For the past couple of years, I have been drooling over the European style Runtal radiators (http://www.runtalnorthamerica.com). I like the clean look and modern style. They are a little less common in my area, so there is a certain “wow” factor that would go with having them installed in my house. Most homes around here use forced air gas heat which has no character at all. Until now, I had no idea what size I would need, and so I had no idea how much I could expect to pay for the rads. The plumbing and heating contractor included the more common Slant-Fin baseboard rads in his estimate, but would deduct the material cost if I purchased the Runtal Radiators on my own. Armed with the necessary information, I contacted a distributer for Runtal and received a quotation that I thought was reasonable. That is until I found out that it was FOUR times the cost of the Slant-Fins.
Nickels and dimes…or Upgrading deeper into debt
The Runtal baseboard radiator is on the left… the Slant-Fin radiator is on the right. You can see how the Runtal blends right in with the decor. But is that look worth increasing the project cost by more than 12%?
Runtal baseboard radiator
Slantfin Fineline baseboard radiator.
One thing that I try to avoid is having any renovation cheapen the value of the house. The style of the Slant-Fin radiators is in keeping with the style of the house. It neither adds or takes away any value. The Runtal radiators would also fit in with the style of the house, but it is doubtful whether, as good as they look, they would necessarily increase the value enough to justify the additional $1500 cost.
The deciding factor for me was that I would eventually be replacing all the rads in the house, which means more expense down the road. And that extra $1500 now represents half the cost of the flooring for the second level. Would that I could afford everything, but I don’t want to get so far into debt that I have no hope of ever recovering.
So, Slant-Fins it is.
Who knows. At some point down the road, we may be in a position to replace the Slant-Fins with Runtals, but for now, it just isn’t in the budget.