Home DIY

Thanks, it’ll be worth it for sure :)

It’s the four hour undercoat and gloss finish drying times while the door remains open I need to plan for.

I’ll post again once door, frame, stained glass panels and surrounding wall / soffit is completed

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Thank you - having kept an eye on it this weekend I think you're right, the primary problem isn't with ventilation but with temperature differential. Even with the top window open the condensation appears and doesn't disappear until the sun shines on the window - whether the room is occupied or not, and across both elevations of the house.

We have radiators under the windows which don't currently work - I'm going to try to get those working first to see if that makes a difference.

@rhowe great experiment - I've tried it and it made zero difference. I'm going to try with another shower head, see if that's where the problem lies.

This thread is amazing. It's so great that people who have been in this position are sharing their experience with us noobs. I've been living in flats for the last 30 years of my life and I'm amazed at the amount of basics I don't know.

Right... So I've got a plasterer coming tomorrow who has said their happy to help remove a fuck off big wall mounted radiator prior to starting work.

What do I need to do?

Just turn off the rad and drain? Then we disconnect it and lift it off and put it somewhere, right?

Or am I missing something?

Any "oh I wish I'd know this" tips?

Cheers.

Close the lock shield valve (folks say to count the number of turns it takes to close it so you can open it the same number when reinstalling to help balance the system - I have never done this and all my rads still work but I could be lucky). What is on the other side? If a normal dumb valve, just close it also. If a TRV, then shut that off and if not knackered, it will be fine. I don't trust them by themselves so I tend to put blanking nuts on too if a rad is going to be off for an extended period of time for fear of something failing in the night and pissing shitty heating system water everywhere.

I hate reinstalling old/used rads as I am SHIT at plumbing so I generally end up buying new rads and getting a plumber to fit new valves. But then, all the ones I've taken off here have needed to be replaced anyway.

Isolate both the oncoming and outgoing. Make sure to cap off any thermostatic valves properly so they can't turn on and cause 40 grand worth of damage to your house. Do not trust turning a trv to cold/off.

Seal the plumbing once removed to stop crap like plaster getting in the pipes. This could be proper end caps or tin foil and masking tape.

If you can, flush the rad while it's off.

Cheers.

This is what we're working with. Tvr on one side, dumb valve (I assume) on the other. The rad is only a few months old.

What does

Make sure to cap off any thermostatic valves properly

mean?

Specifically the word "properly".

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Look up "decorator's cap". You can (should) unscrew the thermostatic valve on the left and attach a cap in its place which keeps the pin held down so that the valve doesn't open and leak water all night onto your wooden floor causing the floorboards to all warp in strange directions. Don't ask me how I know this.

The valve on the right is the lockshield, just turn that all the way off.

Will this be ok?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/universal-radiator-valve-cap-white/35656

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You've also made me prang enough to think of a contingency plan.

Good work! Post pics of the next big hole you drill as well. Could you not open up the plasterboard and fit a piece of wood behind it before putting the hood back up again?

This is just a lockshield cover. You need the decorators caps

Decorators caps

I've a bag of them but am in Kent

If you have loads more DIY coming get a titan vac that does water as well as dust.
Great for sucking out the dirty water and cleaning up any spills.
Probably the most used thing of my DIY journey

You'll probably struggle to run them over to me tonight then😀

Annoyingly they're out of stock in my local screwfix and wikces doesn't seem to have them either

Edit: crisis averted. There is a screwfix every 5miles from me, so have found one with stock.

Cheers.

It's a bit late now. I wanted one to help clean the carpet, but they didn't seem that good for that.

When I eventually sort of my work shed thing I'd like the little one.

Successfull disconnected the rad and drained.

Thank god I did it last night. It took an eternity.

I probably underestimated how long/much 12l out of a trickle is.

This morning there was no hot water. Is this the boiler sensing a problem and switching off (is a new boiler)?

Apologies for a basic question, I hadn't considered it affecting the hot water and I'm a bit short of time this morning.

Cheers

Could be that the pressure is low if you let water out if the loop. There'll be a fault code on the boiler.
If that's the case, repressureise using the filling loop

Cheers.

I'll see how the plasterer gets on today. Not loving the idea of not heating or hot water at the moment!

So many little things that I now realize we didnt do in the best order.

As above, possibly low pressure as you've taken a load of water out of the system.

You should be able to run the heating with a radiator missing (assuming you have isolated the removed one).

You should be able to run the heating with a radiator missing (assuming you have isolated the removed one).

Hang on how does that work? Or do you mean hot water? Surely it's a circuit of water and if it can't flow round in a circle it can't heat things up.

You've reminded me that I need to work out how to repressurise our boiler as it's been a bit low for a while anyway, but I've ignored it as it's been fine.

There's a circuit of water but it doesn't run through the rads, it tees off to the rads from the main circuit.

Thing is boiler likely won't operate for hot water either if the pressure in the CH loop is low.

Cheers.

I did not realize that, but it makes sense.

Will head up to the loft to investigate. It's probably a good prompt anyway.

You are lucky it’s warmer today than yesterday!!

Exactly the same happened to me, removed rad, pressure dropped, boiler faulted. Topped up pressure, reset boiler, all ok.

Back in business. Still a bit nippy with the downstairs French doors wide open!

Puffa jacket time.

(I'm aware paying a plasterer is not DIY)

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French doors

Mmmm, speaking of which

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