Assignment of decorative grids
Well-chosen protective grid should not disturb the harmony of the room. Its task. to become an excellent stylistic addition to the interior and an effective means of disguise, behind which an unaesthetic radiator is hidden.
The functional purpose of a radiator is to heat a room. Consequently, the protective screen should not interfere with the effective heat exchange.
If this element will retain heat, it will become cold in the room, and will have to use additional sources of heating, and this entails an increase in utility bills.
But you can pick up such a configuration, which not only hides the battery, but also increases the heat flow into the room.
In addition to hiding the surface of the battery, the decorative grid has a protective function. First, the screen protects the radiator from dust and dirt. Second, it doesn’t get as hot as a battery. This means that you can touch it without fear of getting burnt. This is especially important for families with children or pets.
In addition, the screen can be quickly removed in order to prevent, repair or replace the heater.
How to make?
Frame made of fiberboard with metal grille filling
The product is a simple design in the form of a three-sided box with a lid. As the basis of the front and side panels use a metal mesh, enclosed in a frame of chipboard. This decorative screen looks aesthetically pleasing, but does not reduce the heat output of the radiator.
The creation process consists of the preliminary marking of the web, cutting out parts, subsequent assembly and fixation of the elements. If necessary, the finished product can be decorated to match the design of the room in which the screen will be installed.
Before installing the box, it is necessary to install a metal or foil sheet on the wall to which the radiator is fixed in order to reduce heat loss.
Construction
The shield for the radiator can have several versions, depending on the location of the radiator and the design of the niche in which it is installed.
Whole box screen. For the radiator on the wall without recessing into the niche or exposed in the room.
Overhead screen made of just one front panel, if the radiator is recessed completely beyond the border of the recess below the window and the window sill.
Plasterboard false wall with the grating against the radiator.
In the first case, the most universal option is obtained. If you understand how it is arranged, you can reproduce any other option required in a particular situation. On a frame of wooden bars or metal profile of the smallest size in the section is assembled frame, which is subsequently clad with decorative panels and a grid in the front.
Slots are made in the side walls for the pipes that will go to the radiator, or the screen is enlarged enough to completely hide the pipe outlets if they were originally laid inside the walls. Fastening is carried out to the wall behind the battery, for which the hanging loops on the screen and the bracket on the wall are used.
The required gap from above can be hidden from view by placing an additional shelf above it made of a sheet of laminated wood-fibre board. It must be offset from the screen by the width of the gap itself, that is not less than 7 cm. It is quite enough to visually hide the radiator. A shelf will be a pleasant and useful addition to the decor of the radiator.
We should separately mention the peculiarities of screens mounted in false walls of plasterboard. It is not enough to simply place the grille against the radiator. It is necessary to limit the space around the radiator from the rest of the space behind the false wall. For example, by wrapping the edges of the heat reflective screen of metallized polyethylene foam, fixing them on the back side of drywall. On the top and bottom of the grid, respectively, above and below the radiator, air gaps are necessarily formed, which are finished off with plastic PVC panel trims.
Do-it-yourself instructions and installation
Any of the considered materials can be used for self-made screens. It is necessary to objectively assess their skills, taking into account the availability of tools and the availability of components on sale.
- Choose a construction based on a photo or sample.
- Take measurements of the radiator and installation place: height, width, depth of the niche.
- Draw a sketch and, if possible, a precise drawing of the screen.
- Tooling preparations.
- Purchase materials, including consumables (paint, fasteners).
- The frame is made and trimmed with a chosen material.
- Carry out the finish.
- Fasten the selected method to the wall or floor.
It is possible to examine the model you like in a building supermarket, and then proceed to making it yourself.
Glass or mirror screen
- Drill or screwdriver;
- Drill bit for drilling into the wall for fasteners;
- Glass drill bit.
- Glass cutters and a diamond bead, if the glass is cut by oneself.
Glass or mirror can be ordered to the required size in stores or workshops, they will also process the edge. per square meter. Holders cost from 1,000 p. for the kit.
Additionally, you can buy holding brackets.
They can be of different design, but must hold the panel in an upright position.
Algorithm of self-made:
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- Cut the glass to the right size, taking into account gaps for air circulation.
- Work the edge with a diamond burr or fine sandpaper.
- Drill a hole for the holder with a drill bit of the required diameter. The drill set to minimum speed, as the work place of drilling watered.
- Marking for mounting brackets on the wall or floor.
- Drill a hole and fasten brackets.
- Mounts the glass to the holders.
Try the operation on an unnecessary piece of glass before drilling.
Another option that does not involve drilling, involves the use of ready-made brackets and nickel-plated posts. All materials can be purchased in any construction supermarket.
The surface can be covered with a tinted film of the same color or with a pattern.
Protective box made of fiberboard, HDF
- A drill (screwdriver), a torch or an impact drill for concrete walls;
- jigsaw;
- a fine-toothed hacksaw, complete with a jig saw;
- Construction angle, ruler or tape measure;
- A set of screwdrivers of necessary configuration;
| Fiberboard or HDF panel of the required size. from 600 p/m 2 | |
| Boards Fibreboard in the required width for the top and side panels from 200 p. per 3-meter piece, the upper part can be made of a solid piece of board | |
| Whittled bar 20×30 mm from 30 p./Boards. meter | |
| 35×25 mm self-tapping screws from 30 p./pc. | |
| 12 steel corners for frame assembly from 5 p./pc. | |
| wood or wood-fiber board corner for finishing from 50 p./п.м. | |
| 2 p furniture hangers for fastening the frame to the wall./pc. | |
| countersunk nails or glue for installing decorative angles |
Work sequence:
- Make final measurements of the opening.
- Make a drawing.
- Cut out and cut HDF panel to the required size, it is desirable to maintain the symmetry of the pattern.
- Mark and cut framework bars.
- Using steel corners, assemble the frame.
- Fasten hangers for further installation.
- Cover the top and sides with fiberboard panels.
- Fix the peorized panel using screws screwed into the corners.
- Finish the box with a decorative angle.
- Mark holes in the wall, drilled, screwed screws on which to hang the box.
- Install the screen in place.
If necessary, the entire structure can be removed in a few seconds.
Some purchased wood-fibreboard screens are thick and strong enough not to make a frame, then the panels are connected with the help of furniture nooks. For details see
Use a similar scheme to make steel screens.
Wrought iron grids
For work besides the torch will need an angle grinder, arc welder, safety mask and electrodes.
The blanks for the lattice are purchased in a building supermarket. The price depends on the configuration and size of the part.
- Weld the frame from steel angle or profile pipe.
- Welding of corbels and studs.
- Grind the welding spots with a grinder.
- Painting the finished product.
- Fix the grid to the wall or floor.
Important! Do not weld in a closed room, as the released gases are toxic, and the smell does not evaporate from the room for several days. Respect for fire safety: protect flammable objects and the floor with screens, prepare a reserve of water in case of fire.
Brutal mesh Rabitzka
The most common material that replaces the standard factory grille is a fine mesh Rabitz grille. It can be made of aluminum, plastic, or even steel. You can find such a product in many places, and it will cost very modest money. You will also need the following tools and supplies for the grill transfer operation:
- Saws for metal;
- file;
- over file;
- sandpaper;
- self-tapping screws or plastic clamps;
- cold welding.
Before you make a grille according to your own taste, it is necessary to remove the native. It is usually held in place by plastic grips, which should simply be squeezed, after which everything can be easily removed. It is very undesirable to break the mounts and the frame of the grid, as the old construction will serve as a frame for new achievements. The same concerns a chrome-plated overlay, if there is one. After that all crosspieces of the grid. both vertical and horizontal. are cut off “to the root” using hacksaw or file. It is not necessary to be frightened if a detail has appreciably lost in rigidity, in fact it is a natural byproduct of similar tuning.
All “stumps” and burrs have to be carefully processed with a file and file. Cold welding is most commonly used to seal the non-cute holes from the removed ribs. It dries quickly, so that after 10 minutes you can continue the work. The production of the frame is completed by sanding the surfaces with sandpaper with a fine abrasive fraction. Then a grid is cut out to the size of the frame. Its attachment can be carried out both with small self-drilling screws and with plastic clamps (when there is something to it), used for twisting wires. In the case of self-tapping screws, it is recommended that they are heated in the fire before screwing, so as not to cause cracking of the material. Plastic mesh can also be easily planted on the glue.
The cost of different types of screens
Fiberboard is significantly cheaper. Panel construction costs from 1000 (. Metal bars go for 3000-4000 per linear meter. Products made of glass, leather, wrought iron bars are not cheap, and in general can reach a very high level due to their exclusivity.
Box of plasterboard, made with their own hands, is much cheaper than all of the above materials. If the decor for the batteries is done during the main repair, then you can significantly save money by using the building materials and tools that are on hand.
What the grids are needed for
often than not, grids on radiators are installed for the purpose of decoration. sometimes they can be very beautiful. They can even embellish the room.
The second task they often perform is to cover sharp and hard edges. This is especially true in families with children or in rooms with unattractive, injury-prone cast iron radiators of the old type (accordion). they can only fit in rooms decorated in the loft style.
In addition, by installing decorative grilles, you can:
- Protect radiators from dirt and dust.
- Ensure an even distribution of warm air masses throughout the room. if properly installed, they do not interfere with air circulation.
- Protect small children from burns and bruises in case of contact with heating devices. the surface temperature of the grids is much lower than that of batteries.
If the radiator is not in a niche, you can cover it with a case with a lid. and the room will have a shelf. Another plus is that such grids do not require periodic painting.
Do they reduce the heat output
Grilles on the radiators are needed not only for decoration. radiators must heat the room.
The principle of heat transfer from the radiator without a grille is that the air enters from below, passes along the radiator, is heated and leaves upwards. this is how heating works.
This should be kept in mind when choosing a grille:
- For the air to circulate normally, there must be a gap at the bottom of the decorative screen, and the cover at the top must have a large area of peoria;
- Grilles in the form of a box with the walls on all sides should be very openwork; if they are made of solid wood, have almost no peoria or openings are too small, the heating will be ineffective.
Any grille on radiators reduces the heat output, even the most delicate and delicate. But depending on the manufacturing material, in one case the amount of heat transferred may decrease by 10-15%, and in another. by 60% or even more.
Using a heat-conducting material (e.g. wood) in the construction of the racks may, on the contrary, increase the heat output.
Metal screen with their own hands
As a panel for the screen a metal peorized sheet metal or wire mesh can be used. There are already ready-made expanded mesh with anti-corrosion treatment (for steel) and enamel decorative coating. Such mesh can be fastened to a wooden frame and used in the structures described above.
But metal has a serious advantage over wood. high thermal conductivity. This feature allows you to make screens that rest directly on the battery. They even increase its heat output by increasing the surface. over, a battery with such a screen works better not only for radiation, but also for convection, just look at the ribbed heating elements convectors.
For the frame, it is better to choose an aluminum angle, and for the screen panel, aluminum sheet or slotted mesh. They are easier to work with, and the thermal conductivity of aluminum is almost 5 times higher than that of steel.
It’s pretty easy to make a hinged metal screen:
- Take two angles of length equal to the sum of the height of the screen and the depth of the battery.
- On a line of a bend on one of walls of each corner do two opposite cuts with the general angle of 90 (on 45 for everyone concerning an edge of a corner). It is important to make cuts in such a way that the uncut walls of the corners face each other
- Bend the corners into an “L” shape.
- Prepare a blank for the screen from peat sheets or wire mesh. Its length is equal to the total length of the L-shaped angle.
- Three corners equal in size to the width of the screen are made.
- Bend the screen blank and fasten it to the L-shaped brackets with screws and nuts with washers (in the holes drilled into the brackets). It is better to drill on the spot to get them into the perforation of the sheet or mesh mesh.
- On the inside of the grid, fix in the corner and along the edges three corners, which act as stiffeners.
- Paint the outer part of the L-shaped corners.
To such a screen was in a stable position in the wall you can fix a couple of dowels with straight hooks, and in the short parts of the L-shaped angles drilled under them holes.
Types of shields for the radiator
The modern construction market provides a variety of materials and tools to implement their ideas. Consider the different options.
Metal screens
They have a good thermal conductivity and affordable price. Only 3% heat loss. For the manufacture may be suitable thin sheet metal, covered with a polymer film on top. On sale there are different shades of this coating. But it is not so easy to work with metal.
Wooden screens
A good, environmentally friendly option. The imagination of the performer is not limited in any way. But for boxes and decorative lattices choose well-dried wood. Then the natural structure of the material and the beauty will help perform a spectacular model. After the manufacture of the screen, it must be covered with a special composition. Otherwise, the formation of cracks and deformation is possible. Constant care is required.
Plastic screens
This material conducts heat poorly and may warp from exposure to hot temperatures. It costs plastic inexpensively and looks neat. But you should not buy cheap versions, which when heated begins to spread the chemical smell and emit harmful substances.
Fibreboard screens
The most common option for decorating heating radiators. Not as capricious in care as wood, can be easily processed even in the home. The material is durable and resistant. And the price is the most democratic among the analogues.
