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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!
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And the boiler room even comes with a creepy little coal room!