Awesome - so glad it helped! Thanks for watching and you check out the video on craftsman casing and wall paneling. They are meant to accent the radiators and are pretty easy as well.

Have you guys noticed any loss of heat put out or absorbed in the wood? Is your heat running more often to keep the space warm?

It is really not that hard and pretty forgiving. The hardest part would be is your floors slant a little like mine, but you can cut everything to relative lengths. Good luck with the project!

Thank you! How is the renovating going down south?

You are very welcome, please let me know if you have any questions.

Awesome Zack - If you post a picture I'd love to see it. It is a pretty easy design to modify, glad it worked for you!

Thank you for the nice comment! If you have any questions or need some help let me know. There is also a video on how to do matching wall panels if that interests you.

Thank you! Cheers!

Thank you so much!

So great to hear that!

New houses can be upgraded as well :). This house was built in 94 so not too old.

Do you do that in addition to leaving the back of the original radiator in place? I never thought of trying to double that up. No issues with frozen pipes if they are in the same wall. I'm doing my bathroom next and I'd like to try it.

@@SoWeBoughtaHouse no I don’t use the original metal back. I make a ledger board that covers the top of the flashing and it also double’s as a place to nail the top of the rad cover to

Got it, I started doing it this way with the back of the radiator left in place because it can be hard to remove for some people. I have another radiator in the upstairs bath where they cut it off to make room for a cabinet. Maybe I'll make another video to follow up showing the alternative option. That for your feedback.

@@SoWeBoughtaHouse I think it is a good idea to leave the back metal plate of the original cover in place because that also holds the clip-in supports for the heater pipe and fin assembly. Otherwise you'd need to come up with some other way to keep the heating element in place off the floor and keep the pipe from sagging. My place has several 14-16 foot runs so the supports are especially important.

@@glencunningham5400 Hi Glen, yes leave that in place is my recommendation for a variety of reasons including condensing the heat in the fin air and preventing it from radiating through the drywall.

Thank you! If you have any question just ask. I also have videos on making matching wall panels and casings if you are looking to do that. Good luck on your project!

Thanks Glen. To answer your question I have finished two of the three bedroom upstairs in my house with these covers and they are warmer than the one without. I don't think this has to do with the cover but probably more that I sealed up a lot of drafts when I did the renovation, but it makes me beleive the wood covers are not decreasing the amount of heat. My basic understanding of baseboard heat is that it works on convection more than radiation of the heat. When I do the install I leave the metal backer in place. This should help prevent heat from absorbing into the drywall. I could be completely wrong on this so do your own research but this is how I believe the system should work and why I don't notice any decrease in efficiency. Cold air sink sand hot air rises as we all learn in elementary school. Cold air along the floor moves under the bottom slot of the heater where it begins to heat up in the fins and rises exiting out the top slot. This forms an air current where cold air is sucked in along the floor and warm air exits the top. This circulating action is actually what heats the room in this system. If you were to close of one of those slits, the current wouldn't form and the only heat would be radiant and you'd probably see a substantial decrease in efficiency. So in my observations so far, my belief and understanding is that the heating is equivalent as long as you keep that dual slit design and do not impede the motion on the air flow. I'm just a guy with a hammer on the internet, so don't believe anything I say :) If you have any other questions, let me know, I'm happy to help the best I can.

Hi Jedi- easiest way is to just lift them up and off using just the L-brackets to hook them behind the old metal radiator back. In the rom when I put the wood paneling above that blocks that I use small whit trim screws that can be removed. You barely see them in the countersink.

Hi GBBT, I didn't make a video on doing the corner, but it is pretty easy to do. I'd didn't have a corner it that room to use as an example. Here is what you do. (If this doesn't work for you because of the way the radiator is plumbed, email me a picture and I will help you modify the design.) 1. Cut the top plates and miter them at a 45 degree in the corner. To make the miter tight you can use pocket holes, domino, dowels or any joinery you like and wood glue. 2. For the styles that mate up in the corner, cut one 3/4 of an inch wider than the normal style size. So if all the styles are 4", cut one 4.75. These will form a butt joint in the corner. with equal visible dimensions once the cover is installed 3. Assemble the two wall sections 4. Put the one with longer piece of the butt join in first 5. Put the section with the standard style in 6. Screw the top plate down, The pressure fit should hold the angle and look neat at the butt joint. 7. This is optional, but if you are concerned about the fit in the corner you can always use wood glue and clamp it for a few hours at the joint, or even bore a long screw hole on a drill press with a counter sink and use a long wood screw Ikea style. Don't forget to drill pilot holes. If anything is unclear, just let me know and I will talk you through it. Also I made this video about how to to do wall paneling and talk in detail about inner and outer corners. It is the same room as the radiators as well. Some of the techniques are the same, so the video should help if anything is unclear. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a8pghNBp3M_Jmqc.html Happy New Year!

@@SoWeBoughtaHouse thank you for explaining. Once we get to this project, if I have any questions I will definitely let you know ans thank you for taking the time out to answer in such detail. We live on Long Island so the standard ugly metal floor heat. We bought our home 10 years ago and the covers were rusty and discolored. I told my husband I was going to paint them so I took the lead on that project. I got rust converter and then I painted them with oil based paint in black. It was a nice contrast. Now that we have our son, he is very interested in these covers, as kids touch everything so we plan to make wooden covers for them. Your video was a huge help and I will reference that once we get started. Happy New year. --Maria

@@greatbigbeautifultomorrow113 HI Maria - I'm happy to help. I grew up on on long island so I know the rusty baseboard well. I originally designed them for our son's nursery when we first moved into the house. I was afraid of him cutting himself on the metal ones, plus the wood ones looked nicer :) This video shows them in the nursery once they were done, just to give you another look. If you need any other help, let me know.

Personally I use a shop vac with the small brush attachment. It sucks everything out no problem for me. The slits are big enough to fit a regular vacuum wand attachment through as well. General the suction is enough to pull everything out without the need to touch the fins which you should try and avoid anyway. You can also chose to not attach the sections to each other so you can lift them out. If you have any other questions let me know.

Happy New Year! Let me premise this by saying I have no experience with electric heat so here is some info to help you decide if you feel it is same for your home. The ignition temperature of most hardwood is over 400 degrees F. Electric baseboards can get to 200 degrees according the I interweb. By comparison my water based fins get to 160 in the radiator. So it doesn’t seem to be that much of a temp difference compared to ignition temp. I personally would be a little worried about wood movement as wood dries from the heat and then reabsorbs when the heat is off and humid increases. I would recommend checking with the manufacturer of the heating element and see what they say the recommended distance to wood is. Alternatively you might be able to find a high temp composite material to substitute. Again I have no idea on the safety factor with electrical baseboards so contacting the manufacturer is the best advice I can give.

Hi Curtis. When I did my first cover I seamed it and I looked for alternatives when I made the second one for the same reason you you stated. I didn't want the seem. There are two options that work. The best is finding a piece long enough. I don't know where isn the world you are located, but here is what you can try. Home Depot has just started carrying some longer pieces of red oak, maple and poplar in the local stores in the Northeast of the US. It is very hit or miss though. Red oak is popular for hardwood floor around here. Try local lumber yards and companies that sell hardwood flooring. The 1x4 inch is a popular size for trim and they may carry it in longer pieces. That is how I found mine. I was able to get a 15 foot board. Option two is to make a joint. You can can make a join almost invisible , especially if you are painting or staining the final piece. Pocket screws are great for a lot of things but I don't think they make the tightest joints. If you can cut it, try a scarf joint, but I used a tongue and groove bit router bit set I had from doing hardwood flooring and did that joint to seam two pieces using wood glue. You'll need to get creative with the clamping. When I did it I just glued cauls with CA glue and painters tape. Once the glue was dry and the wood sanded, you needed to know where to look to find the joint. It was hair thin Try calling around to lumber yards though. You might get lucky. Also not sure if you are tied to red oak, but any hardwood would work. White Oak, Maple, Popler if you are painting might be more readily available. Some are more available regionally. I've heard Alder is nice and abundant on the west coast of the US, but I never see it here. Softwoods work too, but hardwood is needed if you stain in my opinion. Hardwood is more durable, but if you have lighter use, no kids smashing toys into everything, etc. you might not need that extra durability. If you have any other questions let me know. Be safe and good luck on your project, seam or no seam it looks a lot better that the metal and I'm sure you do a great job.

Thanks Padilla. Of course you can use any wood you want if you vary the design. I did this tutorial out of materials you can find at any box store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. The wood is 1x4, but to add extra confusion 1x4 inch wood is actually 3/4” by 3.5 inches. But is the store will be labeled as 1x4, 1x3 etc. even though its dimensions are actually smaller. So take this into account when you measure how thick you need to make your top plate. Also there are no stupid questions here, I made this channel to inspire and help people try new things for the first time. DIY is a fun hobby and you can get nice results if you take your time. If you have any other questions just ask! Also if you are staining I recommend white oak and if you are painting poplar. Both should be easy to find.

@@SoWeBoughtaHouse Cant wait to give this a try! Thanks again!

Please let me know how it comes out and send me a photo on instagram. I love to see what everyone creates!

Hi Roberto. Let me know if this answers your question. Because I use hooks to hang the radiator cover over the old metal cover it is essentially floating and free to move with expansion and contraction. With that said though the movement is minimal in most hardwoods ant that width. As long as you do t someone connect the verticals supports to the floor, they will move the little bit across the floor and prevent cracking any of the components. The most important thing is picking a stable piece of wood that will not twist and warp easily. The radiator will go though many temperature changes during the heating cycles. I’ve found red oak to have held up well and have covers more than 4 years old with no issues in the northeastern US where we have lots of seasonal change. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am always happy to help.

I leave the louver in place as both it and the deflector are needed for the heat to work optimally. You just can’t see it since it is hidden just below the top slot. If you want I can send you a picture or post one to instagram for you. If you have any other questions just let me know.

Hi Vacuum mom :). I use the brush attachment. The suction is enough to clean out the fins. If I’m really worried or forget to do it for a while I use compressed air to blow them out. But I’ve never actually needed to do that step. If you have hard wood floor like mine and need to get into the expansion gap use the can seat attachment or wand. Hope that helps.

@SoWeBoughtaHouse thanks for the tips! I'm looking to put something nice over my heat next week! I'm showing this to the powers that build tomorrow!

Good luck and if you have any other questions let me know.

Sure thing, I just added this to the video description as well. Here is a list of materials used in this build. Top plate 1x4 Styles 1x3 Rails 1x2 1/4 inch plywood for the backing (use a good quality sheet), but you could use a decorative metal as well. If you are not painting are staining instead, get unfinished plywood to match the hardwood you are using. Brackets and screws: amzn.to/3Sl59UP I used red oak, because i like the rustic look of the grain showing through the paint, but poplar would be another good choice. For staining use whatever hardwood you want.

Thank you so much!@@SoWeBoughtaHouse

you are welcome!@@birgitmartino9633

My last question and I’ll leave you alone…when using the pocket hole screws I’m assuming 1 1/2” screw is best?

No problem at all. Being able to help people with projects is the reason I run this channel :) the screw for the pocket hole should be 1 1/4 corse thread for 3/4 inch hardwood material. If you have any other questions just ask. I’m here to help!

Sorry I scare you :). Now to answer your question I have never had any cracks but there are reasons your might have.. the first place to check is what kind of wood did you use and where did you get it. If the wood was wet and not properly dried the heating elements will cause the wood the check over time. There is an easy fix though. Use non shrinking wood filler or painters call and re paint them. If you stained them it would really depend on where the cracks were. If you want to share some more of the details. I’d be happy to help you clean them up.