Step 6: Variations
Side Fitting and Extended Shelf board
Side Fitting:
If your cabinet needs to go into an alcove or against a wall one side
or both, the
sides of the cabinet will need to be made so they can be cut out (scribed)
to fit around skirting boards or pipes. This can be accommodated on the
left, right or both sides of the cabinet by ordering the side fitting
option. This is shown in the drawings to the left. As standard this is
would allow an 18mm excess for fitting. If you require more than this just
enter the size you need in the 'side fitting' column of the order form.
Remember the cabinet overall size will include these.
Extended shelf board depth: Occasionally it may be desirable
for the top of the radiator cabinet to incorporate a window ledge or other
recess. This can be easily provided (for a small charge) by having an
'extended top board' as shown to the left.
Enter the depth in the 'extended shelf board' column and calculate the
additional cost. Shelf boards can be fitted on top of existing window
cills if you do not want them removed. However you may need to omit the
cabinet back strut when fitting.
Many different situations can be overcome by extending top boards.
Special Situations:
As you can see from the picture we can make cabinets for most situations. This shows a cabinet for a three sided
bay window. If you have a complicated requirement, please call us to discuss it,
or send us a diagram with your measurement details.
The following drawings show some common problems
and how we resolve them. In each case we've shown a radiator cabinet, but the
same situations apply to bookcases and cupboards in exactly the same way.
Make reference to the above drawing, which shows
our standard clearances, and use it to compare the standard clearances to
the special cases shown below.
Side Fitting
Much of the time a radiator is placed near to a
corner or in an alcove (between two walls). However, on a standard cabinet
(shown above) the top and skirting boards overlap the main body of the cabinet
by 18mm on each side, which would leave an untidy gap between the cabinet body
and the wall.
This can be solved by using the 'side fitting'
option, which we provide at no extra charge. The upright section at the front of
the cabinet (with the decorative vertical fluting) is extended to the left so
that it becomes flush with the wall you're fitting the cabinet up to. It can
even be scribed on site if the wall is uneven, so that it matches perfectly. An
example is shown below.
In addition, on radiator cabinets only (not
bookcases or cupboards), the side panel is cut away from the wall to allow for
any pipes to pass through unrestricted.
Clearances used for Side Fitting
(Remember that for a normal radiator, you
measure the width of the radiator and add 132mm to get the cabinet width.)
The picture below shows a radiator that is close
to the corner of the room. A side fitting on the left is ideal for this
situation.
Instead of measuring the radiator as a whole,
measure from the wall on the left to the outside of the right-hand valve on the
radiator (as shown by the red line). Let's say that this measurement is 850mm,
which would make the cabinet size:
850mm (wall to
outside of right-hand valve)
+ 66mm (standard clearance for right-hand side only)
= 916mm (overall size of cabinet).
This above drawing shows the finished, fitted
radiator cabinet. Note that the side fitting option allows the left-hand edge of
the cabinet's skirting board to be cut on site to fit perfectly into the
existing skirting board in the room.
Power sockets and other obstructions
There is 36mm of material at each side of a
radiator cabinet, made up of two layers of 18mm: the skirting board and the side
panel itself. The picture below left shows a cabinet where just 41mm (36mm+5mm)
has been added to the side clearance instead of the usual 66mm (see previous
page for the standard clearances). This is so that the cabinet doesn't block the
plug socket.
The right hand picture shows how you could
further reduce the width of the cabinet if the wall obstruction is even closer
to the radiator.
The picture on the left shows how a similar
treatment has been used to keep a thermostatic valve outside the cabinet.
Alternatively, you could extend the size of the cabinet to enclose a
thermostatic valve (and a power socket) as shown on the right.
