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Virginia left this question as a comment on our DIY: Insulate Water Pipes post:
I live in an old building in NYC on the first floor and we have exposed heating pipes. These things get HOT. CRAZY HOT. And they are really big - I've never measured them, but they take two hands to reach around the circumference. They are in the corner of our living room, bathroom, one of the bedrooms, and kind of in the middle of the kitchen. Oh, and we have 9 foot ceilings, so you see a lot of pipe. I'd like to insulate, because they can make the apartment very warm (and you can't regulate their temp like you could the radiator). But I think the insulation would look really bad.
(FYI: Pipes pictured above are not Virginia's pipes)
(Question continues after the jump)
I grew up in NYC and the last apt my mom lived in had the same problem with scorching heat coming off the risers.
She went to a hardware store and got the wrap - it comes in a white shade (kind of off white) which she secured with white tape. It definitely helped regulate the heat in the apt, kept her from accidentally burning herself, and didn't look much different than having large white pipes running from floor to ceiling.
view alana_r's profile
The best I’ve seen is a bamboo covering in a bathroom. It made the pipe look like a knotty tree, or a round wooden vertical beam.
On the natural, woodish theme, what about wrapping the pipes in a type of flexible placemats made of sticks? Similar to figure E and F here.
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_candles/article/0,,DIY_13748_2274017,00.htm
or http://www.rightathome.com/view.aspx?pid=62
Sticks wouldn’t insulate, but they’d protect you against burns.
Or you could try wrapping the pipes in an insulating fabric like a blanket, or fabric covered insulation blanket or cardboard…
http://www.curbly.com/ModHomeEcTeacher/posts/5735-Upcycle-Turn-an-Oatmeal-Box-Into-a-Pretty-Ribbon-Holder
I’ve also seen a thin, vertical panel of cloth acting as a screen or curtain to camouflage a pipe. You could still see the pipe, but the fabric acted as an interest piece to take attention away from it.
view angelab's profile
Thanks for taking on my issue, Re-Nest! (I love the pic)
These sound like good suggestions. Probably the insulation tape first, then something more decorative on the outside, right? I think putting fabric on the pipe without insulation would, over time, probably mean the fabric would yellow with all the heat.
-Virginia
http://www.margincomments.blogspot.com
view VirginiaWestfield's profile