Moving Radiator 6 inches ish

wookie008

Hello people,

I was wondering if anyone knew how much it would be to shift a normal size radiator approximately 6 inches along the wall? We have a new sofa so to get it's back along the wall and not cover it we need to move it across a little.

Many thanks!

Wookey

If you are happy for all work to be done on the surface then it should be no more than 4-5 hours work (thats allowing for fully draining out your heating). If however you want pipes sunk into floor or wall with little or no pipe showing and/or the pipes coming up out of the floor plumb into the valves then it would take nearer a day and involve some patching. A contractor is likely to look for £20-30 per hour, if you know a plumber who could do it as a homer at night/weekend for you it would be quite a bit cheaper.

wookie008

Wookey wrote: »

If you are happy for all work to be done on the surface then it should be no more than 4-5 hours work (thats allowing for fully draining out your heating). If however you want pipes sunk into floor or wall with little or no pipe showing and/or the pipes coming up out of the floor plumb into the valves then it would take nearer a day and involve some patching. A contractor is likely to look for £20-30 per hour, if you know a plumber who could do it as a homer at night/weekend for you it would be quite a bit cheaper.

I was hoping it would be cheaper than that. Thought it would just be a case of draining the system, unscrewing and moving the radiator across and then fitting some extension pipes. We're happy to have it externa to save cost as the pipes will just be behind the sofa anyway

FreeBear

There is a little more than just unscrewing and moving it. The mounting brackets will also need repositioning, and if you have plasterboard stud walls, it might not be a simple task.

Don't forget, the radiator, even after the system has been drained, will contain some icky black sludge that will want to stain any flooring. There will also be a patch of wall in need of redecoration once the radiator is moved.

TheCyclingProgrammer

If its a modern convecting radiator then I wouldn't be too worried about having a sofa in front of it - these radiators mainly heat by convection rather than radiation. so long as there's a bit of space between the sofa and the radiator and a gap under the sofa to allow cold air to return to the radiator it will still heat your room.

Wookey

tshirttan408 wrote: »

I was hoping it would be cheaper than that. Thought it would just be a case of draining the system, unscrewing and moving the radiator across and then fitting some extension pipes. We're happy to have it externa to save cost as the pipes will just be behind the sofa anyway

It could take up to an hour to fully drain and another hour to fill the system back up again depending on the size of it, it could be possible to freeze the pipes which would mean no draining but if there isn't enough pipe showing to allow freezing it would be risky to attempt. It's also possible to seal up the F+E tank (if applicable) to allow work to be carried out on the pipes live, this could be a bit messier and would need carpet lifted back away from the rad as there would be a minimal amount of water escaping.

wookie008

This is all looking much more complicated than I imagined, we're not in hurry and only really doing it for aesthetis anyway so it can be a 'nice to have' for the timebeing. Thanks for all of your input!

AndyMc.....

Wookey wrote: »

It could take up to an hour to fully drain and another hour to fill the system back up again depending on the size of it, it could be possible to freeze the pipes which would mean no draining but if there isn't enough pipe showing to allow freezing it would be risky to attempt. It's also possible to seal up the F+E tank (if applicable) to allow work to be carried out on the pipes live, this could be a bit messier and would need carpet lifted back away from the rad as there would be a minimal amount of water escaping.

The OP may have a combi boiler and that wouldn't be necessary.

wookie008

AndyMc..... wrote: »

The OP may have a combi boiler and that wouldn't be necessary.

I do actually, does this make it easier?

Wookey

tshirttan408 wrote: »

I do actually, does this make it easier?

It would make it quicker to fill backup but it is still best to fully drain the system to avoid the potential to ruin carpets with black inky water. TBH if it's just to please your eye i wouldn't be annoyed about it, you will be the only one who will notice it and it will not affect the rad in any way, how many times have you heard someone come into a room and remark that that rad is so outta place you need to move it.