We have a 110 y/o home with beautiful old radiators. Turns out it is hard to change the hardwood underneath. The guy we hired to put in the new floors (mirindiba) just walked out on us because if it, simply quit, couldn't handle it any more... Now we are wondering if anybody has any idea how to deal with those heavy beasts and getting the floor underneath them (apparently the radiators just crack the panels he was trying to put underneath) or do we need to resort to working around the legs of the heater in a similar fashion as the pipes that come through the floor (not our favorit option but better than nothing)? We would appreciate your feedback on this problem.
Cheers,

Kat

Have them pulled out then replaced.

Ya, best option is to bring in a heating contractor to remove them while the new hardwood goes in. Will give you an opportunity to beef up the tired old subfloor that has sagged from the weight of the rads over the years.

NOT an option! We would have to drain the hole system leaving us without heat. Even if we could move out for the time being the pipes could freeze! Also it would be very expensive and we are not rich, actually quite the opposite. There are 3 heaters to move all 3 would cost a fortune! Not that we hadn't considered that but the quotes we got for that were awful never mind that nobody was available to do the job for at least another month.

Any chance you could build some kind of A-frame to remove their weight. Even if you had to put a couple screws in the wall it can be repaired.

Keith