Radiator Obsession

We pulled the asbestos covered ductwork out of the house (professionally abated) last year, and it was time to figure out what kind of heating system we wanted. We were starting completely from scratch. I'm not really a big fan of forced air, just because of the hassle of cleaning out ducts and maintaining big machines. Not only that, but out in an already dusty area, would it just get to be too much? Then I found out about radiant heat.

We have used in-floor radiant heat, but have not had much experience with actual cast iron radiators. What we do know is the people who have it, love it. And the idea of adjusting the temperature in each bedroom separately? My dad can visit and have the radiator full heat, and I can turn mine down? Wow, sign me up!

I have a bit of a thing for heavy things. I've been known in the past to ask friends to lift gigantic ancient refrigerators for me. So it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that knows me that anything extremely heavy and cast iron will tend to catch my eye.

I picked up my first radiator on Craig's List about a year ago, just because I thought it was cool. The older man said it came out of a local church and he had it in his garage because he thought it was cool too. So I brought it home and had it powdercoated. This one was $50. Score!

I found the second one at the Gorge ReBuild It Center, sitting outside. Think it came in fresh. $100. I was with my husband, and he asked, "what are we going to do with that big hunk of metal? why don't we actually have a plan first?" So glad I talked him into it.

A couple of months later, we decided that we were definitely going to go the radiant heat route. It turns out it's less expensive and invasive than ground source heat, and I'm just not a fan of these mitsubishi heaters that sit high on the wall in each room and have pipes going everywhere. Some kind of euro heat. 

With that came the realization that at this rate it would take 10 years to gather as many radiators as I would need for this size house. So I looked online. The most affordable ones, through a discount website, are called Governale. It passed the test with the local radiant heat expert, so I ordered one to get an idea of what it would look like. Not exactly impressive, but found out later that it's the perfect size for the downstairs powder room. No love lost, $150 here we go.

There are other new reproduction radiators on the market, mainly marketed to the East Coast and Europe, that can be upwards of $3000 each. Salvage was definitely the way to go. Although not as popular on the West Coast, they can be had for those who are persistent.

About 6 months previously, I answered a Craig's List ad for a house full of radiators. Not ornate, but perfect under-the-window sized and the whole lot for $500. Unfortunately, 6 months previously I got a resounding "No" from the husband, because it was still a mere thought and not a plan. Where would we put them? What if we don't use them? They're really heavy!! A month after husband said no, I called the guy back anyway. He said, "I'm so sorry, I really wanted to save them, but they went to the scrap metal yard." Ugh!

Then came the true test of our marriage. Finally after regretting the decision to pass on them for months, another ad came up in Spokane, Washington. I emailed the seller back and forth and ultimately offered $500 for the house. A house very similar in size and shape to ours. It was fate. Somehow I managed to talk my dear, sweet, wonderful husband into flying to Eastern Washington, renting a UHaul, and loading (with 3 other men) about thirteen 200-400 pound radiators onto Uhaul, then driving back to Portland in one day. Rock star! 

The only downside was that we didn't exactly see what we were getting ahead of time. So we ended up with a hodge podge of styles and sizes. But the ornate ones were really pretty and we had two stars - two extra long perfect-under-the-window radiators.

Then I picked up a few more, because I was on a roll, and because I had a Uhaul.

These came from Hippo Hardware, a local salvage store. $50 each.

And these came from Aurora Mills Architectural Depot, in Aurora, Oregon. I found a nice set of four and was told the Grimm tv show had borrowed these for a while for set decor. Clearly I'm not the only one that finds these appealing. He wanted almost $20 a fin (they are usually priced by the fin), but when I asked him, "do you get a lot of folks in here looking for radiators?" he gave me a great deal. I love this place. Invest in your local small businesses and they will work with you.

Then a call back to the radiator expert and I find out he wanted me to drive all of these down to Hood River so he could pressure test each of them for leaks, then drive them back to be powdercoated. I couldn't do it. It was too much for me. These things are massive. I don't want to even begin to talk about the fear and terror of driving around town in the size Uhaul I had, either.

Luckily I found a local radiator shop that would test these for me. I learned that if you powdercoat them before removing the nuts and bolts, it kind of ruins the powdercoat. Also, before buying salvage, it doesn't hurt to ask if they have damage. The more reputable places won't carry cracked radiators or will return your money if you discover cracks. A thorough visual inspection doesn't hurt either.

Before I left the heating specialists, they threw in a couple of extra, just in case I didn't have enough. And wow, why did I never think of asking these guys first? They get radiators in all the time. They usually sell them to the salvage stores or sell them for scrap. Duly noted!

Post testing, they are ready to be picked up and delivered to the powdercoaters. By the way, Portland Powdercoating rocks. They're not afraid of anything. Nothing is too big or too heavy. They're like, "psh, bring it." He sent me home with some swatches and I obsessed over dark grey vs dark bronze vs classic white for about a week, matched them to all my swatches, debated with my husband over which would be more authentic, and finally went with dark grey. I like the look of raw metal without the worry of rust.

At this point, I have about 19 or 20 radiators. What in the hell is wrong with me. You know what, though? Aside from one, I have found a place for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Score.

The ornate ones will inhabit the main spaces and upstairs rooms, and the less ornate ones will go in the attic, guest room and bathrooms. There is one very long plain one that will fit under a very long window in our master bedroom. Will probably cover that with a window seat.

I have looked and looked since for that elusive long, low beauty for the master, but I tell you, they are hard to find. And to ask my husband to move one more radiator in his life is just cruel.

 Is it just me or are radiators really really cool?

Here they are! And since they are all the same color (aside from the one), the different styles just kind of work.

Art.

Sitting in the sunroom, laying in wait for final placement.

The day we realized we were in over our heads...

I was standing upstairs in the demo'd house, staring at bare rooms next to my general contractor, trying to articulate to him what I wanted without plans, without blueprints, and we were miscommunicating. A very patient man, I could tell he was done. I was completely overwhelmed.

It was at that point that we put everything to a halt. The next week we were interviewing design firms. We were going to get a plan in place and execute this the right way.

I contacted three firms. The first firm was a local Portland mother/daughter team. The mother is a trained architect/designer and the daughter a designer. They office out of her home, which is a combination of everything I love. In fact, I noticed after walking into her house that I had clipped photos of her kitchen from a local magazine. We hit it off immediately, and I felt confident that we would work together. Our tastes couldn't have been more compatible. The only glitch is they wanted to see the project through every detail to the end, which meant a very large financial commitment.

The second firm was a young, hip, popular team that offices in a very trendy area. Their storefront is very fresh and though a bit modern for my tastes, really attractive. I got this overall sense that I was contemplating hanging out with the cool kids. They were extremely responsive and offered weekly meetings to keep things moving at a quick pace. The nice thing about them too was the possibility of me taking over the project and saving costs over time.

The last firm was a design/build firm. They had done some amazing projects throughout town and really seem to understand how to beautifully do period work in a very current way. The only thing is that they focus more on commercial projects. They didn't seem to open the door to regular meetings, and it was more of a hands off project on my part. In other words, I had to completely let go. And if there was a breakdown during the design process, would we still own the design?

We decided to go with the second firm. The idea of having control over our spending really sounded good to us, and after subsequent meetings, I lost the cool kid vibe from them (something I realized I was projecting). It became a very collaborative process.

Now I'm halfway through this project and what have I learned? If you are doing a simple remodel, a design firm will work. But a whole house design needs an architect. I relied on our friend Ken for major structural decisions. I have learned so much in this past 6 months. I have learned how to design custom windows down to the last detail. I have learned all about ratios and scale. I have learned that to get anything right the first time, you have to obsess. I've learned that if you have really strong opinions, a design firm works, but to save even more money, someone to draft the plans might even make more sense.

For me, it made sense to start with a plan and tweak it along the way. 

My general contractor is back, and I'm testing his patience every step of the way (and he is soooooo patient). We have a plan, and I'm undoing it piece by piece. But I'm having fun and it's going to be exactly what I want! Wish me luck.