apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I KNOW that I've seen small mock-ups of them in the window of Gracious Home on 68th and Broadway, no kidding. So, I'm pretty sure they custom make them. Prices are probably as high as a cat's back, but I'm also pretty sure that AJO Hardware/Lumber on 100th and Amsterdam makes them, too.

Regular paint is fine on radiators and pipes, but sometimes you really need to scrape the old paint down to he pipe so it will adhere well. If you do, and you're in an old building, be sure to use a respirator, 'cause chances are there's a lot of lead in the paint chips.

One of the many things on my to-do list is to do what a friend of mine did to his radiators. He had them removed (so you need to do this in the summer) and had them professionally dipped to strip all the paint off. They were then sprayed with a clear heat proof coat of sealant (not sure exactly what he used), so they would not rust and gives them a little sheen. They look amazing and swears it even lets off more heat. Now they are this great gun metal color that shows off all their detailing. I know this sounds labor intensive, but it is a great look.

I'm going to use rustoleum hammered paint in black and copper. This paint gives a durable pitted (like hammered metal)look. There's a company, Hammerite, which sells their hammered oil base (real nasty smelling! featured on debbie travis which is how I knew about it, she did the kitchen cabinets in a b'klyn loft to emulate stainless steel industrial look. She raved about this paint!!) paint in spray cans, pints and gallons online from jamestowndistributors.com. This paint goes on without a primer and seals in rust and prevents further rust. Lowes and HD sell the rustoleum (very similar and I would say identical but the hammerite people swear their's is better) but only in spray cans (pints of black and silver only) due to it's oil-based controversial nature. But on something that may rust or is rusty, I'd steer away from water-based paint.

As soon as I get my radiators (the boxy, rectangular, flush with the wall at the window variety) painted I'll post.

good luck.

find a local woodworker! walk around your hood, when you see the sawdust creeping under that big ol door... knock. i'm in clinton hill and there are woodshops all around. quite a few in dumbo too.

good luck.

I had radiator covers made for mine by a carpenter. I went into a lumber store (the one that used to be on Hudson Street) and asked them to recommend someone who could do the job. The fellow came over, measured, built, painted, installed. And while I don't remember the price, they were much much cheaper than going to cabinetry store route. I've since moved (sold them to the incoming tenant so I did get some of my money back) and now my question is how does one keep uncovered radiators clean?

The paint is chipping off my heating pipe and I recently scraped it all off. I like the way the exposed rust looks. Is it a huge problem to keep it this way or do I need to paint it?

What I like to do with heating pipes, and sometimes actual radiators (if they're interesting looking) and also with those little flanges that attach the vertical support rod that holds up your shower curtain rod (you know how people tend to paint them the ceiling color, and then they paint that rod kind of sloppily down those first few inches? I can't stand that!):

I mix together 2 paints: some Janovic Aluminum paint which is heat-resistant AND some heat-resistant matte black paint (which, last I bought it at Janovic, was NOT the Janovic brand, but came in a can whose label was red toward the top and bottom of the can and white gradation toward the middle).

Together they make this dark silver (kind of pewter-ish or iron-ish) semi-matte color that is not as dead as black and not as blinding as the pure aluminum paint, either.

I generally tend to mix them as I paint, kind of mixing them into the lid of one or other of them.

I ordered a metal one which I was pleased with from these guys a few years ago http://www.monarchrad.com/custom.html

Prices were reasonable and there was a good selection of colors, if I remember correctly.

By the way, this is NOT the time to be painting a radiator or a pipe. It's the time of year to be aware of them, but you want to wait until there is no heat going through them, because that paint is flammable. But no matter when you paint it, be prepared that the first time the super puts the heat on, there will be some stink as some of the fumes burn away a little bit. It won't kill you, but it can be a little disconcerting if you're a delicate flower.

Maggieinthewood-
Some of those are beautiful!

And there's this to consider: get rid of the radiator.

In my last 2 apartments one of my first improvement tasks was to get rid of about half my radiators. If you live in an apartment building–especially an old NY building–and it's well-heated, you can probably lose some. Interior rooms are a good target.

Radiators take up quite a lot of space and they are pretty easy to cap off. Just a thought.

Good point MJP, I have removed one out of three. Thinking about removing another. I never have any of them turned on. The pipes running in the walls radiate plenty of heat as it is, and now with new windows installed my place is a hot house.

MJP is right, especially if you're on an upper floor, where everyone else's radiator heat is rising up to you AND if you own the place. Why not have the extra floor space AND the added flexibility of furniture placement?

Gothic Cabinet Craft often has some decent-looking ones in its windows.

I hate to say this because I did love blinds and beyond for blinds, but they did a TERRIBLE job on our radiator cover...We used Knosos on another one and it is absolutley lovely.

L

I painted my radiators with black Krylon Ultra Matte. The lack of reflectivity hides the imperfections. Next to the light colored floor it's quite severe, but that was the point. It's not officially heat resistant, but I'm assuming they dont get much hotter than boiling water, which is within the temperature range of most spray paints.

Saw a great idea on Home To Go (HGTV Sundays @ 2pm) and have adopted it - went to the lumberyard and got some wood which i had cut to size like shelves which extend from the front of the units to the wall behind and placed over top the radiators, I used batten (?) to make simple butt joint moldings right around the top - don't know if that sounds clear but it's basically a shelf/tray-like wood slip cover for the top of the radiator. When the heat is off in the Spring, I'll paint it all one colour so that it looks like a complete unit. Without out haveing to go to the trouble of removing the radiators I now have extra display space in "unconventional" areas and my found objects are not affected by the heat/steam etc.!

Methinks I would have used fiberglass instead of batting.

And by figerglass, I do mean that pink fiberglass insulation stuff that goes into houses, because I think it's very fire-proof.

I think Kyudo is referring to "batten" as in board-and-batten siding. Thin strips of wood which, in this case, form a border around the shelf/tray.

a-HA! I swear I was picturing something completely different, where the (as they sometimes are) rounded and irregular shape of the top of a radiator might seem to need something to grip or something. Nevermind.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Joan. And I meant to say that it was more like a shelf/cap or hat as opposed to a slip cover.

I recently saw some nice pre-made ones at Pinchek (sp?) in Brooklyn. (take 2/3 train to Brooklyn and it is right upstairs). They had a nice oak one and another one painted white. Good luck.

You can get a custom-made radiator cover at Gracious Home. They have a bunch of styles to choose from and you can provide them with the paint color you want, or paint it yourself when they deliver it. Also, you can take the measurements and tell them the specs for building your cover, or have them come to your place where they will do all the measuring. They then deduct the fee for the measuring service from the final cost of the radiator cover.

For the apartment dwellers with space issue's and no budget restraints:

http://runtalnorthamerica.com/radiant-heating/

For moderate spending habits:

http://steamradiators.com/

My shut-off valve gets very hot to the touch, and has even left burns/redness on my hand when I turn it on and off. Is there any sort of "cover" (like a fabric cover) created for those? I feel like I need the valve version of a potholder.

I just got one at Gotham cabinet. 299 for 42" x 22", unfinished. Best price I could find. everyone else wanted, like, 800+. ridiculus.

We just had some real nice solid wood radiator covers built by Wolf Radiator Enclosures. They are like a piece of furniture. A little more than what we wanted to spend but found it worth it in the end.

Oil based paints handle heat much better than latex paints. That way, you can have the full range of colors to choose from. They do make "high-heat" paint, but it's usually intended for things like outdoor grills and your color choices are limited (i.e. black or white).

I used a company Shuttershack.com. They are in Long Island and sell Radiator Covers on their website. They have lots of styles. I did a woodgrain finish on metal. Was a little nervous about sizes and stuff. But their customer service was great. Cover fits perfectly, and the price I got received shipping.

I got a really nice radiator cover at Starlight Interiors on Avenue U and west 9th street. Their website is www.starlightinteriors.com

This is a relatively easy project and a good carpenter would be able to knock it out easy- EMPHASIS GOOD. Be careful of their craftsmanship if you do choose one. I make all sorts of projects of this nature and remember this is essentially a furniture piece and will prominently be displayed. If you need any help drop me a line paragon_renovations1616@msn.com

I'm wondering about removing one of the radiators from my apartment. There were a couple of previous posters here that mentioned removing them. Could anyone point me to a resource for removing and capping a steam-heat radiator? We'd like to try and do it ourselves instead of paying anyone, if possible. I'm quite handy, so it should be do-able. Thanks.

I build and sell radiator covers , prices start at 50.00 , most average at 100.00 . email bigjim500@yahoo.com .

Does anyone know where I could find some old style radiators in brooklyn? We moved into our apartment last February and the previous owner took out 2 out of 3 radiators and it was way too cold. Once we find those we would need them installed and then covers made for them.

Would appreciate any recommendations.

Thank you.

e-mail: florihill@hotmail.com

Re the old radiators, ask all the supers around your neighborhood. They tend to save them

I am selling a custom built one with Storage. A little paint will get it looking good. Worked in both of my places. See here:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/fur/201293666.html

RADIATOR COVERS. Hi all. I'm looking for some feedback and design ideas. I build custom radiator covers. If you have a moment to check out my ad at http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/fur/566438419.html

If anybody has any suggestions or comments on the design of these units, please let me know. Thanks to all who reply. My email is culley.barker@gmail.com.

A very small one runs about $100 and a very large one can go for $250.

I build and sell custom sized radiator covers. You can view my website at http://cbwoodworks.googlepages.com/

Also you can view my online photo gallery at http://picasaweb.google.com/culley.barker/RadiatorCover