Mounting a radiator on plaster board walls

[Susan Quintin]

I wonder if anyone can help me out there. I have just bought a panel heater 500 watts which is wall mountable. It is only about 1 foot high and is about one metre long.

I want to put it onto one of the walls in the loft but the walls up there are plasterboard. What is the best and safest way of mounting this heater onto the plasterboard walls??

 

[broxy]

Spring toggles should be fine but if you can get a fixing on the stud work at least one side even better.

 

[chrishutt]

First try to locate the wooden studs behind the plasterboard. Tapping the board will result in a change of sound over the studs. Then arrange that at least one of the fixing brackets screws into the stud.

If you're lucky, you might also find that the second bracket will also fix to a stud, but failing this you will need to use plasterboard fixings. They won't take a lot of weight, but a 500 watt rad shouldn't weigh much anyway.

 

[Susan Quintin]

Thanks for you reply but wot about the safety issue. Plaster boards is thin would the heat from the panel heater cause a problem or would it be OK Should i put a plate of some sort because I am worried that the heat is going to burn the plaster board or is it not a problem

 

[broxy]

Should be fine if your still worried though just buy some silver foil that sticks on the wall behind radiators

 

[Susan Quintin]

Thank you so much for your help

 

[Agile]

For students!

If you have to mount a heavier rad on plasterboard walls then ideally fix one bracket to the stud, the centre one if there are three!

You can fix a "batten" across the studs and fix the rad brackets to that. About 75 x 25 ideally.

We once had to fix rads to a timber internal frame house where the studs were at 1200 centres. We used 12 mm and 18 mm MDF sheets which could support the rads from a single stud but still allow a rigid fix.

More work though!

Tony