How to Remove Baseboard Heating Element Covers

Removing Baseboard Heating Element Cover without Damaging It or Yourself

By Mark J. Donovan




 On a bathroom remodeling project I needed to remove a section of baseboard heating element cover so that I could slide a bathroom vanity closer to a bathroom wall. The particular section of baseboard heating element cover was only hiding copper pipe and not actually hiding any heating element.

By removing the baseboard heating element cover I was able to more easily and neatly slide in a filler trim piece.
The filler trim piece had actually been first screwed to the edge of the bathroom vanity, so that the vanity and trim piece could butt up flush against the bathroom wall. I only needed to notch the trim piece to slide around the copper pipe.

Removing baseboard heating element covers requires a drill and ¼” drill bit, screw gun, safety glasses and some work gloves.

After removing by hand the outside baseboard heating element cover plates, I used a drill to drill out the nail heads that were holding the back heating element cover plate to the wall.

I then gently and slightly bent the brackets that support the heating element away from the element so that I could then slide the brackets down toward the simple copper pipe area (non-heating element area).

I then easily lifted the brackets away from the back cover and put them aside.

Finally I removed the baseboard heating element cover by lifting it up and over the heating element.
After removing the baseboard heating element covers I cut them to the appropriate and shorter length to account for the bathroom vanity thickness, and reinstalled them in the reverse order that I removed them.

 Restoring Steel Baseboard Heating Element Covers EBook

I cut the removed baseboard heating element covers with a jig saw and a metal cutting blade.

A couple words of wisdom. First, always wear work gloves and safety glasses when working with baseboard heating element covers as they are very sharp and can cut you without even realizing it. Second, use screws and a screw gun to reattach the back cover plate to the wall. Using a hammer could cause you to damage the heating element and possibly spring a leak.

For information on Restoring Baseboard Heating Element Covers, see the Restoring Baseboard Heating Element Covers eBook from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Restoring Baseboard Heating Element Covers Ebook provides easy to understand, step-by-step instructions, on how to restore Baseboard Heating Element Covers so that they look new again. Pictures are included for every key step in the process.

For information on how to maximize a wood stove’s heating efficiency, see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Installation of Hood over Wood Stove eBook. 

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