for all you steam guru's

Jamie Hall

All my risers (lots of them!) are exposed in the first floor -- the heat was put in long after the house was built, and it was 'way too much hassle to try to get throught the beams...

And not insulated. The only thing about not insulated risers is that in a few situations you may get enough condensation early in the cycle to give a bit of water hammer (nothing serious) if there is a long, relatively flat, runout from the main to the riser. Been there, done that...

Bryan_5

hidding riser pipes

I have an astetic question for you steam guru's. In my house I have a 2 pipe vapor system. Thanks for all of the help I have received from the wall to get this system running like the dead men wanted.
What my question is. When they installed my system they ran the pipes for the second floor about 3 inches away from the wall. I dont know if this was common or not. Short of gutting the walls and repiping inside the walls. What have you guys seen to hide these pipes. I have considered boxing them in with drywall but that may make it stick out even more. Not sure which way to go. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Bryan

Mike T., Swampeast MO

I'm not a steam guru

but exposed piping was quite common leading to upper floors--particularly in solid masonary structures or in renovations where wall opening was kept to a minimum.

Supposedly they were sometimes left exposed for the "look what I have" factor.

Personally, I'd give them a good sanding/cleaning and paint the same color as the walls. If using flat paint on the walls, I'd highly recommend semi-gloss or satin finish for the pipes as it is MUCH more cleanable and the pipes tend to collect dirt from hands--big AND little. As you said, boxing them in would call even more attention--I've seen this done and unless in a corner where you can embed in a triangle it is quite prominent.

Bryan_5

Mike,
Thanks for your response. I have painted as you described. They kind of bug me but its not really a big deal. Just curious what you guys may have seen out in the field.
Bryan

Steamhead

Bryan, I have the same thing

on my hot-water system. I think they're cool!

The "look what I have" factor was very big in the old days, and if you ran those pipes exposed you could save on insulation.

I'd just paint them with high-heat paint, and leave them exposed like the Dead Men intended.

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Bryan_5

LOL,
Will do. The one thing i like about them is they are a conversation piece. When people ask what those are for they have no idea what they are getting themselves into. I love my steam system and I love showing it to people. And it is all this darn sites fault Thanks again
Bryan

jeff_13

pipes

expose pipes are great use to have them in a building bar on the first floor apts up stairs if you need someone just took metel ashtray tapped on pipe it would wake the dead if needed jeff

Mad Dog

I've seen some creative souls............................

paint them to accent the room. How about candy cane stripes - seen it. MD

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Bryan_5

Mad Dog,
My wife would love to paint them pipes in a candy cane fashion. So I wont give her the idea. But I think I would draw the line there. We have done a lot of painting in the house and it definitly has some color to it. If it were up to me it would have all been done in off white We just painted the nursery and that is red,blue,green and yellow. Wow its bright, but I love it. You should see the bright yellow radiator.
Thanks,
Bryan

kframe

That's how my Mother would call the family to dinner a lot of times.

The house I grew up in was HUGE, and if you were in the kitchen someone might not hear you upstairs if they were in the front of the house.

However, someone starts banging on the risers, that sound carried to EVERY room in the house.

Pete Novak

what do you mean?

Steamhead wrote, "The "look what I have" factor was very big in the old days, and if you ran those pipes exposed you could save on insulation. "

Does this mean you don't have to insulate pipes that are exposed? If so, why?

Pete

Bryan_5

Pete,
You wouldnt need to insulate the exposed pipes that are in the living area. They will give off some of the latent heat but it will be in an area occupied by people so that is ok. That is not to say you wouldnt insulate the pipes in the basement. There is no one living down there so giving off that latent heat down in the basement would be a waste of energy.
Bryan

Ben Kennedy

I think painting the pipes is the best option, but unless you use the right paint you're in for a nice long-term headache. They will peel, peel, peel because most paint can't handle the heat and constant expansion/contraction of the metal.

I had good success painting radiators and pipes in my house with gold paint (it actually has bronze in it). They stink for the first couple weeks after they are painted but there's no peeling and the color fades to a dull bronze that looks great in an old house (much better than matching the wall color).