ᐅ Refurbish or Replace Radiators?

Hello 🙂

My husband and I are planning to move into an older house in September. The house was built in 1950 and we have upgraded it with new windows and doors, as well as a new gas condensing boiler from Viessmann. We are still planning to insulate and renovate the roof.

Now for the question. We have removed all the radiators to paint the walls behind them, and now we are wondering whether to install new radiators or clean and paint the old ones. In terms of cost, refurbishing doesn’t save that much anymore, since radiators from home improvement stores are quite affordable nowadays. However, we are uncertain because someone once told us that the old radiators might provide better heat output in combination with the condensing boiler.

Maybe someone here can help me out.

Best regards

Pictures speak louder than words. Which radiators are supposed to be refurbished? After 70 years, new ones are probably a better option.

Yes, they are somewhat older and made of cast iron... see pictures

Get rid of it. For example, go online to heizungsdiscount24 and get new radiators. Plot of land: the bigger, the better – that way you can lower the supply temperature.

Putting the nicer appearance aside.

If you basically like the look and they are still functional, you can paint them yourself and make them bright white again. I managed to restore two radiators very well using radiator paint from Obi. I applied three coats each, and they looked like new again. In our case, these were radiators that were only slightly yellowed and located in the kids’ rooms, where I didn’t want to spend money on new ones for now. Ours were about 20-30 years old. So far, the paint has also withstood rough treatment from the children :p.

Ultimately, you just have to decide what you prefer. New radiators are expensive, and usually there are additional costs because you need to alter the heating pipes/connections for a replacement. New radiators look nicer, but of course, that’s a matter of personal taste.

Either I would refurbish the classic models or buy something truly attractive—such as from tubes radiatori or tornado. New, generic hardware-store products just end up being more expensive in the long run.