I'm having a spot of bother with the neighbours about my plumbing and suspecting a lot of locostbuilders may well be diy type people thought I'd post my problem up.

I live in a flat (converted 1910 hotel) with a communal hot water & heating system.
The radiator in the bedroom (which isn't a large room) has a radiator conveniently placed in the middle of a short wall. The previous owners had attempted to build a wardrobe on this wall, had covered the radiator and made a bodged job of it. I have dismantled and chucked this monstrousity, but now I have no wardrobe and my clothes live on a clothes rail (like at shop fitting rooms)!

I've measured and found that if I move the radiator about a metre along the same wall that there will be enough space for a small freestanding/single wardrobe.

Problem with the neighbours is they don't want to turn off and/or drain the communal hot water system as there has been lots of problems in the past with balancing the system and removing air locks (there is a lot of pipework through the building!)

I have found these freezing jackets you can get for pipes that last for about half an hour (running off an aerosole of cold stuff), has anyone got or used any of these or have any comments or general suggestions about how I might solve this problem!

The other issue is that I suspect the pipework is old imperial 1" internal diameter stuff so finding new fittings might be tricky!

cheers all,

Ned.

id get a plumber in....

HTH!!

Who needs a radiator? Don't be such a Soft-Southern Jessie!

the freezing jacks do need the heating to be switched off and are only normaly used to fix emergency problems, eg to stop a leak while you apply a patch. if your rad has valves on each end (most do) you can just isolate it and drain then put extentions on to the current fittings to move down, then let the radiator refill. would be very messy looking and could lead to the system being out of balance/ need more water added. to be honest best option is get the opinion of a pro, you may need to switch off the system though !!!

Simon,
Thanks for the reply, I was thinking on the lines that using one of these jackets would stop the need to turn the system off and drain it.

I've decided I won't do it myself as it is iron piping, not copper so would be more complicated and require specialist tools to bend pipes, sort out joints and fittings etc.

I'd be suprised if the extra amount of water in 1.5mtrs of pipe would affect the balance of the system, I guess the danger would be getting air into the system that could prove complicated to bleed out and may well require access to all the other flats to do.

The pipe I was thinking of splits and goes to another radiator and so when the radiator in the bedroom is turned off the water becomes staionary and cools, the pipe only warms up when you turn the radiator on and the water flows through. They are chunky old iron radiators!

thanks again,

Ned.

I've used them, still got some of one left somewhere. You have to be organised and get the job done quick, the one I have formed a plug that lasted around 15 minutes. You need to use the kit as far from the job site as you can if soldering but if you use compression fittings you may get longer. How many clothes have you got that you need a wardrobe anyway? I have to stop in on washday .

yours, Pete.

pete

now i recognise you!

you were that guy in the jeans ad about 15 years ago in the launderette!

atb

steve

hello ned if its not your place why dont you get a oil filled electric rad from currys or comet it will be alot cheaper than geting a plumber in
i know cos my brother is one he dont come cheap
you can then turn off your old rad
good luck dave blissett

Guys, I'm really puzzled by this concept of a radiator inside a building???...it almost reads as if you need to put heat inside the room....how strange...

(yeah, OK I'll let you all take the p**s in summer...)

laugh all you like alan, you will have to travel a very long way to enjoy handbrakes and donuts in the snow!!!

infact, it may be time to get a rear wheel drive car!

My deafening silence should be enough to make a statement about the radiators in house philosophy in USA.

Roll on summer... Al !

Thanks for the replies. The radiator moving project will now be waiting til the summer as the other residents don't want any risk of it failing over the winter months, regardless.

I had contemplated an oil filled rad, the issue is not the heating but the location of the rad, the rad works fine but sticks out to far to put a wardrobe on that wall because it would bash against the door/wouldnt open.

cheers all, time to move house.

Ned.

Set fire to your room... so you can get the insurance for it... then you can move either yourself... or afford to move the rad Plus the fire will keep everyone else warm when you decide to DIY and mess the entire heating system up

[Edited on 16/12/03 by Ben_Copeland]

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
laugh all you like alan, you will have to travel a very long way to enjoy handbrakes and donuts in the snow!!!

infact, it may be time to get a rear wheel drive car!

---

why dont you turn both radiator valves off
drain the radiator ( the water will be very black) plug both valves you will find the threads are bsp you can then take the rad off the wall and use a oil rad
or just burn all your clothes and you wont need a wardrobe!

Ask your neighbours whether they prefer to let you turn off the water or risk getting flooded That might make them think... Just make sure that your house insurance covers dodgy DIY first

Cheers,
Craig.

Ben,
Great idea, why didn't I think of that.
- not.

Dave,
There is only one valve (screw on/off type) at the 'in' end of the radiator, it is an old cast iron type rad. Even if I was able to remove the radiator, the pipes would still be in the way, albeit not quite so much as the rad itself.

Craig,
Unfortunately its not that simple as legally I don't own the radiator as it is communal to the building as covered in my lease, hence i require the consent of my neighbours.

cheers all,

Ned.

ps I'm now on the lookout for a 2/3 bed house with a garage!

[Edited on 17/12/03 by ned]

Wouldn't you be better off with whole bedrooms rather than just 2/3 of one?

sorry hippy, you lost me there.

Ned.

oh i see, right.

[Edited on 17/12/03 by ned]

My understancing is....
Depending what type of heating system you have depends on what you can do, going by what you have said it sounds like an open vented system (header tank in the loft) If this is the case you can BUNG the system.

I would get the new radiator in position and run the pipes to where you want to connect to the existing pipes. I would then Bung the system.

This is where you, in theory, cap the cold feed and open vent pipes (connected to the header tank in the loft) this can be done like in the olden days with a spud and carrot. Shove the spud over the open vent and stick the carrot down the cold feed.

This causes a vacum effect in the system and will allow you to cut the old pipe and connect the new pipe with out draining down. you will get a small bit of water. And only do one at a time

You need to use conex/compression fittings as the water in the system won't allow you to solder.

Then all you do is take the bungs (spud and carrot) out and bleed the radiator.

Easy really.

You are only stuck if the coldfeed is block.

Does this makes sense to anyone else??

Cheers Mark.