My house was built in the 50s and I believe the baseboard radiators are original. We just bought the house and I went to go clean them. I realized most of them are rusty and painted over making them really hard to open and clean. My intention was going to be to replace them with one of those modern covers however mine open up in a way that I can't seem to find any reference to on the internet. Has anyone ever seen a baseboard radiator like this. How that I'm cutting them all open are there other options I can consider for upgrading.
When I had it open the inside said Tuttle and Bailey.
As you can see when you open these up the whole thing comes off. There is a groove along the top that you slide it into and then it clamps into the clips screwed into the wall. The ones that I see can be modernized with a cover and usually still have the top attached near the slats while the front cover just comes off. Those also look a lot easier to clean.
Does anybody have any guidance on how I could replace these with more maintainable and aesthetically pleasing options.
Best Answer
Can't tell from looking at the picture you posted but it looks like a finned tube hot water baseboard unit. Do you heat your house with a hot water boiler and if not can you elaborate. If I am right and that is a hot water unit, the installer recessed the enclosure into the wall and mounted it directly onto the wall studs. I never liked that type of installation and would prefer the unit to be mounted on top of the finished wall.
Finned tube baseboard has aluminum fins, usually 4-5 per inch slid on a copper tube. Looking at the picture it looks like the fins could use a good cleaning with a shop vac and a very soft brush. The fins are very delicate and sharp so be careful. As far as the outer cover you could refinish as you wish. As far as replacing them, that would be a major project probably left to an HVAC company.