Dressing heating pipes - variants and DIY instructions

• Costs and prices for a disguise
• Cladding for heating pipes
  • Various decor options
• Dress up the heating pipes in their own construction
  • 1. Measuring and planning
  • 2. Attach slats to the wall
  • 3. Insert insulation
  • 4. Screw on the cover
  • 5. Wallpapering - painting - foiling

Heater pipes that run on the wall not only look ugly, they are also dust collectors and cause a loss of heating energy. If you disguise the heating pipes, you can visually adapt them to the wall or optionally the floor. We show you the different variants for a lining of the heating pipes and a manual for an inconspicuous covering with insulation.

There are many beautiful baseboards that have enough space to accommodate the heating pipes. But not all pipes are just above the ground. In old houses, the heating pipes partly run directly under the ceiling. These pipes in the old building can be later provided with a beautiful panel made of wood or a wallpapered surface, if you build them yourself. As you can dress and insulate the pipes of the heating in any special room situation even in the old building, we show you here in the DIY manual step by step.

You need this:

• sander
• Drill, wood drill various strengths, countersink
• Cordless Screwdriver
• jigsaw
• screwdriver
• Spatula, hammer
• Ruler, spirit level
• Pencil, brush
• battens
• OSB boards or wooden boards, MDF boards
• skirting
• Plasterboard, plaster
• Screws, dowels
• Sandpaper, paint / foil
• Putty, insulating material

Costs and prices for a disguise

To disguise the pipes, you do not have to hire a craftsman. Even as a beginner you can do this work with a little patience yourself. This is a project where you can gain experience and still achieve a great result that you can be proud of. The costs are very manageable, depending on which type of wood you want to use as a panel. With simple OSB boards or MDF, for example, you can build a very cheap fairing.

Skirting boards as prefabricated systems for clipping

• simple baseboards with two narrow passages - per meter about 10, 00 Euro
• Pipe cover for two pipes - also mountable in the middle of the wall - about 10, 00 Euro per meter
• Skirting boards different decors - from 12, 00 Euro per meter
• Extra skirting boards - also suitable for wider tube distances - from about 15.00 euros per meter

Cladding for heating pipes

Although the self-construction of the paneling can be downsized to one meter, it depends on the screws and the decor of your paneling. As you can see below, it is quite possible to make a cladding for the pipes for about three euros per meter. The decor can then largely choose freely. In drywall aluminum rails are used, which are then covered with plasterboard. This variant can be covered later only with wall paint or wallpaper.

Tip: At the bottom of the wall, it is not always practical to install rigs, as damage caused by kicks or moisture during wiping is inevitable. The cladding of the heating pipes with Rigips and aluminum rails should therefore only be used with vertical pipes or if you want to install a cladding in the old building just below the ceiling.

Prices:

• simple narrow slats from about 1.00 euros per meter
• OSB plate - thickness 12 mm - height 10 centimeters - about 1.00 euros per meter
• Screws and dowels - less than 1.00 Euro per meter

Various decor options

How you design the cladding later is entirely up to you. If the heating panel is to fit a new laminate floor, you should use a foil decor that matches the wood tone of the laminate. Other ways of decorating the panel are:

• Foil - different decors
• Painting - individually with acrylic paint
• Paint with wall paint
• Wallpaper - seamlessly with the wall
• laminate

Of course, it is also possible to build a cover from the laminate panels to match a laminate flooring. You only have to glue the laminate onto the self-made panel with assembly adhesive . If the panel is to be open to the front, you can even tack on the slats Velcro tape and stick to the cover of laminate counterpart. Thus, access to the heating pipes is possible for all eventualities.

Dress up the heating pipes in their own construction

Before you go shopping, you should consider whether the cover should later be painted or papered. If you want to round off the edges and paint the cover, then you should rather use the smooth MDF boards instead of OSB boards. Thanks to the fine structure of the material, it is also possible to mill grooves or round off the edges in a noble way. Of course you can also use real wood. A normal wooden skirting board can also be screwed onto the slats, such as chipboard. So, especially in old buildings, the skirting board will later fit in with the new veneer made of wood.

1. Measuring and planning

While the fairing does not have to be overly large, you should allow a little clearance around the copper heating pipes. Especially in old buildings, the pipes are often slightly thicker in diameter, these pipes move even more with temperature fluctuations. Measure in several places how high the pipes are and how big the distance is. In the old building there are often enormous fluctuations.

Tip: When planning and shopping, do not forget the insulation for the pipes. You should use as possible preformed pipe shells or appropriate foamed sheets that can be bent.

So that the pipes do not squeak in the box when they warm up, you should leave about one to two centimeters of air to the wood paneling. Buy a little more material, because at the corners of the walls, the pipes are often a bit rounded, the box may have to be a little bigger there. In addition, the wooden deck boards should be mitred if they are to remain visible later. As a result, the consumption of material but again a little higher.

2. Attach slats to the wall

The slats should be placed above and below the tubes, respectively. Keep a small distance. If the tubes are just above the ground and there is no batten there, that's not so important. Then the box for the cover is just attached to a bar. After all, the disguise has a visual purpose and should not carry heavy books. The situation is similar with heating pipes that run closely under the ceiling. The slats should be pre-drilled. To prevent the screws from protruding, deepen the holes in the wood with a countersink. Use the spirit level to attach the slats exactly to the wall. In an old building, for example, you can compensate for the possible unevenness of walls and pipes.

In the wall you sink dowels, which then pick up the screws that pass through the slats. The dowels should sit securely and firmly in the wall. In old buildings, this may not always be easy, as the walls often have porous areas. If a dowel does not find a firm grip, you can fix it with mounting adhesive in the wall. However, the glue then has to dry first, before you can continue working.

Tip: If you do not have long screws in stock, it will be enough to screw in about two inches of the batten. So you can pre-drill to that depth with a much larger wood drill and just the rest with a fine drill that has the strength of the screw. This is a good solution if you have to screw relatively deep slats on the wall because of the strength of the heating pipes.

3. Insert insulation

Often, heating pipes also pass through rooms where heating is not possible at all. Then the insulation inside the box is particularly important. It will be guaranteed later on the annual heating bill. But do not use loose insulation, such as glass or mineral wool inside this box. The insertion may be easier, but through the cracks, the fine material can also escape.

Tip: The foamed pipe shells made of gray insulation, such as Armacell or PE, are actually ideal for this purpose. They just do not fit everywhere. There are also very soft products, which are made of glass or mineral wool, but are protected with a layer of aluminum foil. In addition to the aluminum foil, these insulations also have a self-adhesive overlapping closure. They adapt relatively well to the cramped conditions in a Heizrohrrohrverkleidung.

4. Screw on the cover

The cover, whether wood, laminate or OSB panels should also be pre-drilled. Deepen the holes with a countersink to lower the screws completely. Then the panel can simply be screwed onto the slats. Lightweight panels can also be glued to the slats with double-sided adhesive tape or mounting adhesive.

5. Wallpapering - painting - foiling

If you are using a drywall system, you can easily paper the panel later. Ideally, tighten the joints on the wall with a little acrylic paste. So you do not run the paste behind the cover. If you want to paint the panel with acrylic paint, it is also a good idea to seal it with the acrylic compound. Wood, OSB or MDF should be primed before painting. For the MDF board you have to use a special barrier primer, because the fine MDF otherwise absorbs the entire paint. If you want to apply a self-adhesive film, you should also treat the substrate beforehand with a coat of varnish so that the film will hold better.

Tip: If you do not want to paint the wood first, and then glue the film on, you should at least grind the surface a little or wipe it with vinegar. For example, the film adheres better and more durable to the surface, especially because the temperature fluctuations within the cover make adhesion difficult.

Tips for quick readers

• Select system or build your own disguise
• Peg baseboards with clip system in the wall
• Measure and plan the cladding
• Make a shopping list
• Align slats exactly with spirit level
• Anchor firmly anchored in the wall
• Install battens with dowels and screws
• Wrap insulation around the pipes
• Pre-drill cover plate or laminate and screw on
• optionally use plasterboard in drywall construction
• Fill seams of plasterboard in drywall
• Prime the lining and cover it over
• varnish or glue on foil