Screwfix: Aaargh!

[Eric The Viking]

I ordered a large-ish radiator and collected and hung it yesterday. It's "Kudox", 1800x600 single panel, fins to the back and a clip on cover.

I was expecting, and got, three brackets. "Simples" thought I, so measured the centre line of the reveal, and dropped a vertical. I checked the final position of the 9" skirting, and that everything cleared it (including the thermostat - been caught before!).

They'd put in the wrong instructions -- for a 2-bracket rad -- all the distances were irrelevant.

It also said "use a 9mm masonry bit" for the wall plugs (a thing I've never seen outside of the "stupidly expensive" rack in my local specialist tool shop). 8mm was definitely too small, and even if I had 9mm, that looked too small as well. The plugs taper, so I compromised on drilling to depth at 8mm and enlarging half the hole to 10mm. That was fine.

Before drilling though I re-checked measurements on the rad. Boy, am I glad I did. From centre to end: 770mm. Fine. Marked off verticals at 770 from the C/L.

At this point something (someone: I do believe in the Almighty) made me check the other end of the rad: 800mm, NOT 770mm. The middle bracket is offset by 15mm.

I heaved a sigh, made more pencil marks (wall beginning to look like a mini version of Nasca, Peru), and drilled and fitted the brackets.

Three brackets, six coachbolts, six washers (supplied by me!), six holes, and a centred, level radiator. Result!

But it so nearly wasn't. How many houses have walls resembling Emmental cheese I wonder?

And I still have to paint the back of the thing, where they couldn't be bothered to spray it properly. It's almost bare metal inside the fins, and does have bare metal where the clip-on cover has scraped one of the spigots.

The alternative is packing it up, arguing about it, sending it back, getting another brand and making more holes in the wall. The single-with-fins ones are probably all like that, sir (all the bigger ones I've fitted recently have been doubles, so the brackets are on the rad, not the fins). But hey, a warning would've been nice...

Screwfix: Aaargh!

E.

 

[RogerS]

I always take my measurements off the radiator itself [/smug mode]

 

[Myfordman]

....and i no longer buy from Screwfix. Toolsatan get most of my business these days.

MM

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"Tool Satan"? Love it! :lol:

 

[Benchwayze]

Eric,

I know your feelings on plugging walls. My interior walls are like cheese too. (1971 build; thermalite blocks inside.) I usually have to fix with old-fashioned, home made wooden plugs. Sometimes even have to use epoxy!

John (hammer)

 

[Eric The Viking]

I put my foot down this time (not too hard, just in case!), and we got a plasterer in to re-render and skim the window wall. Everything round the lintel (probably wooden) was hollow-sounding, in a just-about-to sort of way.

I resorted to 2-part car body filler downstairs to keep the curtain rails up in two rooms. That sounds daft, but it's basically polyester resin, as used for wall stitching, etc. and pretty strong if you clear any loose grit out first and tamp it well. The big advantage is you can remove then clean back around old wall plugs, fill, then smooth and re-drill knowing you'll get a decent fixing.

It doesn't take emulsion paint too well, but you don't see that behind a curtain rail. The only other approach I've got to work is using wooden plates, but that throws off the curtain rail alignment if it's the edge of a bay and the rail has been professionally bent to fit... sigh.

 

[Benchwayze]

Absolutely the problem I have with curtain rails. I considered fixing small wooden plates to the reveal, but even they have to be plugged, and they might too pull out. So car-filler would solve the problem.

Come to think, I use that stuff to make 'bolt' holes in the brick piers when I secured my up and over garage door with external bolts and padlocks.

Cheers Eric.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My friend uses long plasterboard screws straight into the thermalite (no plug at all), and says he has no problems. I've not tried it, though. You can stick your plugs in with water based gun adhesive as long as you leave drying time.

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks Phil.

No. 1 Son is getting me some body-filler today, so he can come and climb the steps and perform the 'oracle'! Well, he's useful at these things so I might as well take advantage! 8)

John

 

[Eric The Viking]

My friend uses long plasterboard screws straight into the thermalite (no plug at all), and says he has no problems. I've not tried it, though. You can stick your plugs in with water based gun adhesive as long as you leave drying time.

I guess that's fair enough - if the screw is long enough a lot of the load is shear rather than tension.

But it wouldn't work here. Our walls are engineering brick with white lime plaster over. You usually do need longer than normal screws as otherwise there isn't enough in the brick. I also use the 'headless' sort of rawlplug and sink it well below the surface. If you hit a mortar joint you can just about use a plug, but you really need to stabilise it with something first - PVA or gunned glue of some sort to give mechanical friction to the plug when the screw goes in. Even frame fixings don't hold very well unless they're into the middle of a brick (and even then they still tend to split them).

The nice thing about car filler is that you can keep the accuracy and get a known good fixing, but it takes ages as a simple job becomes two distinct ones - three if you have to sand back and refinish in the middle.

@ John: I'd test whatever you're using somewhere, to make sure it's strong enough before committing it to something like curtain rail, if you have long drops like we do - it's a lot of weight at the ends in the daytime. When I did ours, I knew I could get filler into the old plug holes in the brick behind. They provide a mechanical anchor for the surface stuff. also, if it's deep do a couple of shallow passes.

E.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Eric, I was thinking specifically of thermalite when not using plugs. They wouldn't work in hard stuff.

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks Eric.

The fixing is for a curtain wire so there isn't a lot of weight. SWIMBO is addicted to nets; and I must admit, I think the windows seem naked without them! The stuff I used on my garage door locks was Isopon, and that is still there as good as new. (Maybe I should fill in the unused bolt-keeper holes though! :mrgreen: )


Cheers