Service
Boiler Repair & Installation
Most of the housing around Pawtucket, Central Falls and the older parts of Providence is heated by a boiler, and a good many of those boilers are older than the people living with them. They are repairable far longer than most homeowners expect — and when they are not, getting the replacement right matters more than getting it fast. No heat in freezing weather is a different matter: that one is worth calling about at any hour, and the phone is answered.
Steam and hot water are different animals
A one-pipe steam system and a modern closed-loop hot water system fail in completely different ways and are diagnosed completely differently. A lot of no-heat calls in this housing stock turn out to be a steam system that has never been properly balanced, not a boiler that has failed.
Knowing which you have in front of you is most of the job. It is also why a heating call and a plumbing call are not the same trade, whatever the listing says.
What we actually work on
Most winter calls are no heat, not enough heat, or heat in some rooms and not others. Those three cover a wide range of underlying causes, and the fix is rarely the first thing suggested.
- No heat, intermittent heat, and rooms that never come up to temperature
- Circulator pumps, zone valves and thermostats that are not talking to each other
- Low-water cutoffs, pressure relief valves and expansion tanks
- Steam sight glasses, vents and traps
- Leaks at fittings, valves and the near-boiler piping
- Full replacement, correctly piped and vented
Replacement, and near-boiler piping
When a boiler genuinely has to be replaced, the piping immediately around it decides how well the new one works. It is the part most often rushed, and a high-efficiency unit installed onto poorly arranged near-boiler piping will under-perform its rating for its entire life.
We size the replacement off the heat the building actually needs rather than copying the output of whatever is being taken out — in a house that has been insulated or had windows replaced since the last boiler went in, those are rarely the same number.
Worth a call before the cold sets in
- — Radiators that stay cold at one end of the house
- — Banging or hammering in the pipes when the heat comes on
- — Having to top the system up with water regularly
- — A boiler that short-cycles — firing and stopping every few minutes
- — Any smell of gas, which is a call to your gas utility first
Related
Often the same visit
Radiator Repair & Bleeding
Cold radiators, trapped air and the rooms in the house that never quite get warm.
Read moreFurnace Maintenance & Installation
Servicing that keeps a furnace running safely through the winter, and replacement when it has run its course.
Read moreThermostat Installation
The cheapest heating upgrade there is — provided the one you buy actually suits your system.
Read moreGot a problem? Call the Bros.
A family business out of Pawtucket. Tell us what is going on and we will tell you straight what it needs.
24/7 emergency service — day, night and weekends