Beauty at the expense of warmth
With a major overhaul of the premises, you can, of course, hide the battery in the wall using a niche made of drywall, chipboard or plastic. Ventilation of heat and its removal from the battery, in this case, is carried out through a grate, which must be arranged in such a niche. As a rule, such niches are decorated with a lattice made of chipboard or wood. It is possible to select both the lattice itself and its frame in the required color scheme. These grates are sold in a large assortment, they are durable and pass heat well.
Bench for reading over the battery
In addition, the issue of converting heating batteries can be solved by covering them with special decorative screens. Such devices can be installed directly in front of the radiators or carried out in a hinged form.
Hinged screen made of thin wooden slats
Plain wood grate painted to match the wall finishes
A hinged screen made of metal slightly reduces heat transfer, is inexpensive and easy to install
These solutions can not always be called optimal, since a very large part of the heat generated by the battery is wasted in this case. The effect is close to what would be achieved by hiding the battery behind the curtains.
Metal screen with openwork design
Any screen design must provide access to the heating battery
At the same time, closing the heating radiators has the function of protecting small children from burns. Screens, boxes and niches are beautiful, they can be matched to any interior. This type of decor is used, as a rule, in living rooms and is an ideal stylistic solution for them. Covering batteries in children's rooms with boxes and screens is the best solution for both safety and decorative purposes. A panel made of wood or chipboard can be decorated with bright patterns and used as a game element.
Screen idea for high battery
An old wooden bench in the role of a battery box in the hallway of a village house
Requirements for decorative elements
At the bottom there must be a gap of at least 8 cm for the circulation of cold air
Before hiding the battery, it must be taken into account that there should be no obstacles for the circulation of heated air from above, below and on the side. Therefore, boxes and shield screens are usually equipped with gratings.
The distance from the floor to the edge of the decorative element is also important. It must be at least 8 cm. Through this gap, cold air rises up along the radiator section, heating up along the way. If the gap is closed, heat transfer will be disturbed.
It is worth considering the formation of dust on screens and boxes during convection. For this reason, you need to select a product from a material that is easy to wet cleaning.
The decorative overlay must be resistant to long-term exposure to high temperatures.
How to hide a pipe
Open pipe masking method
Sometimes it is required to hide not only the radiator itself, but also the pipe sections connected to it. For this, different methods are used:
- Open way. The fastest. The pipes are painted in the color of the walls, which makes them almost invisible. The idea of \u200b\u200bdecorating with improvised material can also become interesting and original, for example, painting a heating element in the color of a tree and fixing twigs on it.
- Hidden stretch. The pipes are hidden in the strobes in the wall and covered with a cladding. The downside is that in the event of a breakthrough, the skin will have to be opened, so this method is absolutely not suitable for old wiring.
- Packing in floor screed. A similar method of laying the highway is suitable if the concrete layer has not yet been poured.It also requires labor-intensive opening in case of an accident, so you should keep a plan for laying communication lines in case the heating system is repaired.
- Closing with a wide plinth. This is possible if the heating pipes run along the floor. If there is a similar arrangement of the heating circuit in the bathroom or in the kitchen, you can make a design that looks like a staircase and decorate it with tiles.
A good option is to use false walls. Anything can be hidden behind a decorative partition, including heating elements. But the false wall must be quickly dismantled so that free access can be provided in the event of an accident. The easiest way is to create a frame bulkhead from a bar or metal profile and sew it up with drywall, plastic or plywood. It is useful to set hatches with flaps at the places where pipes are connected to the heating device and where couplings and tees are located. It is good if the area of the room allows you to install a decorative coating not close to the battery, so that it does not get very hot and does not emit potentially hazardous substances.
Knowing how to decorate pipes or radiators in an apartment or in a private house, you can easily solve the problem of masking an engineering interchange. Decorative overlap will improve the appearance without compromising the efficiency of space heating. Also, a beautiful screen will allow you to get rid of long, dust-collecting curtains in favor of modern rolled or Roman paintings.
Using special screens
The screen for the battery must match the design of the room and pass heat well
To close the heating radiators in a house or apartment, you can use decorative screens. Choose the one that suits you according to two parameters - design and material of manufacture.
Design features
Masking shields are classified according to the method of fastening to batteries. According to this principle, box screens and hanging products are distinguished.
The decorative box consists of a frame with a large-mesh grating on the front side. Such products are used when it is necessary to hide the unaesthetic appearance of the battery, and sometimes the pipes of the heating circuit. The boxes are installed along the window sill or cover only the radiator. They can be equipped with opening doors, which makes it easier to clean and regulate the temperature of the coolant.
Hinged lattice screens are of two types:
- models in the form of a horizontal panel located on top, with a decorative grille built into it;
- options consisting only of the front part, which are called shields.
The first option is used to hide radiators located in niches or not covered by a window sill on top, and installed directly on the battery.
Wall-mounted flat screens are often placed on radiators under a window, not covered by a window sill. They are also used to hide batteries installed in niches.
Production material
plastic screen
To choose a decorative element according to this indicator, you need to take into account the characteristic features of the material.
To mask the batteries, screens made of the following materials are used:
- metal;
- wood;
- MDF;
- glass;
- plastic.
To close ugly radiators, most often apartment owners prefer simple boxes made of white metal. Such options can not be called exquisite, but they are inexpensive and give off heat well. If strength and appearance are important, and cost does not matter, it is better to opt for a stainless steel product, which has a long service life and aesthetic design. Typically, these decors are used to hide cast-iron radiators.
MDF is the most practical and inexpensive material that has all the advantages of wood and at the same time is not afraid of moisture and temperature changes. Screens made of such material are less prone to deformation and curvature.On sale there are openwork options from MDF.
Glass panels for heating appliances stand out for their maximum design variability. They are produced entirely glass or adding other decorative materials. The location of the corners must be such that they cannot be injured or caught on clothing. Usually drawings, patterns are applied to the surface of the product. To prevent the glass from breaking or scratching it, it is covered with a laminate. In addition to laminated glass, triplex or acrylic is often used.
Plastic screens are the cheapest, but at the same time dangerous option. The shield undergoes deformation from the heat of a hot radiator and releases harmful components into the air. It is undesirable to use such screens where people stay for a long time.
Screen for battery
Screens come in a wide variety of shapes and are made from several basic materials. The most popular are metal, wood and glass. Screens made from each of these materials have their own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. If we talk about metal screens, then their use has a very good effect on heat transfer from the battery.
In the photo above you can see an example of the placement of such a hinged screen of a mesh type.
It is very important to always understand when closing the heating battery that this reduces the efficiency of its work, and accordingly increases the cost of energy resources during the heating season. And metal structures made of such meshes prevent the spread of warm air around the room to the least extent, and therefore are recommended for installation if heating costs become a significant figure in the family budget
If a grid on the wall instead of a battery doesn't seem like a good idea, then you can look for screens made of solid metal sheets with drawings made in them. These images are cut into the surfaces of the screen and make it permeable to warm air currents. Variations of drawings can be very different and it will not be difficult to choose a picture suitable for your interior.
The second after metal in terms of heat transfer efficiency is a glass screen for a radiator. It is installed on special fasteners, which are closed with metal tubes.
The most important advantage of this option of hiding the battery is that absolutely any picture can be depicted on the glass. Manufacturers actively use this feature of the material and place the most incredible images on glass screens.
Here we are not just talking about covering an unsightly element in the interior of a room. Such a screen will be a great addition to the design of the room in almost any style and can even create a separate unique accent in one place or another in the room.
The next way to decorate the batteries is to install a wooden box in the place where they are placed. Such a box can be of completely different shapes and colors, and its functional purpose can even hide the very fact that there is a battery on the wall.
After viewing these examples, it becomes clear how successful the idea of \u200b\u200bdisguising a radiator as a piece of furniture can be. Below are a few more options for boxes made in the natural color of wood, which look great in the interior and, in addition to the task of closing the radiator, perform a certain function.
Another good way to keep batteries out of your sight is to share a wooden screen with a window sill. With proper space planning, this bundle can be used to accommodate several house plants, or to arrange an additional resting place on the windowsill.
Next, consider a few photographs of examples of how you can successfully integrate a heater into a furniture complex along a wall.
And in conclusion, ideas for decorating a radiator without closing it. It is not necessary to completely hide the battery, you can include it in the composition of the interior elements, if you correctly use the shape of the radiator in the process of decorating it.
When choosing a design for closing the battery, try to ensure that it always has air access from below, and the top cover is equipped with ventilation holes. The air in the room moves along the radiator from the bottom up and this process ensures efficient heat exchange in the room. The cooled air comes to the battery from below and during the heating process rises along its body upwards. Therefore, when installing a decorative box or screen, always remember that, in addition to the aesthetic component, its shape must take into account the peculiarities of the heat exchange processes in the room.
The best solutions for the kitchen
The design of kitchens, not as strict as is customary for living rooms, gives free rein to imagination. In addition to the above methods of hiding radiators, in rooms where culinary masterpieces are created, design delights are also created to decorate heating radiators. The battery and the pipe connecting it to the heat source can be painted in the color of the walls, decorated using the decoupage technique, or you can combine these two methods.
A battery painted to match the walls will be less conspicuous
Even more effect can be achieved if you paint the battery to match the wallpaper
The battery can be flaunted by making it part of an artistic composition
Lots of ideas are available on the web. Taking them as a basis, you can create a masterpiece yourself and without any special labor and time costs by decorating the external elements of the heating system with an elegant or cheerful pattern. Battery decoupage is the transfer of a pattern from a medium to a metal surface of a radiator. When decorating using decoupage technique, batteries can be decorated using ready-made drawings made on thin paper (both rice paper and ordinary decorative napkins are suitable). There are a lot of design options: flowers, wood decoration, geometric patterns.
Khokhloma painting on the radiator
If you have artistic abilities, then you can do without ready-made solutions and paint images directly on the surface. For such work you will need heat-resistant paints and varnish. The latter is necessary for those who decide to decoupage the battery on their own. For decoupage, you will also need glue, regular PVA will do.
Common ways to disguise
The presence of any problem always leads to its solution, and the disguise of radiators in apartments is no exception. Designers and builders have developed several solutions to this problem. Consider the most popular of them:
- One of the most common ways to solve the problem, than to close the radiator, is to install a metal screen. Usually these screens are mass-produced, but are made for certain types of radiators. Their advantage is high heat transfer, durability, the absence of the slightest deformation under temperature effects, as well as low price. But the minus, probably, covers all the pluses of this type of disguise, since this screen can hardly be called beautiful.
Metal screen for heating battery
You can solve the issue of the aesthetic component after the purchase of such a screen: it is quite feasible for creative people to decorate or paint a metal screen on their own.
- Another method of how to disguise a battery indoors is to install a wooden screen. To make such a model, masking the radiator in the house, a woodworker can order. The ideal option would be to make a screen that resembles the furniture in the room in style and shape.
Wooden screen for a heating battery in the interior
Most often, lattice screens or braided screens are made of wood, which cover the battery from the eyes, but pass heat well. Such screens are not cheap, especially if they are made to order, but they look very impressive, besides, they are an additional place to sit or place some items: toys, decorative items, vases, etc. The disadvantage of wooden screens is that under the influence of high temperatures they can be deformed. You can create a wooden screen model yourself by first measuring the area of the radiator and its thickness.
Screen-lattice for a radiator
- The next option to close the battery is a plastic screen. It is relatively cheap, but it is sometimes noted that under the influence of high temperatures, some types of plastic can release toxic substances, so it is better not to risk it and choose another way to hide the radiator.
Decorative plastic screen
- Another common method than to close the radiator is custom-made furniture or built-in furniture. It can be a chest of drawers that hides the heating system, a long bench or console table that hides the radiator. The only thing when you plan such furniture with the master, you need to provide for the heat to be able to penetrate into the room. To do this, you can make carved cabinet doors or carved vertical surfaces.
The heating battery is built into the furniture
As an option, you can consider making a decorative fireplace in place of the battery, which will be not only decorative, but also a real warm cozy place - a kind of hearth in the room.
Simple ways to shelter from the snow and rain of the summer veranda
Usually, in the meaning of the veranda, there is an additional area of \u200b\u200bthe house or cottage, which often plays the role of a balcony or an open area.
Quite often it is something like a greenhouse or a winter garden. Often the veranda is an additional extension of the cottage.
To date, few standard projects provide for the construction of a veranda simultaneously with the construction of a particular house. For this reason, many build verandas on their own.
Most often, such a design is already a closed roof or canopy, since it is much more convenient to enjoy the fresh air and the landscape when the hot rays of the sun do not shine from above and the rain does not drip.
Sometimes it all starts with the creation of such a site or simply an attempt to expand the living space. Open verandas look extremely tempting in the summer, they allow you to have a good rest and enjoy the freshness of nature.
However, with the onset of colder evenings, its use becomes extremely difficult and inconvenient.
That is why many resort to such solutions as closing verandas from adverse factors and even insulation, which provides this building with the actual status of part of the house.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5Tl5cF_V3TY
Today, there are a large number of ways that allow you to close the veranda from a wide variety of adverse natural phenomena.
In addition, it is better to think about the possibility of insulating the veranda at the stage of initial construction. The subsequent conversion of the basic project into an insulated one may require additional costs and be much more laborious than the initial design.
How to hide a disguise idea battery
A popular battery masking solution
The most common way to hide the battery is to sew up the wall with drywall. This method has its advantages (quick, easy and inexpensive) and disadvantages (reducing the area of the room)
It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that, without having practical knowledge and experience with drywall, masking batteries can be a real torment.It should be remembered that it is not recommended to completely cover the heating devices with drywall
To ensure proper air circulation, slots are made in the material, which are subsequently closed with special decorative screens. The use of such screens also helps maintain radiators.
The advantage of drywall can also include the ability to hide not only radiators, but also the pipes leading to it. Along with this, it is more expedient to sew up the entire wall with material during the repair of the entire room.
How to hide the battery - easy and simple!
An easier and less expensive way is to cover the batteries with a hinged screen. Today there are a huge number of different models:
- hinged screen with cover;
- box screens;
- metal screens;
- wooden screens;
- screens from MDF;
- glass screens.
Hinged screens will help to hide the batteries when the repair in the room is long overdue. Installation of such models does not require special knowledge and effort, they are installed by hanging on the battery. The hinged screen does not interfere with air circulation and heat exchange, performs a decorative function and greatly facilitates the maintenance of the heater. Such screens are produced with the expectation of two options for piping - one-sided and two-sided.
Box screens are most often used to mask batteries installed in halls and along blank walls. Such models perform not only a decorative function, but also serve as an excellent piece of furniture. They can be used as small shelves on which you can put cute trinkets, and if you have a cat in your house, believe me, the surface of such a box will become her favorite resting place during the cold weather. The boxes differ in size, so if you have fairly low radiators, use small-sized products that can easily be turned into cozy and comfortable benches. They can also be finished using various techniques, such as openwork carving, decorative overlays, and the possibility of applying any image to the front of the box, the main thing is that such a screen does not disturb your interior, but becomes a real addition to it.
Metal, wood, and MDF battery screens can also be boxed or flat, ideal for concealing batteries built into niches or hidden by drywall. The screens offered today have an original design - these are carvings, drawings and forged decorations, thanks to which you will not only hide the radiators, but also save the interior of the room.
How to hide the battery - an original approach
Don't feel like installing screens and fiddling with drywall? Show your creative qualities - visually dissolve the battery in the interior. Paint the radiator the same color as the walls, or vice versa - make the radiator the main highlight of your room. Today you can use the services of a printing company that will apply your chosen image on self-adhesive paper - later you can easily place it on a radiator and make your interior unique. You can paint the batteries yourself - someone draws colored pencils there, someone gives the batteries the color of their favorite animal, and someone prefers to capture their favorite flowers and patterns on it.
Needlewomen can experiment with different textures and shapes, giving the batteries an original look. Today you can easily find workshops on decorating heaters with various covers in the form of animals, you can also use the remaining yarn and wrap the battery around it (it is not at all necessary that the yarn be exclusively of one shade).
If you know how to work with beads and beads, prepare a frame to fit your battery and create an original bead curtain or braided bead curtain that you attach to the frame.
Everything is in your hands and completely depends on your capabilities!
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How to close batteries correctly technical rules and tips
Before closing the heating battery, it is necessary to take into account several technical nuances:
- Keep in mind that the heat transfer of a closed radiator is reduced in any case, whichever method of masking you choose. The main thing is that the change should not be significant. Ideally, the decrease in air temperature in the room should be about 1-1.5 degrees.
- Before closing the battery, put it in order: blow, rinse (this is done at the end of the heating season) and paint.
- Keep in mind that the denser the weave of the grille, the better it masks the radiator, but the worse it conducts heat. Therefore, when choosing a screen for a battery, try to look for a middle ground or rely on heat saving.
- To minimize heat loss, the screen can be placed on legs, and a groove can be cut in the center.
When closing the radiator, it is very important not to block convective air currents, otherwise it will blow in the room, and the windows will start to fog up, which will eventually lead to mold on the walls. Ideally, the visor of the window sill should protrude above the battery by no more than 30 mm, the top and bottom of the battery should be as open as possible.
There must be a distance of at least 35-50 mm between the battery and the screen
There should be a gap of about 60-70 mm from the radiator to the floor and to the window sill.
To solve emergency situations, it is necessary to provide free access to the radiator. For example, the grate of the box can be removable, folding (see photo), opening on hinges or retractable on profiles.
Making a battery in the bathroom
Not every bathroom has separate batteries, except for the one that acts as a heated towel rail. Modern products are quite aesthetic. The need for decoration arises if the battery has not been replaced for a long time, as a result of which it has lost its appearance. The easiest way to give the heater a presentable appearance is to paint it. The color of the paint is selected according to the color of the room. Of course, the product to be painted is thoroughly cleaned. However, decoupage in the bathroom is just as appropriate.
An example of the successful use of the battery as a bright accent
In addition, it is possible to close the battery in the bathroom with a grid, which can act as a storage system.
Protective screen with storage shelves
The battery can be hidden in a stylish locker
Or leave it in plain sight, covering it with a shelf on top
Summing up, it should be noted that decorating a heating battery is a creative process. When choosing a way to transform heating radiators, the main thing is not to overdo it with decorative elements, maintaining the overall style of the room design
It is also important to take into account that the main functional purpose of the radiator should not be affected - heating the room in the cold season.
They decorate both old cast-iron batteries and modern products made of aluminum and bimetal. The latter are especially pliable for drawing, since the external design consists of flat plates, on which it is convenient to apply a drawing.
When choosing a coloring, it should be remembered that special paints are produced for heating radiators that can withstand high temperatures.
