I think when most people buy a new home, they spend their hard-earned saved money on new furniture and decor. Well, this isn’t the case when you buy an old home, or a castle. Old infrastructure has to come first.
I knew from the home inspection and separate boiler inspection, that the boiler wasn’t exactly old, but it hadn’t been serviced properly in a long time. It was in rough shape and it was inconsistently turning on – in part due to areas of it that had rotted out. I later learned that this boiler was only installed in 2007 – it should have lasted another 10 years, at least. If only it was properly cared for.
Now, my very first real home investment needed to be a new boiler. I have never lived in a home with a boiler before, so waking up to the serenade of radiators banging in the middle of the night was all new to me. At first, the idea of radiators scared me – they are hot, and what if one explodes? I quickly realized they are an efficient way to heat a home this size – their radiant heat keeps heating the home long after the boiler shuts off. I would heat all areas of the house with them! But unfortunately, half of the house is heated by the furnace.
I faced a slew of hiccups trying to get anyone to service the boiler. I went through 7 companies – some said they didn’t serve residential (but it was a commercial boiler), and others said they didn’t serve commercial (but it was a residence). I finally found T-Mark, a company used to working in strange spaces like mine on weird boiler systems. These guys came in, disassembled the old boiler, and installed a brand new one. The new boiler is a fraction of the size that the original boiler used to be (it used to be a coal boiler that took up the entire room). They were a pleasure to work with and a riot to chat with. Since then, the company has been back to my house to service a few plumbing issues, as well. I never question the cost, which might be a little more, but the service and experience are just exceptional every time. Good vendors are hard to come by, so hold on to the ones you’ve got!
And the boiler room even comes with a creepy little coal room!