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paintedpeggies

Installing shelving over baseboard radiators?

We want to do an entertainment center similar to this one on our long wall. Sort of an IKEA hack...

There are baseboard radiators the entire length of the floor though... ideas about what can be done?
Is it expensive to remove a radiator? We have lots of them on other walls in the room.

Comments (10)

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Use BESTA from IKEA and hang it from the wall.






  • 5 years ago

    Are those electric radiators, or are they hydronic (boiler) baseboard heat? Electric are easier to disconnect or move, but are a fire hazard near combustibles. Hydronic radiators can often be hidden in cabinet toe kicks, and they would not be a fire hazard.

    Bruce

  • 5 years ago

    They are hydronic, not electric.

  • 5 years ago

    After looking on the Net, it does not seem like it is too difficult, so I'd start calling around to HVAC companies to get a quick quote.

    I'm not an IKEA person, but that hack looks good girl!

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    They can be removed or relocated. I've done it. The boiler has to be drained and then sometimes the floor has to be patched. I looks like an exterior wall so you need to somehow make up the heat loss or the room will be cold. Call in a plumber.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    I love Besta and that is the route I would take and just wall hung no problem. I have hot water heat all through my house with those same rads I even have drapes hung in front of some with no issues.I would not spend the money on new HVAC moving rads is a lot more complicated than just moving them where do you move them too . IMO this is ano brainer wall hang the cabinets and be done. BTW unless you have some amazing stuff to display forget all those shelves which will very quickly be filled with a bunch of stuff not worth display in most cases.

  • 5 years ago

    Maybe not full giant shelves but perhaps some floating... I definitely want cabinets for a full-wall look plus we have kids and still watch DVDs etc so I need storage.

    When I look at the Besta examples, they still look like they are lost on a large wall, as opposed to the finished, full wall look of the one I posted .

    Maybe I can still do wall anchored/floating AND the bookshelf-ish look.

  • 5 years ago

    I agree with Design Girl. Normally radiator sizing is a function of each room's heat requirements and the "how many BTUs per linear foot" spec the radiators will produce at a given water temperature. Remove or obstruct some number of feet of the baseboard and the room will receive less warmth from the heating system and will be colder. Radiators of whatever kind, like most HVAC equipment, and especially including the mini-split thing on the wall to the right, are for function, not for appearance.


    If there's a need to remove some portion of what's there on the baseboard, I'd limit what's removed (not the whole wall) and maybe you could leave room for vertical, wall hung radiators on either side. Some are quite attractive. .

  • 5 years ago

    Hmm, so maybe notching the bottom of the shelving or floating above the radiator would be a better idea...

  • 5 years ago

    I used a Beacon/Morris toe-kick hydronic heater in my kitchen and it has a temperature controlled fan (only runs when water is hot) to push the hot air out into the room. However, the baseboard radiator in your picture is very long, so a toe kick heater with the same BTUs might be quite expensive.

    Bruce