Hello,

I recently bought an old Colonial style home that has steam radiators. I put down new hardwood floors throughout as the original floors had been refinished so many times they were needing replacement.

Since the new floor is 3/4 inch thick the steam radiators no longer couple with outlet valves. A couple of the valves have some give and can be pulled upwards but there are two that have no give and I am unsure how to connect the radiators now.

Is there some adapter or pipe fitting I can get to bridge the gap? Surely others have come across this problem before. I have read a solution where someone suggested cutting holes in the floor for the radiator feet to bring it back to the original level but I really don't want to do this if avoidable.

Any ideas anyone? Thanks in advance for your help...

Hello,

I recently bought an old Colonial style home that has steam radiators. I put down new hardwood floors throughout as the original floors had been refinished so many times they were needing replacement.

Since the new floor is 3/4 inch thick the steam radiators no longer couple with outlet valves. A couple of the valves have some give and can be pulled upwards but there are two that have no give and I am unsure how to connect the radiators now.

Is there some adapter or pipe fitting I can get to bridge the gap? Surely others have come across this problem before. I have read a solution where someone suggested cutting holes in the floor for the radiator feet to bring it back to the original level but I really don't want to do this if avoidable.

Any ideas anyone? Thanks in advance for your help...
Mossst those old boilers where plumbed with threaded nipples, not all soft soldered like today. You need nipples and or a pipe threader. Sorry not easy to answer online. If they are all threaded pipe don't be surprised if you break an elbow or something on that old cast plumbing. It may be worth the liability and guarantee to have a pro do it. You don't want a leeak to ruin your new floors or ceilings.