How To Remove A Radiator From The Wall

Are you planning to redecorate a room in your home but holding off because you’re worried about removing the radiator from the wall?

Good news!

Removing a radiator might seem like a significant task that requires professional assistance, but a competent DIYer can do it.

For those ready for the task, here are the tools and materials you may need.

Tools And Materials Needed

Before removing your trusty radiator, ensure you have the following tools and materials:

• Adjustable spanner
• Pipe wrench (if you need more leverage)
• Bucket or container
• Towels or rags
• Radiator bleed key
• PTFE tape (also known as plumber’s tape. for reinstalling)
• Dust sheets (to protect flooring)

Also, ensure you allow yourself more time to complete the task, as doing it for the first time always takes longer.

Now that you have what you need to remove your radiator from the wall let’s go through the steps.

Steps To Removing Your Radiator From The Wall

If you feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew at any point, it’s always best to call a professional to complete the work.

For those who are ready, let’s take the first step:

Step 1: Turn Off the Heating

Before working on your radiator, turn off the central heating system and allow it to cool down.

To turn off your home’s boiler and central heating, locate the fuse spur near your boiler. This switch is typically a large square box with an equally sized button and should be easy to find.

If your boiler is connected to a standard power outlet, you can unplug it from the socket.

For those who have not found a fuse spur or a plug point, for safety’s sake, turn off all power in your home using the main switchboard to ensure safety.

Step 2: Isolate the Radiator

When the radiator has cooled, it’s time to isolate it or prevent the central heating water supply from draining completely.

To isolate the radiator, close the Thermostatic Radiator Valve (TRV). Typically, TRVs are located on one end (left or right) of the radiator at the bottom of the radiator, where the pipework connects it to the inlet, providing it with heated water.

Your TRV will have an adjustable dial, allowing you to turn it to the off position.

Be aware that some radiators have different valves. Older units might have a manual valve that must also be closed. Some older valves might need a flathead screwdriver to close them.

On the other side of the radiator, you will want to close the lockshield valve. Some lockshield valves might have a dial or need to be closed using an adjustable wrench. Turn your lockshield valve clockwise until it is fully closed.

Don’t remove the TRV yet, as you still need to drain the radiator.

Step 3: Drain the Radiator

Once confident the valves are securely closed, it’s time to drain your radiator.

Place a bucket under the radiator valve you’ve closed. In our example, that is the TRV.

Using your adjustable spanner, slightly loosen the nut connecting the radiator to the TRV. Water will drain out slowly as soon as you’ve loosened the valve.

As a general tip, place all the nuts you’ve removed in one location (e.g., a box). This will ensure that all the parts are easy to find when you reassemble the radiator.

To speed up the water draining out of your radiator, open the bleed valve (used to bleed your radiator) at the top of the radiator using a radiator key to let air in.

Allowing air into your radiator creates pressure, eventually forcing the water to flow faster.

Once the water stops flowing, repeat on the lockshield valve side, loosening its connection with the radiator.

Step 4: Disconnect the Radiator

When confident you have drained the majority of water from the radiator, fully unscrew and remove the valve nuts.

To ensure you’ve drained out the remaining water, carefully tilt the radiator so you can pour the water into the bucket. When pouring out the last radiator water, have extra towels to clean up spills.

Lift the radiator off the wall brackets and move it away from the area. However, depending on your radiator manufacturer, how it is mounted to the wall might differ.

If you’re stuck, make sure to check your radiator’s manual.

For homeowners doing extensive renovations to the room, you will want to place a radiator valve cap on its outlet pipes.

Applying plumber’s tape to piping threads is strongly recommended to prevent leaks.

If you want to take advantage of the radiator being off the wall, you can clear out any sludge that can cause future blockages.

When you’re done with all the renovations, it is time to reattach the radiator to the wall.

Step 5: Reposition And Reconnect

When reattaching the radiator, align the valves with the inlet and outlet pipes.

When you are happy with its alignment, apply the plumber’s tape to the pipe’s threads and tighten the valve nuts on both sides using your adjustment spanner.

Step 6: Refill The Radiator

Before refilling the radiator, ensure that both valves are still closed.

When ready, slowly open the TRV first and open the lockshield. To ensure that the radiator fills up, you must use the radiator bleed key to release the air pockets.

Once the water starts flowing out of the bleed valve, close it.

Step 7: Checks

It’s always important to check if there are any leaks, as they can lead to significant issues. This means carefully monitoring your radiator for leaks.

If there are no visible leaks, it’s time to turn on your central heating. Allow the radiator to warm up, then check for cold spots.

You will need to bleed your radiators for those who do discover the cold spots.

However, if you’ve encountered an issue when removing the radiator, caused some thread damage to the inlet pipe, or just can’t seem to complete a particular step, we’d suggest calling in a professional to help.

Call Us For Help

WarmZilla has a team of professionals ready to answer your specific questions.

If they cannot assist you over the phone, they may offer to dispatch a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer to your UK property within 48 hours.