a spare pair of pliers, a scramble backwards, a tightening of the one loose joint and vowing to never venture in there again was the outcome.
Until now, of course.
Mungo :-_
Thanks a lot Franko, I have got a plasterer to skim for me,but he wants me to board it. I was a bit concerned but feel happier now with replies I have been given. Neil
Played that game... only I had a triangle with 30" top and bottom, and even that was hard work! So I don't fancy your chances in a 14" space!
(even allowing for a more "normal" frame size than mine!)
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