New Radiators when Decorating

[PAJ]

I have just started a thorough decoration of my house (virtually all the ro oms) and I was speaking to a guy last week doing a similar thing and he sai d he takes the radiators off to aid decorating but also replaces them with new periodically as they are relatively cheap. Anyone any thoughts on this ?

I must admit I normally leave them in place and wall paper behind them as b est I can. Mine are probably about 35 years old and I suspect have never b een off so could be full of sludge although they heat up quickly and evenly .

Peter.

[Bob Minchin]

rooms) and I was speaking to a guy last week doing a similar thing and he said he takes the radiators off to aid decorating but also replaces them with new periodically as they are relatively cheap. Anyone any thoughts on this?

I can. Mine are probably about 35 years old and I suspect have never been off so could be full of sludge although they heat up quickly and evenly.

Most times I slacken the nuts slightly, lift them off the brackets and lay the tops down onto the floor. a couple of plies of old books to take the weight off the pipes and nip up the nuts again and you can decorated behind the rads, add foil etc with ease. I've not replaced any in over 30 years in the same house.

[DerbyBorn]

I always remove mine. It is a good opportunity to clean them out and give them a good prep with wet n dry before painting them whilst they are flat on my dining table (suitably protected). I like to think that the wall behind is decorated to the same standard as the rest of the room and is not a bodge job. With wallpaper in particular, it is far better to run the paper from ceiling to floor than to have to interupt the run due to the radiator.

[John Rumm]

Seems a bit excessive... having replaced three reasonable sized ones recently, I would not fancy doing a whole house worth at a time unless I had to. (was getting on for £300 IIRC for the ones I did)

If the system is kept clean and had inhibitor, it ought not sludge badly anyway.

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