Practical Advice for Installing Traditional Radiators in Your Home

Traditional radiators can be a little different to modern conventional radiators. You may have to re-think certain elements of your heating renovation if you are considering opting for traditional radiators. To help you get started here is some practical advice on installing traditional radiators in your home.

1. Central Heating Systems

Reproduction traditional radiators will be compatible with most modern heating systems. These reproduction products are made to British Standard fittings and so you should be able to plumb them straight in.

• However if you are using reclaimed antique radiators then you could run into more problems.

• You may need a different boiler and fittings in order to adapt these antique traditional radiators to your home. There can also be issues with debris in the radiators.

• They will need to be thoroughly flushed and cleaned before you plumb them into your system.

• If you have a secondary return hot water system you do need to avoid cast iron traditional radiators. Instead look for stainless steel, copper or brass reproduction radiators that are designed in traditional styles.

• This will give you the same looks but ensure that the radiators are compatible with your system.

2. Traditional Radiator Features

Traditional radiators can be used as design features in your home. You may not want to replace all your radiators just one or two in your living spaces. These can create a stunning effect without the expensive of replacing your complete radiator system.

It is fine for you to replace just one or two radiators on your heating system with more traditional designs. Corrosion inhibitors will ensure that you can mix radiators of different metals on the same heating system (unless it is a secondary hot water system).

3. Using Cast Iron Radiators

Many people love the looks and traditional style of cast iron radiators. These are very effective for heating homes to but they do work in a different way to modern conventional radiators. Traditional radiators will take longer to heat up and cool down than modern radiators. This is because cast iron is an incredibly dense metal. Therefore cast iron radiators will provide a gentle warming heat rather than the instant heat of modern radiators.

One of the benefits of this slow heating and cooling is that cast iron radiators are excellent heat stores. This means they are more efficient when it comes to heating larger spaces or older homes that suffer from extensive heat loss.

4. Painting Traditional Radiators

Many reproduction traditional radiators are available in specialist paint finishes. This can create stunning effects that can look amazing in your home design. For example antique metallic colours are very popular at the moment and create an elegant finish ideal for period designs. For eye-catching features you can also get high-impact colour finishes such as neon pink.