Advice on removing this radiator & skirting board please

[pmp4]

Hi

I am decorating the bathroom (or attempting to) and need to remove the skirting so that I can replace with new ones and tile.

As you can see from the image below, the pipes for the towel rail come through the wall. is there any way I can remove the skirting without draining down the whole system?

View media item 90326[/img]

 

[footprints]

You can cut the board either side with a multitool like the Bosch or a hand saw if you are fairly handy with it and then split the remaining small piece with a wood chisel.
Any saw cutting too close to the pipe will almost certainly end in disaster!

Trouble is how do you get the new board in as neatly as the last?

 

[pmp4]

Thanks for your prompt reply. I have actually just bought a saw for this very reason. Do I have the option of using a freeze spray and then plugging the pipe until I am ready to put the new board back on?

Never used a freeze spray before

 

[footprints]

No a freeze kit needs a fair amount of pipe to fit the insulated bag around the pipe and it has to be left in place throughout the working time.
Is it a normal openvented system with a small tank in the loft? If so you might get away with using bungs

 

[pmp4]

no small tank in the loft. I might just have to bit the bullet and turn off the mains water and drain the c heating water. Yuck to that!

 

[footprints]

Drain is best in the long run as you may need to remove the nut
and olive to get the new board fitting neatly around the pipe.

 

[pmp4]

So to drain, I just turn the water off at the mains, drain all the water out from rad and turn the boiler off(before draining)?

 

[Madrab]

An easier way, if you have quite a few rads and system is full of inhibitor, to minimise loss, if it's a sealed system.

1) Shut off boiler. Shut off cold mains if it's a combi.
2) Turn all rads off at both ends, remembering how many turns on the lockshield valves so they can be re-set if currently balanced.
3) Drain the system from the compression fitting on the pipe until water stops draining.
4) Once refitted and refilling, pressurise system to 2 bar and bleed air out to the compression fittings, keep pressurising until all air is removed.
5) Open all the valves to previous settings again and then bleed again at the top of all the rads as normal.

That way you're only draining the system pipework and boiler and not all the rads where most of the water is stored.

 

[footprints]

Yes boiler off before starting and you can try the above method if you want to save inhibitor, but i would turn rads back on before refilling to reduce the risk of air locks, bleed out as much air as possible before turning on the boiler.

 

[ree]

Good advice ref semi or full draining down but Footprints suggestion of cutting and chiselling seems to be the most straight forward method.

Simply cut the board well away from the pipe and chisel out a notch as above, or cut and split the board at both valves.

The one piece replacement board can be drilled & notched out (keep the pieces) and dropped down over the pipe stubs - a pipe collar will cover any glued in piece.