Column Radiators

[Pootles2010]

Sorry, boring I know. We're having lots of work done to the house, part of which is new boiler & radiators downstairs.

I love the look of column radiators, but worried about a) keeping them clean b) efficiency and c) painting behind them.

I think we would probably get some new steel ones, maybe Acova ones? Any advice much appreciated!

Ooh can I watch this thread - doing exactly the same

We have them and they are far better at pumping out the heat than our old 1960s panel radiators.

You have to take them off for decorating. There is just no other way around it if you want a decent finish. Taking off a radiator is not hard to do though.

Interesting Redhat! Is it the modern steel ones you have?

I thought as much re decorating - DP was trying to come up with solutions involving dust sheet and long rollers

Yes mine are steel like this. Its made a massive difference to the temperature in the rooms where we've installed them.

www.mrcentralheating.co.uk/radiators/column-radiators/horizontal-radiators

Redhat can I ask whether you have white ones or a different colour? I suppose I am slightly concerned about them dominating the space (they become a focal point) even though they are so much nicer than traditional radiators. Do you have them kind of hidden in the room or are they on display if that makes sense?

Mine are white but that goes with the decor in the house which is New England in style, lots of white and soft greys. They don't dominate and actually look quite nice as a feature in themselves IMO. I wouldn't feel the need to cover them up. That said, they're not in very dominant positions in the room.

Do you find them ok in terms of keeping them clean redhat? Apologies for 50 questions

I don't have any advice on cleaning or painting behind as we have only just had them fitted but we bought ours from screwfix in cast grey. Our walls are white and they don't dominate the room

www.screwfix.com/p/arroll-neo-classic-4-column-cast-iron-radiator-cast-grey-760-x-1200mm/7829f

Screwfix are on quidco if you use it - ours came to around 4K which we hadn't factored into budget so getting back a small percentage of that helped!

Ooh thanks for that tip - very helpful!

Mine are very easy to keep clean since they're very smooth and so the dust comes off easily. Also the gaps between the columns are fairly large and so you can easily get one of those slimline feather dusters through them. Far easier to keep clean than our old panel radiators.

Ours were very cheap compared to the ones Ipane posted but I've been very pleased with them. They don't look at all cheap - our house is large and high value and I needed to make sure they looked in keeping. I did buy some different valves for them from screwfix to make them look more high end.

I have one in the hall. It was spray-painted years ago by a local firm to match the colour of the walls so is extremely smooth and as redhat says, is very clean compared to a panel radiator.

I had those white acova ones all through my last place and I LOVED them - they looked gorgeous (in big Victorian flat) and as others have said they were much warmer - they retain heat for so much longer I find than traditional panel radiators. I'd definitely install them again - they seem a lot more in price but are worth it long-term.

Great - thank you all! Will go for them.

We are looking at Column radiators for a new build.

Has anyone experience of the Milano Windsor range from bestheating.com. They are the only ones I can find that in our budget range?

The next is the acova but they are more expensive.

Your thoughts would be a big help.