How to connect screens for batteries. How to make a DIY battery screen

Cast iron radiators rarely fit well into the interior. Bimetallic or aluminum batteries meet the requirements of modern design, but they are no longer suitable for classic styles.

To remove this dissonance, use a decorative screen for the battery, which you can do yourself.

What needs to be done to improve battery efficiency with a screen

The screen to some extent reduces heat removal from the surface of the battery. That is, the difference in the temperature of the coolant between the direct supply and the return will be less.

It is impossible to speak about an unambiguous deterioration in the convection rate due to the presence of a screen. Suffice it to cite as an example electric convectors, in which the heating element is located in the housing in the form of a box with an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top. Such a device even improves convection, since the duct acts as a vertical duct, which increases the flow rate.

But what is good for convectors is not suitable for radiators. The battery works on both convection and radiation (radiation). And the screen absorbs some part of the infrared radiation, and some reflects back. And if the thermal energy absorbed by the screen creates conditions for secondary convection, then the reflected one heats the facade. This heat can be made to work for space heating. Even under normal conditions (without a screen), it is recommended to install a reflective plane behind the radiator, which returns infrared radiation from the inner surface of the battery into the room. Usually foil foam (or similar material) is used. When installing the screen, this recommendation is doubly relevant.

Construction types and materials

The main element of the screen is a façade in the form of a flat decorative panel with openings that provide natural air convection. The top and side panels are not always used - it depends on the place where the battery is installed. For example, the presence of a wide window sill and a niche make them optional.

The following screen mounting methods can be distinguished.

1. Mounted. The screen itself or together with the box is hung with an emphasis on the battery or against the wall on hooks.

2. Floor. The screen plays the role of a facade on the box in the form of a kind of narrow bedside table.

3. Installed. The battery is hidden inside a niche, and the screen is a decorative part of the overall wall surface.

The supporting structure of the box can be made of a wooden beam or an aluminum corner - it depends on the materials of the decorative panel and its frame. The panel itself can be made from different materials: wooden slats, plywood, laminated fiberboard or chipboard, metal mesh.

During installation, a frame made of galvanized steel profile or a wooden beam is usually used as a supporting structure (similar to the technology of installing plasterboard partitions).

In a separate view, decorative glass screens can be distinguished. This is the only type of material that is used in pure sheet form, without holes. And in order not to disturb convection, the panel is installed without top and side walls. Installation takes place with the help of special fasteners on bearing elements made of cold-rolled decorative pipes, which provide the necessary ventilation gap between the battery and the panel.

Wooden screens

The simplest screen to manufacture is a panel in the form of a lattice of wooden slats, fixed on a wooden frame. The position of the rails can be any - vertical, horizontal, diagonal.

If desired, you can make a cellular lattice by placing the slats at an angle to each other, and using two opposite layout directions. Moreover, the angle between them does not have to be right. But in order for the lattice to be flat, you will have to make grooves at the connection points, and, given the thickness of the rail and the manual manufacturing method, it will definitely not be easy to do everything.

Another type is the screen-blinds. Such a screen resembles classic wooden shutters-blinds on windows. In order for the slats in the frame to be at the same angle to the plane, the same parallel cuts are made on the side posts using a miter box. Since the thickness of the hacksaw blade for wood is less than the thickness of the rail, then two cuts are needed for each of them, and the excess must be removed with a narrow chisel.

Both the beam for the frame and the slats must be dry. Given the proximity of the screen to the battery, it is necessary that their own humidity is not higher than 12% (these are the general requirements for wood intended for carpentry). There is a simple home method for checking - if you try to tie thin chips into a knot, then it should break.

In the manufacture of both types of screen, each rail must be carefully sanded before attaching to the frame. After they are fixed in place, the grating is primed, coated in two layers with varnish, paint or enamel.

As a decorative finish, trims made of wood or MDF can be fixed around the perimeter of the frame. If these are wooden platbands, then they must be processed in the same way as the grate, but their finish does not have to be the same - the perimeter may be of a different shade.

When the battery is in a niche, the screen can either completely cover it, or hang on hooks, leaving small gaps at the top, bottom and sides.

When attaching the screen to the box, the side surfaces are sheathed with laminated fiberboard or chipboard. The ends of the skin may not be trimmed with a decorative edge if the screen trim covers them.

Another common type of wooden screen is the use of plywood as a panel. With the ability to work with a jigsaw, you can cut out an openwork lattice with any pattern transferred to the plywood surface using a stencil. The finishing treatment of such a panel does not differ from the lattice: grinding, priming and painting.

Important! When choosing chipboard or plywood for the screen, you need to pay attention to their class. For plywood, it should be E1, for chipboard - E0.

DIY metal screen

As a panel for the screen, you can use a metal perforated sheet or perforated mesh. There are ready-made expanded metal meshes with anti-corrosion treatment (for steel) and enamel decorative coating. Such a mesh can be fixed on a wooden frame and used in the structures described above.

But metal has a serious advantage over wood - a high coefficient of thermal conductivity. This property allows you to make screens that rely directly on the battery. They even increase its heat transfer by increasing the surface area. Moreover, a battery with such a screen works better not only for radiation, but also for convection - just look at the ribbed heating elements of convectors.

For the frame, it is better to choose an aluminum corner, and for the screen panel, an aluminum sheet or perforated mesh. It is easier to work with them, and the thermal conductivity of aluminum is almost 5 times higher than that of steel.

To make a hinged metal screen is quite simple:

Take two corners with a length equal to the sum of the height of the screen and the depth of the battery.
Along the fold line on one of the walls of each corner, two opposite cuts are made with a total angle of 90 ° (45 ° for each relative to the edge of the corner). Moreover, the cuts must be made so that the uncut walls of the corners look at each other.
Bend the corners in the shape of the letter G.
Prepare a blank for the screen from a perforated sheet or perforated mesh. Its length is equal to the total length of the L-shaped corner.
Three corners are made with a size equal to the width of the screen.
The screen blank is bent and fastened to the L-shaped corners using screws and nuts with washers (in specially drilled holes in the corners). It is better to drill holes in place - so that they fall into the perforation of the sheet or into the grid cell.
On the inside of the mesh, three corners are fixed in the corner and along the edges, which act as stiffeners.
Paint the outer part of the L-shaped corners.

In order for such a screen to be in a stable position, a pair of dowels with straight hooks can be fixed in the wall, and holes can be drilled in the short parts of the L-shaped corners.

glass screen

If wooden screens are well suited for traditional and rustic styles, and metal ones for industrial ones, then glass screens look great in modern interiors, such as: hi-tech, minimalism, fusion, pop art. It all depends on the decorative glass processing.

In principle, a self-adhesive film with large format printing can be ordered for the glass screen. And you can make a pattern on a matte or transparent surface using sandblasting or chemical glass etching paste.

If you don’t want to bother with decorative processing, then there are glasses with a matte surface or colored in mass on sale - you just need to order the right size, and you can process the edge yourself. The only condition is that the glass must be tempered.

The easiest way to mount the screen is to point-fix the glass to the wall in four places. To do this, use special fittings with remote mounting.

But there is one drawback - it is necessary to drill holes in tempered glass, and this is difficult to do at home.

Therefore, it is better to use cold-rolled thin-walled pipe as the supporting structure of the screen. She (and fastenings for her and glass) are sold in stores selling everything necessary for making furniture. As a rule, such pipes and fittings are made chrome-plated, but you can order them to be painted in any shade from the RAL palette. Screen stands are fixed to the floor.

As an additional stop for the racks, two remote adjustable closed-type mounts (with a cap for the pipe) can be fixed to the wall. Glass is fixed between the racks on the clamps.

Installing a decorative screen is one of the ways to fit radiators into the interior of the room. In addition to the aesthetic function, such a product can also perform others: protect children from burns and protect radiator sections from dust and other contaminants. Also, an overlay equipped with hooks can serve as a clothes dryer during the heating season. Making a screen for a battery with your own hands is not difficult, but certain rules must be followed to minimize heat loss after installing the box.

For the manufacture of the screen, you can use a variety of materials:

metal;
wood;
drywall;
glass.

The choice depends on personal preferences, the interior of the room in which it is planned to be installed, skills (working with some materials will require certain skills) and, most importantly, on the installation method.

There are several mounting options:

box (usually drywall is used to create it);
flat screen (made from a thin sheet of metal, wooden slats, glass, MDF);
hinged cover (wood or metal is used for it).

Each of the options has advantages and disadvantages, so you should carefully study them in order to choose the best one. With proper skill, you can combine different materials and create unique products.

Metal

Among its undeniable advantages is excellent thermal conductivity. Therefore, its installation will not reduce the heat transfer of the radiator. Metal is used to create elegant products of various designs: solid screens, fine-meshed or openwork grilles. For their manufacture, 2 methods can be used: stamping or welding.

A significant drawback of this material is the need to be able to work with it correctly. A person who does not have the proper skills and equipment will not be able to do this.

Wood

Wood is the most popular material for creating a screen: natural, aesthetic and fits into almost any interior. It is easy to work with it, and you can create almost any design: lattice panels from rails, screens, blinds, openwork boxes from chipboard and more. With the help of tinting or staining, it is easy to fit the finished wood product into the interior of the room and extend the life of the panel.

Among the disadvantages of wooden screens is the tendency to warp and dry out. That is why it is recommended to use durable wood species for the manufacture of a decorative panel for a battery: oak or beech. A more budgetary and simpler option is to create a do-it-yourself screen for a heating battery from a rack cloth. In addition to ease of manufacture, it has another significant advantage - it does not prevent the penetration of heat into the room.

GKL

Drywall is used to build a box in which the battery is sewn. Affordable price, ease of installation, light weight of the finished structure, functionality (you can organize storage space in the box, for example) - all this makes this material one of the most suitable.

Glass

A glass screen is an ideal solution for rooms decorated in modern styles: pop art, hi-tech, fusion, minimalism.

For the manufacture of decorative panels, tempered glass is used - thick and impact-resistant, with carefully processed edges. It can be decorated with a sandblasted pattern, a pattern made with chemical glass etching paste, a large-format printed film. Also, the design is sometimes supplemented with LED backlighting.

Installation of such a product can be carried out in 2 ways: point fastening in 4 places or using a cold-rolled pipe, which will fix the canvas on both sides at four points.

Preparation of materials and tools

Since it is easiest to make a screen on a chipboard battery, you should choose this option. With the help of step-by-step instructions, you can easily and quickly make a decorative panel with your own hands.

Before starting work, you need to stock up on the following materials:

fiberboard sheet;
foil or metal sheet (it is fixed on the wall behind the battery to reflect heat);
fine or medium mesh;
screws 4 cm;
screws;
nails;
building staples;
metal corners;
edge for finishing sections on an adhesive basis;
sandpaper.

You will also need tools:

hacksaw for wood;
hacksaw for cutting metal;
drill with drills of different diameters;
construction stapler;
circular saw;
countersink.

How to do?

The product is a simple design in the form of a three-sided box with a lid. As a basis for the front and side panels, a metal mesh enclosed in a chipboard frame is used. Such a decorative screen looks aesthetically pleasing, but at the same time does not reduce the heat transfer of the radiator.

The creation process consists in preliminary marking of the canvas, cutting out parts, subsequent assembly and fixing of the elements. If necessary, the finished product can be decorated in accordance with the design of the room in which the screen will be installed.

Before installing the box, you will need to install a metal or foil sheet on the wall to which the battery is attached to reduce heat loss.

markup

Before proceeding, you need to determine the size and draw up a diagram. For this:

Perform measurements of radiators. 5 cm are added to the obtained height value, 10 cm are added to the width. Thus, the optimal parameters of the front panel are calculated.
They draw a diagram, transfer it to a steel grid. Cut out the part using a hacksaw for metal. The resulting element is the basis of the front panel, which is subsequently enclosed in a wooden frame.
By measuring the depth of the battery and adding 2.5 cm to the result, determine the required width of the side elements. The height of these parts is equal to the height of the front panel.
Transfer the pattern to the grid, cut out 2 parts.
Start making the lid. Its length should be equal to the width of the front panel, and the width should be 1-2 cm more than the width of the side walls.

Cutting details

The algorithm of actions when cutting the elements of the future screen:

4 parts are cut out of a metal mesh: a front panel, side walls and a cover. If you plan to use the screen cover as an additional functional surface, it is made from a chipboard sheet, and then the part for the cover is not needed.
The next step is to cut the chipboard sheet. Rectangular parts are cut out of it, which will serve as a frame for the grid. You will need 4 rails for the front panel, 8 for the side and 4 for the cover. The width of all elements is 11 cm. For work, a hacksaw is used for wood.
In the obtained parts, at the junctions with each other, the ends are cut at an angle of 45 °. In order not to be mistaken, all the elements must first be attached to each other and mark the place of the cut with a pencil. Saw cuts are processed with sandpaper.

Assembly

When all the parts are ready, proceed to the assembly. 4 elements of the front panel are connected together using wood glue. For greater reliability, it is recommended to fix them with carnations. Similarly, frames for the side walls and covers of the future screen are assembled. The places of cuts are closed with an edge for finishing.

On the wrong side of the frame, a metal mesh is attached to it. To do this, use a construction stapler.

The resulting elements are connected together. First, one side panel is attached to the front using metal corners and screws, then the second, and only then the cover.

The screen is assembled, now, if desired, it can be decorated: covered with paint, varnish or stain.

Mounting

Before installing the screen on the battery, a metal sheet or foil is attached to the wall. From the selected material, a part is cut out 1 cm in size on each side less than the parameters of the front panel, glued to the wall. After that, proceed to the installation of the box.

To do this, you can use several methods:

Installing the screen on the battery on driven anchors. Having determined the optimal location of the screen and marking the corresponding points on the wall, holes are drilled in them. Using a hammer, the anchor is hammered into the holes, and the bolt is already screwed into it. The box is attached to these bolts.
Hook mounting. Having attached the screen to the wall, mark the points for the holes for the dowels on both sides. Drilled, driven in dowels. Mounting hooks are mounted in them. They put a box on them.
Installation on legs. The easiest way to solve the problem, which will require furniture (preferably adjustable) legs. They are attached to the bottom of the structure using metal corners. After that, the desired height of each leg is set and put on the battery.

When choosing a screen model, you should pay attention to its design: it should not impede the supply of heat to the room. It is worth giving preference to panels in the form of a lattice or canvases with a sufficient number of holes for the free passage of air.

A functional, durable and aesthetically pleasing screen can be made by combining different materials: wood and metal, metal and plastic, drywall and wooden slats.

Since the decorative panel reduces, but does not completely reduce the ingress of dust onto the radiator sections, it is recommended to choose a product that quickly opens access to the battery (for example, a gypsum plasterboard box with a door panel), or is easily removed.

Independent production of a decorative screen does not present any particular difficulties. With minimal carpentry skills and an understanding of the technology of work, it is easy to cope with the task.

They perform the function of heating the room. But their appearance does not always correspond to the general style of the interior in the room. To improve the attractiveness, special screens are used, which you can do yourself.

In addition to their decorative function, they protect devices from dirt and dust. Also, a high-quality decorative element is able to reduce the radiation of infrared spectra and improve heating efficiency.

Benefits of using decorative elements

Similar decorative elements are used for batteries for several reasons:

Improving the aesthetic properties of the premises. For example, creating a beautiful accent in a room.
Protective function against touching a hot battery. This is especially true if there are small children.
Simplifies maintenance of radiators.

A multifunctional screen can be made in several versions:

Flat - protects the battery located in a niche.
A closed box is used when it is necessary to close the entire radiator.
The hinged cover is designed to cover the radiator protruding from the windowsill.

Manufacturing materials

It is quite possible to make products with your own hands using various types of materials. The characteristics of the material determine its technical features.

For example, metal shutters can be painted in any color. They perform their protective functions perfectly and look great.

Using the perforation technique, you can create an unusual and interesting effect. The steel and aluminum model is very easy to install. The product made of wood looks very impressive in any interior.

For those who want to create a similar decoration element with their own hands, it is better to use the available materials:

plastic;
wood;
metal;
MDF and chipboard;
glass.

Plastic

It is an inexpensive material with low thermal conductivity. It heats up unevenly and has little strength. Working with plastic is quite difficult. Plastic should be thick, as thin material has low strength.

May release toxic substances when heated. Products made from such raw materials are light in weight, resistant to moisture, not subject to corrosion and do not heat up much.

When choosing a material for a decorative product, one should remember not only the attractive appearance, but also the microclimate in the room. Therefore, it is necessary to select a damper with a minimum surface and leave a small space from the floor for air movement.

Wooden products can be painted in any color and decorated with artistic painting. Four types of crates can be made from wood. For example, rhombus, circles, cage and in the form of blinds. The interior with wooden elements looks very aesthetically pleasing and goes well with other materials.

The best types of wood for such products are beech and oak. They are durable and reliable. They can be both tinted and painted with enamel. So that the gratings do not interfere with the circulation of heat, they are not mounted on the floor, but at some distance above its surface. For better passage of warm air, certain holes are made in the upper part of the box.

Fences at an affordable price can be made of rack fabric. This is an excellent stylish element that perfectly passes warm air and performs a protective function.

Metal

Metal has a high thermal conductivity, but you need to be able to work with it. This is an excellent material for a homemade design. Two types of products can be made from it: stamped and by welding.

Stainless steel dampers look more elegant and beautiful. They can cover both part of the battery and the entire radiator. They are divided into 3 types: with two sidewalls, with one and without sidewalls. The choice of option depends on how the heating device is connected.

The metal element does not interfere with high-quality heat transfer. The box, made of aluminum or steel mesh, perfectly transmits heat. These products are very easy to install. They are decorated with various patterns. For example, an openwork lattice or a solid canvas with open space.

MDF and chipboard

MDF panels provide a wide variety for decoration.

They are created from perforated parts equipped with a decorative frame. These models are suitable for different heating systems. They can decorate both cast-iron and bimetallic radiators.

This material can be used to make exclusive railings for radiators. Glass in this case can be stained glass and tempered. A certain pattern is applied to the surface. Such design elements are made of particularly durable raw materials with a wall thickness of at least 8 mm. They are almost impossible to break.

The edges of the product are carefully polished, which makes them safe and endows with great strength. A special substance is applied to the surface of the glass, which has protective properties and allows you to use ordinary detergent in the future.

Glass perfectly transmits the sun's rays and does not reduce convection. And if necessary, dismantling work is carried out very easily and quickly.

There is another type of glass - acrylic. Acrylic glass has a variety of colors and can be easily transformed. Screens can be matte, transparent and plain. LED lighting can be attached to them.

Manufacturing technology

Before proceeding with the manufacture of a battery fence, you should choose a suitable design: hinged or resting on the floor in the room.

Then a drawing is made, and tools with materials are selected.

Materials and tools

For manufacturing, you will need the following materials and tools:

Chipboard sheet.
Special edge for finishing with adhesive thermal layer on the back.
Screws and corners made of metal.
Stapler with staples or small nails with a hammer.
Iron.
Sandpaper.

Marking and measurements

First you need to mark the location on the wall and the necessary measurements. We mark the attachment points for placing the panel. We make a simple schematic drawing with important dimensions.

From chipboard we make four walls for the frame. You can buy already made parts. We connect the walls with each other using metal corners.

We make a lattice from the edge and fix its parts on the frame with the help of small nails and a furniture stapler. The length of the edging material is calculated by the formula L(edge length)=(a (product length)*b(width)*1.3)/c(edge width).

The holes on the grill must be of the same size, for this you need to make preliminary markings on the frame or a special template. On the front side, the grate must be heated with an iron at a high temperature. As a result of this procedure, the heated glue will connect the elements of the lattice at the intersections and give it greater rigidity.

The same edge must be used to finish the end parts of the frame. We apply the edge to the butt and smooth it with an iron. With a knife, cut off the protruding edges of the edge. The edges that stand out are polished with sandpaper.

If the screen is supposed to be located close to the wall, then we simply insert it. If a suspended version is planned, then a few more manipulations must be performed.

In the frame, we make recesses at the points of docking with heating pipes. Then the decorative fence is put on the pipes with the help of special grooves.
In the marked places you need to attach metal corners.
Then we bend the edges of the corners 10 mm up and hang the panel made on the hooks obtained.

The enclosing screen is a great solution for various heating devices. If you do everything right and choose high-quality material, then you can create a wonderful element of decor yourself.

Cast iron radiators rarely fit well into the interior. Bimetallic or aluminum batteries meet the requirements of modern design, but they are no longer suitable for classic styles. To remove this dissonance, use a decorative screen for the battery, which you can do yourself.

What needs to be done to improve battery efficiency with a screen

The screen to some extent reduces heat removal from the surface of the battery. That is, the difference in the temperature of the coolant between the direct supply and the return will be less.

Construction types and materials

The following screen mounting methods can be distinguished.

1. Mounted. The screen itself or together with the box is hung with an emphasis on the battery or against the wall on hooks.

2. Floor. The screen plays the role of a facade on the box in the form of a kind of narrow bedside table.

3. Installed. The battery is hidden inside a niche, and the screen is a decorative part of the overall wall surface.

The supporting structure of the box can be made of a wooden bar or an aluminum corner - it depends on the materials of the decorative panel and its frame. The panel itself can be made from different materials: wooden slats, plywood, laminated fiberboard or chipboard, metal mesh.

During installation, a frame made of galvanized steel profile or a wooden beam is usually used as a supporting structure (similar to the technology of installing plasterboard partitions).

Wooden screens

The simplest screen to manufacture is a panel in the form of a lattice of wooden slats fixed on a wooden frame. The position of the rails can be any - vertical, horizontal, diagonal.

When the battery is in a niche, the screen can either completely cover it, or hang on hooks, leaving small gaps at the top, bottom and sides.

Important! When choosing chipboard or plywood for the screen, you need to pay attention to their class. For plywood, it should be E1, for chipboard - E0.

DIY metal screen

To make a hinged metal screen is quite simple:

Take two corners with a length equal to the sum of the height of the screen and the depth of the battery.
Along the fold line on one of the walls of each corner, two opposite cuts are made with a total angle of 90 ° (45 ° for each relative to the edge of the corner). Moreover, the cuts must be made so that the uncut walls of the corners look at each other.
Bend the corners in the shape of the letter G.
Prepare a blank for the screen from a perforated sheet or perforated mesh. Its length is equal to the total length of the L-shaped corner.
Three corners are made with a size equal to the width of the screen.
The screen blank is bent and fastened to the L-shaped corners using screws and nuts with washers (in specially drilled holes in the corners). It is better to drill holes in place - so that they fall into the perforation of the sheet or into the grid cell.
On the inside of the mesh, three corners are fixed in the corner and along the edges, which act as stiffeners.
Paint the outer part of the L-shaped corners.

In order for such a screen to be in a stable position, a pair of dowels with straight hooks can be fixed in the wall, and holes can be drilled in the short parts of the L-shaped corners.

glass screen

If wooden screens are well suited for traditional and rustic styles, and metal ones for industrial ones, then glass ones look great in modern interiors, such as high-tech, minimalism, fusion, pop art. It all depends on the decorative glass processing.

If you don’t want to bother with decorative processing, then glass with a matte surface or colored in bulk is on sale - you just need to order the right size, and you can process the edge yourself. The only condition is that the glass must be tempered.

The easiest way to mount the screen is to point-fix the glass to the wall in four places. To do this, use special fittings with remote mounting.

But there is one drawback - you need to drill holes in tempered glass, and this is difficult to do at home.

As an additional stop for the racks, two remote adjustable closed-type mounts (with a cap for the pipe) can be fixed to the wall. Glass is fixed between the racks on the clamps.

Cast iron radiators are quite difficult to fit into the interior. Modern batteries (made of bimetal or aluminum) look more neat, but they do not fit the classic design of the apartment. In order for the design of the radiator to fit into any interior, a box is provided. It can be purchased at hardware or plumbing stores. But in order not to have to resort to unnecessary costs, it is better to make a screen for the battery with your own hands.

You can buy a battery box at any hardware store, but you can also make your own.

A protective or decorative screen for a radiator reduces its heat transfer. It is impossible to state unequivocally that the screen influences the convection rate. There are convectors powered by electricity. They have a heating element inside the case. Two holes are located at the top and bottom. Thanks to this, manufacturers have achieved an increase in the convection rate. In this case, the holes act as air ducts that increase the speed of air passage.

The protective screen can reduce heat transfer to the room

But this technology is not suitable for radiators, because they heat the surrounding air simultaneously in two ways: convection and infrared radiation. The box absorbs and reflects part of the red spectrum. The absorbed energy creates conditions for reheating, and the reflected energy begins to heat the walls. But this heat can also heat the room if a reflector is installed behind the battery. Infrared radiation bounces off its surface and returns to the apartment. Such material is made from foil foam. It should also be used in the absence of a decorative box.

Types of structures

The main component of the decorative screen is a flat facade. Holes are made in it to ensure good air circulation. Panels are rarely attached to the top and sides. It all depends on where the radiator is installed. If the battery is located under a narrow window sill, then a top panel can be used to completely hide the radiator.

There are several types of mounting:

Caracas for the box can be made of wood or aluminum. The decisive factor is the material from which the decorative panels are made. The material for the panels is quite diverse: wood slats, plywood, metal, glass, fiberboard, chipboard, etc.

Glass decorative screens can be attributed to a separate type. Because this is the only type that does not require holes for installation. A single sheet of glass is used. To ensure good air circulation, side and top panels are not installed. The sheet is mounted on special fasteners. They provide the correct clearance between the radiator and the glass.

Watch an interesting video on how to make a beautiful grille for a radiator with your own hands:

DIY decorative screen for a heating radiator the easiest way to do it from wooden narrow boards. They are mounted on a frame of rails. You can choose any position of the boards.

You can make a grid of cells. In this case, you need to position the rails relative to each other at an angle of 45 or 90 degrees. If you need a flat grate, you will have to cut grooves at the joints. Then all elements will be in the same plane. This is a rather difficult process, so the slats can simply be twisted (if their thickness is not more than 5 mm).

The protective box can be made from narrow rails

Wooden blinds are another option. They are reminiscent of the old classic shutters on the windows. On the frame you need to make grooves at an equal distance. This will ensure the same angle of inclination for each rail. It is best to cut them with a thin hacksaw, and remove the excess with a chisel.

The materials from which the box is made must be dry

All materials must be dry. The humidity of the wood cannot exceed 12%, since the screen is in close proximity to the battery. If the wood is wet, the heat can deform it. The easiest way to check is to try to tie thin shavings into a knot. She must break.

In both cases, the rails must be well sanded before mounting to the frame. After fixing in the right place, the screen must be carefully applied with a primer in several layers. Then varnish or paint.

You can decorate the box with MDF platbands around the entire perimeter. You can process in the same way as the rest of the structure. For a topcoat, it is better to choose a different color or shade.

You can also make a box for a battery with your own hands from plywood. This is a fairly common type of material for the manufacture of screens. In this case, you need to choose first class plywood. Using an electric jigsaw, you can cut any pattern on the outer surface. It is better to transfer it through a stencil. The processing of such a panel is standard.

You can make a screen for a radiator with your own hands from a metal base. The main material is perforated sheet or mesh. On sale there are ready-made nets that are treated with a special anti-corrosion agent and coated with enamel. It can be attached to a wooden structure that serves as a frame.

Metal has a huge advantage over wood. It has high thermal conductivity. Thanks to this, it is possible to install screens directly on the batteries. Heat transfer increases due to the increase in surface area.

A metal box is much more efficient than a wooden one, its heat transfer is higher

As a frame, it is better to choose an aluminum profile or corner. For a panel - sheet or grid. Such materials are better than ordinary steel because their thermal conductivity is 4-5 times higher.

Assembling the screen for the battery is quite simple:

You need to take two corners (preferably aluminum).
Along the line of the rib, make 2 cuts to meet at an angle of 45 °.
On the finished cuts, bend the corners at an angle of 90 degrees.
Prepare a perforated sheet or mesh.
The screen sheet or mesh is folded and attached to the corners.
Make 3 corners with a length equal to the width of the box - additional stiffeners are made from them.

Attach two dowel hooks to the wall. Make holes in the corners and hang them on hooks. This will achieve a stable position of the entire structure.

glass products

Glass screens fit perfectly into modern interiors: pop art, minimalism, etc. It all depends on how the glass is processed.

There is an option to order a self-adhesive film with any pattern for a glass screen. You can also apply a pattern using a sandblaster or glass etching paste. For these purposes, a matte or transparent surface is suitable.

If there is no desire to spend energy on processing or there are no materials and tools, then you can order a finished frosted glass of the desired size and color. Edge processing is best done by yourself. The main thing is that the glass is tempered.

The glass box for the radiator is able to decorate the interior

The simplest mounting option is to point-fix the screen to the wall in several places. Sold special fittings that allow you to mount the glass remotely.

The main disadvantage of such a screen is that for mounting in glass it is necessary to drill holes for fasteners. Therefore, a cold-rolled tube with thin walls is used for the frame. It is sold in stores with furniture fittings. Usually the pipe is chrome plated. In some stores you can order painting. Racks must be fixed to the floor.

For additional stability of the glass screen, two more fixed fasteners can be attached to the wall. Glass must be fixed between them with clamps.