Making a Radiator Installation Look The Part

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Radiators are an item you wouldn’t necessarily be buying every year, or even every five years, for your home. That’s why, when it comes time to buy one, you want something that looks the part. You spend a good chunk of time checking out different brands and designs, colours and finishes, before deciding on the perfect radiator for your home. It comes, you get it hung on the wall, take a step back to admire your handy work, and then realise that something looks off. In fact, the installation doesn’t look good at all. 

Now, this may sound like a rarity, but it is all too easy for a radiator installation to become an eyesore, or stick out like a sore thumb if you overlook some very simple aspects of how to install your radiator. Thanks to the folks at Trade Radiators, who currently have an amazing winter sale across their site and spanking new radiators, here are some helpful tips for making a radiator installation look complete. 

Framing when you’re changing designs

Let’s say you have a clunky old panel radiator in your kitchen or bathroom and you’re swapping it out for a lovely new towel rail. If you’re moving from a horizontal to vertical radiator, the change in shape is going to look much more different than you think. 

I like to tell people to think about how a rail will look on the wall as if it is a mirror or piece of art in a frame. You want to give a radiator space and also ensure that it fits in nicely. One really simple way of trying to visualise this is by grabbing a newspaper and taping pages to the wall in roughly the same measurements as the rail you’re getting.

You can stand back and see if the size is right before even getting started with buying.

Avoiding odd socks

If black shoes and white socks don’t go, will your current radiator valves go with your spanking new radiator or towel rail? The humble radiator valve is often overlooked when buying a radiator because most people only associate function, and not form, with it.

If you’re thinking of getting a radiator in a colour other than white, and your valves are currently white, please think about getting new valves too. It doesn’t cost that much to get valves in a matching or similar colour and will help the installation have a more “complete” look.

The same goes for the pipes coming out of the floor. If you’ve been redecorating the room and they’re covered in paint which shows no signs of coming off, get some cheap pipe sleeves to pop on and make things look good as new.

Finding your (pipe) centres

Radiators need to have a little zen around them to sit perfectly on the wall. You don’t want to be in a position when buying a different type of radiator where you’ll have to get someone in to lift up flooring and lay down new pipes because you forgot to check pipe centres. 

Work out what your pipe centres are. It’s the measurement from one pipe to another and NOT the width of the radiators. Even if you’re buying a radiator the same size, the centres might be ever so different, so don’t get caught out.

Leaning and splitting from the wall

It might be that you’re getting a new radiator for an extension or new room at home. If you’re looking to hang on a plaster wall, double-check where the studs are and see if you can get your brackets in there. While the likes of a towel rail may not weigh too much, you don’t want a radiator which feels the urge to pull out from the wall after extensive usage.

I hope you found all of this information helpful and it will make your next radiator look the part. For anyone in the midst of redecorating and updating walls, you might like to read this article showcasing 10 DIY Gallery Wall Art Ideas.