How do i wallpaper or paint behing radiators.?

Question

Can i take the radiator off the wall. It looks like it just hangs on a bracket. However i would have to turn off the water to do this, how do i do that.

Answer 1

You don't have to drain the system to take off a radiator.
Do up the taps at each end and undo the nuts that hold the rad to the valves.
Undo the air vent to make sure it is turned off.[only a small amount of water should come out of the air vent]
Then undo the big nuts and drain the rad into a small bowl and lift it off the wall
When you put it back on just reconnect it as you took it off, turn on the taps and vent with the air vent till water comes out.
It will then be OK>
If you just want to paint behind you can buy a 4 inch roller on a 2 foot long handle which will reach behind it.

Answer 2

You Can Turn Off The Water Supply And Then Take The Radiator Off [But That Does Take Quite A Long Time]
Or You Can Just Use The Steamer So The Wallpaper Is Soft And Then Try Your Best To Scrape It Off Using A Long Scraper! And Then Get A Small But Long Roller To Paint! It's Quite Funny Because Only A While Ago I Was Stressing About This..x

Answer 3

You are quite right. The radiator does HANG. That's the word to remember.
All these well meaning people who tell you to just loosen the nuts at the radiator feed pipes are fogetting one thing.

The radiator is dropped into 'hooks' on it's brackets and will not just 'tip forward'. You have to lift it to remove it. You then have to locate it properly to put it back.

This means closing both of the valves at the bottom of the radiator and disconnecting them from the panel itself. These large nuts are usually covered in paint, will be very tight and the threads will have been sealed with a plumber's paste such as Boss White or (if you're unlucky) waxed string.

You run a big risk of the radiator then dumping a lot of dirty balck water onto your floor. You then have to re-connect it all, remembering to seal the threads, and bleed the thing when you've finished.

I know that painting and papering is easier without a radiator in the way but consider if the hassle of removing it is more than the hassle of working behind the panel.

Unless you want to muck about with the plumbing you're better off leaving the radiator alone and buying a long handled special roller and brush from B&Q for less than a tenner.
Cut slits in the wallpaper to go around the brackets. Put plenty of rags on the floor to catch drips and protect your skirting board.

I like the cat idea though. There's some merit in that. Quite good if you want a new coloured cat but don't want the hassle of training a new one.

Answer 4

You can get a special 'radiator' roller with which to paint the space behind the radiator, but you will do a much neater job if you take the radiator off the wall.

You don't have to turn the water off - just make sure you have closed the valves at both ends of the radiator - tight! Also ensure you have a basin and old towels handy to drain the water from the radiator.

While the radiator is off the wall, it's a good idea to take it out into the garden and flush it out with your garden hose - this cleans out all the gunge that can be preventing your radiator from putting out as much heat as it should.

As soon as the paint had dried, you can reconnect the radiator. You may need to use some plumber's tape to make sure the connections are watertight.

After reconnection, check several times that no water is leaking from the valves - running your finger around them should let you know if you have a leak.

Tricky enough job, so - good luck.

Answer 5

To remove a rad, knock the central heating off.

Close the valves. To do this, turn the thermostat one to Zero or *, as far as it will go. The other side, pull the white cap off and turn with a small adjustable wrench.

Important. Put a wrench on the valve part that's connected to the pipe because when you undo the large nut, you don't want to turn the body of the valve. Water will start to come out so put a bowl under it. Repeat for the other side. When the water stops, fully undo nuts, lift off and turn upside down.

After decorating, reverse the process. Open the thermostat side first, bleed the rad then do the other. If it's a combi boiler, you might need to turn the cold water feed tap for a moment on the bottom of the boiler to get the pressure needle back to 1.5 bar.

Not as hard as you think. Just make sure the valve doesn't move on the pipe too much, the water that comes out is dirty so lift or cover carpet and don't fully undo the large nuts until the water stops. I sat once for a while and found the valve was goosed so it was a system drain and valve replacement.

Answer 6

Paper behind it don't even try to take it off the brackets...paste the wall at the back of the radiator as well as the wall paper to make it all slide easily....you will have to cut round the brackets but as you can't really see behind the radiator it does not matter too much if it's not perfect....to smooth out the paper when you have it on the wall use a roll end down the back of the radiator......to paint behind the radiator you can get rollers made for it

Answer 7

you only need to turn the valves off at both ends of the radiator.
then undo the nuts connecting the valves to the radiator, take note the nuts stay on the radiator not the valves (so you will turn the nuts towards the radiator not towards the valves)
you will need a friend to help you to take the radiator off the brackets you will lift the radiator up then put your finger over the opening to seal the water inside until you have the radiator over a bucket then you can take your finger of the opening and let the water drain into the bucket.
i usually turn the radiator over and stand it against something until the papering and painting is finished this stops any drips of dirty often corrosive water from staining the carpet.
i hope this helps.

Answer 8

I work on the "easy does it" principle.

The problem behind radiators are the radiator brackets. They get in the way. You need to slice the wallpaper, accurately, to permit the wallpaper to adhere to the wall. To get this right, make sure you give the bottom of your section of wallpaper an extra liberal coating of paste.

Instead of folding the pasted side in on itself. For the bit behind the radiator, fold it out and gently push it down behind the radiator, until the paper is hard against the top of the bracket. When you lift the paper back out, you should find a neat groove in the paste, indicating the true position, on the paper, of the required bracket slit.

The rest is measure and cut. Then lay the paper.

I use one of these wide foam paint applicators, strapped to a broom handle, to smooth the paper down behind the radiator.

Painting is also easy.

I use one of these felt painting flats, screwed to a couple of feet of 1/2" batten...........easy!

Answer 9

It is hard to paper behind a radiator, but it can be done without removing it. You just measure how far from the edge of the paper to the bracket it is, then cut the paper and slide it down carefully. Its a bit fiddly, but can be done.
You can also paint behind a radiator with a radiator roller. It has a long handle, and small roller.I have used both methods with good results

Answer 10

You can take the radiator off but i found this helpful a few years ago have the paper cut and pasted put it into position and get a thin clean paint roller and use this to smooth the paper down the back of the radiator.