Radiator pulling away from wall

[MST2000]

We recently noticed that one of our radiators is leaning way from the wall. The top screws in the top brackets have been pulled out of the wall by about 1cm. The other screws have come out by a couple of mm.

We'll be getting in a plumber to refit it, but my question is how urgent is this? We will have someone start refurbishing our bathroom within the next few weeks - is it okay to leave it until then and get him to do it? Or should I be getting out an emergency plumber today? I don't know if it's the sort of thing I can just 'keep an eye on' for now, or whether we're at serious risk of flooding our living room!

 

[jackthom]

Hard to say without seeing it. Providing you don't have kids who might pull it further over you will probably get away with pushing it back against the wall then chocking it underneath with a couple of wood blocks to support the weight.

If you can encourage the loose screws back into their holes and then chock the radiator up they may help hold it in place.

Not a very elegant solution but assuming it hasn't leaked so far it should be OK for a few weeks if well supported.

 

[MST2000]

Thanks for the ideas so far.

This is the best angle I could find for a photo. You can see we've put a laundry basket type box against it to provide a bit of support for now, although it's not heavy enough to hold it back in position.

 

[Agile]

You should IMMEDIATELY turn off BOTH radiator valves!

Ideally also undo the unions between the valves and the rad and let the water inside drain into a square bowl and then leave the unions on both sides loose.

Then the possibilities of damage will be much reduced and can leave it until later.

Also the basket will not help at all.

You could support some of the weight underneath by bricks of pieces of wood.

Tony

 

[Burnerman]

I've had two rads like this for 20 years or more
Don't swing on it, keep an eye on it and when the plumber comes, he'll fix new longer plugs into the wall.
He'll need to drain that rad down of course, and lift it off its brackets to do this.
John

 

[longdogs]

Leave the washing basket thing up against it. I have known radiators to fall off causing the pipes to bend (although they were much larger and heavier than yours).

 

[MST2000]

Okay thanks, I've used a couple of bricks and offcuts of wood to support it at the base. It isn't holding exactly flush against the wall, but it's definitely taking the weight off the top brackets. We're going to see if the bathroom guy can come earlier just to do this job.