Electronics / Radiator Cover

Currently there is a mess of cables and my router at the end of the hallway in my apartment, which is definitely becoming a bit of an eyesore. To fix this I created a cover, with an integrated shelf, that will hide these, whilst providing a place to add some decoration.

I had originally planned to buy one of these, rather than making one, but I couldn't find one narrow enough as they are normally designed to cover radiators, which are normally much wider.

As I live in a one bedroom apartment, this project is made entirely with hand tools, and the only specialty tool being the pocket hole jig, which can be substituted for regular screws, or one can be bought from amazon for fairly cheap.

Materials

1. MDF
2. Rattan
3. Strip Wood
4. Screws
5. Nice wood for shelf
6. Screws
7. Paint

Tools

1. Pocket Hole Jig
2. Wood Saw
3. Drill
4. Driver
5. Mitre Box
6. Staple Gun (inverted stapler would work too)
7. Masking Tape
8. Paint Brush

I started by measuring the wall and anything on there that couldn't be moved, i.e. the plug socket, the intercom and the skirting board. These would be the things I would have to work around. I then modelled these in Fusion 360.

I then started to model what I wanted it to look like, I went through a few rendition of what should go in the middle, be it a decorative panel or slats. By modelling it completely it allowed me to work out how much material it would need, and what the most cost effective way of making it would be.

I bought the MDF from B&Q and had them cut in into 5 strips, two at 120mm, two at 75mm, and one at 100mm along with the excess. These then needed to be cut to length.

I started by marking and cutting the cross supports, with the top piece being cut to 550mm and the bottom to 400mm. I then roughly place the two side pieces and the top support against the wall to gauge what height I wanted the cover to be. By doing this I realised I wanted it to be about 100mm shorter than my original design.

I then marked and cut my side and front pieces; this is where I made my first mistake. I cut the side pieces to same length as the front pieces, but the side pieces should be 100mm shorted to take into account the top support. I'll fix this mistake when I realise in the next step.

Finally I sanded all the cut edges using a sanding block as my mitre box isn't the greatest and the cut faces can be a little curvy.

To assemble the front I started by drilling two pocket holes in each end of the bottom support piece, and two pocket holes in one end of both front pieces. Laying it down on the floor, I screwed these together using self tapping screws. One thing to note is that it is important to clamp the pieces flat together when doing this, I found that that my lifted up, creating a lip that had to be filled later.

This is where I realised my mistake from earlier. To rectify, I cut some of the offcuts to size, and then using pocket screws, extended the side piece. Before this, I narrow down the extender slightly to allow for the skirting board. One the side pieces and the extender, I drilled more pocket holes down one edge, and then positied it and screwed it into place.

To hold the rattan and the border in place, I used some offcuts to create a rim around the opening for the rattan and border to be secured to. I also cut the strip wood to fit using the mitre box to create the 45° angles. It it worth measuring the length of each piece individually as mine were a couple of millimeters different from one another.

I started by nailing the start of the roll of rattan to the top of the backing, using a staple gun. I put staples both horizontally and vertically to ensure both directions of the weave were secured. I then did my best to stretch out the rattan down the length of the cover, and then staple the bottom into position. It is worth pulling hard as mine isn't quite as taught as I would have liked. Using a sharp knife, cut away the excess.

I ordered my rattan from Amazon and it was a little smaller than advertised. As a result it didn't fill up the space fully and this meant I couldn't secure the rattan down the sides, I just stapled where I could for now.

I positioned the strip wood bordered, then pre-drilled and screwed from the back. As these are quite thin materials be sure that the screws won't go through.

I also drilled through the front pieces, into the side pieces and drove some longer screws through both to add some more support.

Due to the misalignment from the pocket holes, and my mishap with cutting the side pieces too short, then sanding smooth. I had to do this process several times to get it to a stage I was happy with.

I started the painting process by masking off the rattan to ensure I didn't get any paint on it. The rattan not being overly taught was quite helpful when masking as it allowed to push to down slightly and mask underneath the stripwood border.

I used an Eggshelf Brilliant White to paint, in hindsight, this may have been a bit too glossy and something more matt may have worked better. I use a brush for the first coat, and then a roller for the second coat to get a smooth finish. Be sure to paint any areas that might be visible through the opening at the bottom.

One the cover was painted I attached it to the wall using steel L brackets. I attached them to the cover first and placed them several millimeters away from the edge; I did this so that when I screwed these into the wall the frame would be pulled tight against it. To attached it to the wall I marked the hole in the L bracket on the wall, then drilled for some wall plugs.

Overall I am really happy with how this project turned out. It does the job and looks really nice. If I were to do it again I would consider making the rattan section either a door or removable so that I would have easier access to the electronics inside. I would also be sure to clamp the pieces together when screwing with the pocket holes to avoid the lip, and the subsequent filling required.

I also plan on giving it a third coat of paint and cutting the shelf down, I thought the chunky oversized look would work but I don't think it does.