Radiator Covers

Winter tends to be a time of reflection and rest when it is too cold to work on anything outside the house. Usually I spend the winter reading. This winter though was unseasonably mild. Most of the winter had lows in the 20's and highs in the lower 30's. We had almost no snow to speak of. There were many days when winter here in the Midwest reminded me of the winter days we experienced in Cork, Ireland.

One nice thing was that it was warm enough to run out to the garage and cut lumber on the table saw in short bursts. This meant that I was able to finish a small interior project as a test. Ms. Huis and I have always liked radiator covers, and of course I've always thought that I could make something like that. This was the result.

This particular radiator cover is in the girls playroom, where any mistakes will be less likely to be noticed. Cost for each radiator runs between $100 and $200 when using standard red oak as a material. Cost to buy new runs $600 plus.

There happens to be 12 radiators in the house. Two are now done. With any luck, I can do a few more next winter. Of course I'd be a lot more productive if I'd heat my garage. One more project...