How To Disguise Or Hide Heating Pipes And Plumbing In An Apartment In A Box

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Change radiators or not
• Methods for hiding pipes of different types
• Hiding pipes in a private house
• Using drywall to hide pipes

Today there are many ways to hide heating pipes in an apartment and a private house. Moreover, each of them has its own advantages. But before you hide the heating pipes in the apartment, you should carefully examine the radiators. Over a long period of operation, old cast-iron batteries are covered with deposits and oxide from the inside, which makes them unusable and leads to a significant decrease in efficiency, and, accordingly, the efficiency of the boiler. If in an apartment building this is little noticeable, then in a private one the problem is quite tangible and will hit the wallet well.

Change radiators or not

The best option when carrying out repairs in an apartment would be a complete replacement of radiators with new ones. But there are some nuances here:

For example, in Western countries, each apartment has its own heating boiler and its owner independently sets the required temperature regime for himself. Therefore, the type of radiator can be set as you wish. It can be copper, bimetallic steel or aluminum, thus increasing the efficiency of your heating system. Which radiators are better to choose.

In private houses there is such an opportunity, but in an apartment it is necessary to agree on the replacement of heating radiators. But do not despair, because you can hide the cast-iron battery in a box and you will get a rather stylish and elegant look.

So, the radiators have been replaced, you can start solving the question of how to hide the heating pipes in the apartment, a photo of examples of work is presented in this article. But first, let's remember that the heating main is also part of the heating and can be used wisely. It should also be noted that in an apartment building with central heating, pipes cannot be moved on their own, in general, anywhere, but if agreed with housing and communal services, they can be slightly changed. But before you get started, it should be mentioned that it will cost much more than the box.

When reworking pipes and replacing radiators, all responsibility lies with the owner.

Therefore, in an apartment, the best option would be pipe masking or an additional decorative frame structure, for example, making a plasterboard box.

Fortunately, there are not so many heating pipes in the apartment that are striking. In panel houses, the riser is generally not visible, but only the pipe bends protrude from the wall above and below. In monolithic-frame and some panel heating pipes, heating pipes can be located directly in the living space against the wall. Then the issue of hiding pipes is relevant and even more than.

Methods for hiding pipes of different types

Most often, the question arises of how to hide the heating pipe in the kitchen, because it is in this room that they are most visible. This is a heating pipe with a radiator and a gas pipe. Fortunately, the plumbing is hidden behind the lockers. One of the most common ways to solve the problem with a gas meter and a supply pipe is an additional wall cabinet. In addition to visually hiding the counter, the cabinet can be used in normal mode to store dishes.

The way to hide heating pipes depends on whether there is a need to hide radiators or not. But here it is worth remembering the quality of heating and thinking about not being cold in winter due to blocking the free conversion of warm air. If the heating level suits and the temperature regime is more than optimal, then you can make a box for pipes in a room of plasterboard. In this case, the radiator can be covered with perforated MDF panels, plastic or metal grilles. Also, some people prefer to use engraved glass.

If it is not worth closing the radiators or from the point of view of heating efficiency it is unprofitable, then it is better to use a metal cover as a lattice, and mask the pipe with a decorative pattern.

For better heat transfer from the radiator, place a foil-clad insulation, this increases the temperature by 2 degrees.

But you can beautifully disguise not only with the help of a picture. An incredibly attractive way to mask pipes can be to make it part of some composition. For example, as shown in the photo on the right.

Hiding pipes in a private house

In a private house, undoubtedly, there are much more possibilities in terms of hiding pipes, but they often depend on the design features of the structure. If the base is a concrete floor, then the best option is to make the pipe part of the floor heating system. This does not even require a heat insulator for the pipelines. It is important here to perform the correct insulation and base screed. It is imperative to lay a layer of polystyrene foam; a damper tape should be laid around the perimeter of the room.

But if there is no need to make a heated floor, and the maximum efficiency of the heating system comes to the fore, then it is better to make grooves in the floor and lay pipes in them, after putting on thermal insulation. Foamed polyethylene or fiberglass composite half-sleeves are used today.

But before laying pipes in the walls and floor, it is necessary to draw up a project plan. It will help you correctly calculate the amount of materials and work out in advance the most rational ways to lay the heating main.

The grooves must be made with a 1 cm margin for the pipe size. This is necessary to put on the heat insulator and fill the space with a fastening solution. Further, the seam is closed by all known methods: preliminary leveling and finishing. The pipes are fastened using clips or special brackets, which are mounted to the base with dowels.

When laying pipes in grooves, a wide variety of bypasses and bends will often be required, therefore, it is necessary to carefully consider the wiring of heating mains with all the nuances in advance. These are clamps, fasteners, contours and much more. After all, not everyone will be pleased to return to the store several times to buy the missing component.

There are a lot of ways to hide heating radiators and they depend on both the budget and the style of the design. For example, glass railings with an engraved image will look elegant. But it is also necessary to take into account the fact that small children can live in the apartment, so you should also choose the safest ways. Therefore, one of the safest, which can be used not only to hide the heating pipes, but also all other plumbing in the bathroom, is a plasterboard pipe box.

Using drywall to hide pipes

Drywall is an excellent option for building decorative and other designs of any complexity. The metal frame is able to withstand heavy loads, which will make the structure strong and durable, and the design possibilities are generally endless.

To make a plasterboard box for heating pipes, the first step is to draw up a project with all protrusions, niches and other elements. The construction itself is not so difficult to manufacture and includes the following steps:

On site, it is necessary to apply markings using a level, wire or any other means.

To make a durable plasterboard box for pipes, you first need to fix the guide profile to the floor and walls, and then the rack-mount structural elements are inserted into it. The principle is simple here, the more supports, the stronger the structure.

You can connect the profile to each other both with self-tapping screws and with a cutter. Here, special strength is not required, because no loads will be applied to the structure.

In the case of using a cutter, no protrusions are formed at the joints, respectively, there will be no irregularities on the surface of the drywall.

When making a decorative pipe box using drywall, you can beautifully decorate the entire adjacent wall from floor to ceiling. You can make niches, shelves and arches in it for installing flowers, vases or beautiful figurines. Yes, undoubtedly, drywall will take away some of the space, but for the sake of exceptional design you can always make such sacrifices. After the final installation of the structure for hiding pipes and batteries, as a rule, a fairly wide window sill is obtained, which may well serve as a bar table or even a dining table if there is not enough space in the kitchen.

Drywall is the ideal solution for creating unique and exceptional designs that you will admire all your life. But the construction from it is only the basis on which you can perform decorative painting, lay tiles, glue wallpaper or carry out engraving painting. In this case, the niche with the radiator battery can be closed by any protective fence. Because all materials used can be absolutely any color.

And in addition to the article, a video about the manufacture of drywall boxes will be an excellent guide in which you can see all the nuances and little things of the process:

Video:

Plasterboard can be used to create a decorative box, but it is better to use GVL or GLV. But do not forget that access to the radiator must always be free, or at least well disguised. Indeed, almost every season it will be necessary to release air from the system in order to get rid of the air congestion formed in it during repairs in other parts of it. Here are some helpful tips on what to do if the battery is cold.