Replace radiators or decorate first?

Floozie

Can anyone advise which to do first. We recently had a fireplace and gas fire installed in our lounge and as a result we now need to replace skirting, do a bit of plastering above the skirting where new electric socket was placed and also need new radiators as well as decorate the room. With radiator replacement and decorating we don't know which to do first - do the decorating then replace the radiators or replace the radiators then do the decorating afterwards. As we are rubbish at DIY all the jobs will need to be done by professionals and we don't know who to get in first-the decorator or the plumber? Any advice welcome.

Bendy_House

I don't think it matters, really. Decorators are used to working around radiators, tho' I guess they'd prefer it if there weren't any!

It can be awkward getting a miniroller down behind a radiator, but it's a pretty standard task.

Or, if you decorate first, then you'll have the dust produced from the fitter drilling holes for the new radiator brackets, but - again - this is standard everyday stuff, and shouldn't be a problem.

As a DIYer, given this choice, I think I'd decorate first, and then I'd know that all the walls were painted properly, and then I'd mount the rads. I do not like painting around rads, behind them, beneath them, along the skirting avoiding the pipes... But, no obvious sequence!

TELLIT01

If you can get the timing sorted, have the radiators removed, decorate and then get the replacement radiators fitted.

stuart45

Firms I've worked for in the past have always got the plumber to whip off the rads before a re-dec. Sometimes the plaster behind them needs a bit of work as well.

Grenage

I generally remove radiators from a room before painting; it's not much hassle and it makes things much easier.

JGB1955

When we (or rather, the OH) decorate a room we always remove the radiators first.  They're the last thing to go back afterwards.

FaceHead

Are you swapping radiators for the same size ones in the same place? And keeping the old valves? If so, swapping the radiators is a straightforward DIY job, and I'd encourage anyone to have a go. 

If you don't manage it, then you get the plumber in anyway. If you do, you've saved 2x plumber visits, and learned a new skill. 

Rads off, disposed of (scrap, or someone will take them for free), decorator does their thing, rads on. 

Your decorator might even take the rads off if you tell them they are being chucked - probably easier for him to take them off (knowing he doesn't need to put them back on) than to work round them.