When you are renovating a house or you want to change a room in your house, it is possible that one or more radiators have to be removed. This also applies to radiators you never use. If you are going to use a different type of heating system, for instance underfloor heating, then one or more radiators may no longer be needed. The choice to remove one or more radiators should be a well-considered one. Once a radiator has been removed, it is a lot of work to reconnect it.
In this article you will read all about removing radiators and how to cap a radiator. You can do this yourself if you are handy or leave it to a professional. And how much does it cost to cap a radiator? We will also elaborate on that question.
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Average costs for capping a radiator
Would you rather outsource this job to a professional, for instance one of Zoofy's professionals? Depending on the number of radiators to be removed, the average costs for removing a radiator are approximately € 175.
Capping radiators, how does that work?
When you have made a well-considered decision to remove one or more radiators, you need to take the following steps. When you take on the job yourself, it is useful to have an extra hand. Think of good safety shoes and have some old towels and a catch tray ready.
Switching off the central heating boiler
Irrespective of whether you do the job yourself or have it done by a professional, the first thing to do is to switch off the boiler. Switch off the appliance and pull the plug out carefully.
Draining the system or the radiator
If only a single radiator needs to be disconnected, this can usually be done in two ways:
Without draining the entire heating system
The easiest and fastest way to disconnect and cap a radiator is without having to drain the entire heating system. Unfortunately, this is only possible if the radiator has a foot valve. A foot valve is located at the bottom left or right of the radiator.
Now close both the foot valve and the radiator valve. Then you can drain the radiator. If the rest of the heating installation remains in use, you can cap the now open pipe of the disconnected radiator. Are you leaving the draining to a professional? They have the necessary materials. If you are doing it yourself, then you must, of course, take care of these plugs yourself before starting this job. They are available at any DIY shop.
Draining the entire heating system
If the radiator does not have a foot valve, the entire heating system must unfortunately be drained. For this purpose, the vent tap of the radiator must be opened at the highest point. This is to prevent a possible vacuum from forming. Now you can turn up all the radiators you want to disconnect. Also open the other radiators that are on the same floor, as well as the radiators on the higher floor(s). Only when you are sure that all radiators are open can you connect a water hose to the drain point. The drain point is always on the lowest radiator and can be recognised by a copper cap with a chain. Check beforehand whether the water hose has the right coupling that can be connected to the drainage point.
Of course you make sure that the dirty water can drain off properly. Bear in mind that draining can take a while, as not a lot of water can be drained because of the thin hose.
Another alternative is to place a dish as large as possible under the drain point. This method will allow the water to drain more quickly. However, keep an eye on the process and keep a spare bowl and old towels handy.