Cast Iron Hot Water Baseboard Radiators removal/refinish

fredstahl · April 2021

Hello,

looking for some advice on the temporary removal of some Homart brand cast iron baseboards. my goal is to temporarily remove them to strip the old paint and re-paint them as some of the paint has started to bubble and flake off and we will be changing the color of our bathroom additionally i want to seal up the underside of this baseboard as i can directly see a joist with about a 1/2 inch gap so i'd like to get some foam or some type of caulking and backer rod there to fill up that gap.

I have been able to remove the right hand side of the baseboard to reveal a seized shut off valve ( i have not forced it) i am struggling a bit to remove the left hand side and may need to drill out the fastener holding it in place (2 screws maybe). I'm starting to get concerned that the baseboard and the piping around it may be a bit more fragile than i had originally thought and with very little room to maneuver tools i'm a concerned i'll snap something off. this leads me to a couple questions before proceeding any further.

edit: after some finagling and some alternate tools i was able to remove the left side, images below

1. is it worth removing the unit at all or should i just repaint like the previous owners did i see like 4 different paint chips so it's been through a couple revisions.
2. if i cause some type of damage is this brand or style of baseboard still available for purchase or what should i replace this with in case it gets damaged.
3. where if possible can i purchase replacement ends for this baseboard type?

I attached some images that hopefully help show what i'm working with

if i'm successful in getting this bathroom section refinished i would like to tackle the rest of the home as we have similar styles in our bedrooms, kitchen and living room (all look to be homart which happens to fit home is listed as being built in 1952 and i've found a lot of sears/k-mart boxes in attic)

i'm comfortable soldering as i've previously replaced our hot water lines and a crusty toilet shut off valve in the last couple months; i also broke off one brass valve from our utility sink but i fixed that with a new valve assembly from local menards.

Left side of baseboard

desk area

bedroom

Living room

Kitchen

Jamie Hall · April 2021

Well, "fragile" is not a word that comes to mind when thinking about cast iron pretty much anything. However, that doesn't apply to the piping...

The valve is held to the baseboard by a union -- that big nut on the horizontal. If you undo that -- it shouldn't take much force -- that end will be free. It's more than likely that there is a similar union on the outlet side -- again, undo it and you can take the whole thing away (it will be heavier than you thought it would be).

Now the valve. If at all possible, you should try and see if you can free it and disassemble it and repair it. There is a big hex nut just below the handle. If you loosen that (use a backup wrench on the valve body to avoid twisting the pipe) it may free up by itself; from the look of it, I think that you may be able to pull the whole guts out by undoing that nut.

This is worth doing, as the valve is mated to that union you undid -- and if you were to replace the valve, you'd have to replace the spud in the radiator as well, and that is usually an exercise in frustration and rage. Not that it can't be done -- it almost always can -- but it's never easy.

fredstahl · April 2021

@Jamie Hall thank you for your response, I was able to remove the left side but i did not see the union on that side it looks like a threaded 90 degree elbow , would you suggest to just un-sweat the left side or would there be an alternate way?

Jamie Hall · April 2021

Honestly, I'd have to look at it.

mattmia2 · April 2021

I would cut the outlet and put a union in the riser portion. Could potentially use compression fittings and a threaded union or a threaded union and one compression fitting and one copper by female pipe thread adapter if it will be difficult to solder in that location. I would get the fittings and make sure you have room for them before cutting the pipe. Could also take that elbow adapter out of the baseboard and replace it with an iron street ell and a nipple to get to a threaded union.

fredstahl · April 2021

would it make sense to change the left side to a male nipple and install a 90 union elbow? something like this
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin-RVE075-3-4-FIP-x-Male-Union-Radiator-Union-Elbow?gclid=CjwKCAjwjbCDBhAwEiwAiudBy-8YeaRBN-g8LrSBLUFUOSsUxipJBzv35xDRcQbSJEb9oQ9UcDABUBoCSYwQAvD_BwE

i figured if i change that fitting i might as well replace that valve as well

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Matco-Norca-AHV-0500C-1-2-Sweat-x-Male-Union-Hot-Water-Angle-Radiator-Valve

also considering just replacing it with a haydon assembled unit

mattmia2 · April 2021

You could use that, need to make sure you have space to make the radiator longer. A male x male or male street ell with a sweat union would be closer to what you have now horizontally. Baseray is still made although not identical.

woobagooba · April 2021

There is (was?) 100' of Baseray available in Dedham MA area. If interested I can make the contact. Cheers

Tork · July 2021

Fredstahl -did you clean up and re-use your Homart baseboard?

We just bought a 1952 house with Homart baseboard throughout, and I'll bet the baseboard has never seen a vacuum or been cleaned....and there is clearly some corrosion on the valves. The Homart looks terribly difficult to remove, clean and maintain.

Was the job worth it, or would you recommend removing the Homart and replacing with new fin tube?

Is there any way to know if Homart is more or less efficient than new fin tube?

Thank you,

Tork

mattmia2 · July 2021

Because it has so much more mass the cast iron baseboard will give much more even heat. It will also produce some radiant heat whereas the fin tube will almost entirely just heat the air through convection.

Cast Iron Hot Water Baseboard Radiators removal/refinish

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