Replies

1. 
   csnow | Oct 18, 2004 05:58pm | #1

   The cost/benefit for going all the way to the floor may not be in your favor.  Disconnecting the plumbing, and such...

   Consider keeping the old baseboards.

   You could leave the bottom 6 inches of plaster in place, and patch the seam in the field.

   Or, dig out enough plaster to slip the rock behind the existing baseboard.

   Or, cut back plaster roughly flush to top of baseboard, and add a piece of cap trim to hide the seam.  This would adapt to any thickness variation.

2. 
   BJC | Oct 18, 2004 08:36pm | #2

   I had the same issue when I remodeled my upstairs, and I ended up carefully removing the baseboard heaters. My baseboards were still fairly new, so I just reused them.

   It really wasn't difficult to remove the heaters, but it is easy to mash the fins, so you need to be careful (and wear gloves!). You'll probably need a compact tubing cutter. A couple were hard to reach, so I used a sawzall with a metal blade. It helps to have someone holding on to keep the fins from moving too much back and forth. Then, I labeled them, and put them in a safe place. When it came time to replace, I cut off the old fittings, and replaced the baseboards.

   It really depends on how much remodeling you will be doing. I added closets and moved a couple of walls around, so I would have had to remove at least some of the heaters.

   Good luck with the project.

1. 
   bdprops | Oct 18, 2004 09:10pm | #3

   BJC-

   I think removing them seems like the best option, and I will be reconfiguring some walls anyway. I want all new base either way, as the old stuff is junk, and we want some nice stuff.

   Did you need to turn the boiler off I assume? When you do, does the water drain out? Did you cap the pipes as you removed the units? It is starting to freeze at night here, and I want to keep some heat so pipes don't freeze, but I'm thinking that heat from downstairs should keep the upstairs above freezing.

   Thanks, Brian

1. 
   BJC | Oct 19, 2004 06:37am | #4

   Brian,

   Do you have two zones?

   You do need to drain the zone you will be working on. Just shutting down the boiler won't remove the water. There should be a valve someplace near the boiler on that zone to drain the water. One you drain the zone, there will likely be some water remaining in the pipes, so keep some towels handy when you make your cuts.

   My system was just one loop upstairs, so I just kept the zone shut down while working on it and didn't need to cap off anything.

   When you are framing your new walls, give some thought to where the baseboard pipes will run. You want to avoid having to chop up your new framing to run the pipes.

   Also, if you are making big changes to your floor plan, you might want to have a plumber or heating guy come in to make sure that you keep the sytem in balance.

   Have fun with this project, and take your time-

   Brian