The festive break was more of a "busman's holiday" for me, as I tackled some bigger home improvement jobs that have been on the list for a while. I love applying what we talk about in Sero with my own hands, as it gives great insight into the practical challenges that sometimes get missed with data and theoretical models.
Over Christmas, I relocated and resized radiators ahead of a heat pump installation and fitted a car charger in our mid-terrace century-old 2½ bed home.
So what did I learn?
Radiator Relocation and Resizing
Relocating the two radiators was predictably more disruptive than just resizing them. The switch to "column" style radiators seemed to compensate for the anticipated lower flow temperature I'm planning for without making them feel much bigger. Plus, my partner, a talented interior designer, approved of their period style! However, painting a 6-column radiator yourself is A LOT of effort – it took hours with a long paintbrush, as even an air sprayer couldn't reach the middle columns…
The relocation work was all copper with soldered joints ready for a simpler heat pump install in future, which was familiar since I've previously plumbed much of the central heating on 15mm copper anyway. Some of the time spent on this was really because I nerdishly used complicated multiple pipe bending to minimize joints and to ensure the lowest flow resistance and least risk of leaks (plus pipe bending is art if you have the time!). That might not be a priority for everyone, so it'd take less time in that case. Despite some copper recycling from failed efforts, it was good to get the rads into a better location and on a suitable, insulated distribution pipework.
Car Chargers & Consumer Units
The car charger installation took a while, even though I know the house electrics well, having wired them with my father 25 years ago. We didn't want the charger on the front of the terraced house, so we installed a trench, conduit, and armoured cable to the back of the brick gate post. This included a trip protector on the cable for the last stretch to the car's on-street parking, after consulting the council about their options. Digging reminded me that I spend more time at a desk than doing manual labour!
A common problem for terraces is the consumer unit location. Ours is in the kitchen towards the back of the house. This meant running stubborn 10mm cable up to and through the first-floor void to the back of the house, as a terrace gives no option to "go around the side." This involved lifting floorboards, boxing up at ground level, and using a very long drill to diagonally burrow down to find the trench – and all that disruption needs a very patient partner too! This will likely be a future challenge for home EV charging in terraces, even once a wider agreement about getting over the pavement is resolved.
Time Well Spent?
Overall, it was a productive break and a good reminder of the efforts and detail that good home improvement installers tackle every day. It's great to be off a three-pin plug for charging our EV, and the new column radiators definitely push out a lot of heat – our flow temperature is currently at 50°C, so that'll calm down a bit when we switch over from a gas boiler. Now I just need the aches and pains to ease!