“The no-heat call went to a person, not a recording. Massimo was in the basement that night and wrote down what he found for me to show the tenants.”
Vartan A.Owns a four-unit building, Bay Ridge
Steam and hot-water boilers, Brooklyn
Steam heat for Brooklyn buildings, from the boiler to the last radiator
We service, repair and replace steam and hot-water boilers in buildings of two to six units and in small co-ops. When your tenants call you, call the no-heat line.
- A written estimate before work starts
- One-pipe, two-pipe and hot water
- A person answers the no-heat line
- No-heat line(718) 555-0103
- Heat seasonOctober 1 to May 31
- OfficeMonday – Saturday
How your steam system works
One radiator shows how the whole system works
Steam rises from the boiler, fills the radiator, gives up its heat and turns back into water. When one step fails you hear it, or the room stays cold.
- 1
The supply valve
On a one-pipe system this valve is open all the way or shut, never half. Half open makes the radiator spit and hammer.
- 2
The pipe and its slope
The pipe tilts back toward the boiler so water can run home. A sagging run holds water, and the next rush of steam slams into it. That is the bang you hear.
- 3
The sections
Steam fills the sections, meets cold iron and turns back into water. That change is what warms the room.
- 4
The air vent
Air has to leave before steam can enter, and the vent lets it out. A stuck vent leaves one end of the radiator cold, or the whole radiator.
What we work on
Boilers, radiators and the pipes between them
Steam boilers
Low-water cutoffs, gauge glasses, pressure controls, burners, skimming and cleaning.
Steam boilersHot-water boilers
Circulators, zone valves, aquastats, expansion tanks and air in the lines.
Hot-water boilersRadiators and piping
Vents, traps, valves, pitch and insulation on the mains and risers.
Radiators and pipingBoiler replacement
Sized from your radiators, not from the old boiler's label, and planned around the heat season.
Boiler replacement
Steam or hot water
What changes in your building
Most pre-war buildings in the borough are steam. Some were converted to hot water, and some newer ones were built with it.
| In your building | Hot water | Steam |
|---|---|---|
| How heat travels | Hot waterThe boiler heats water, and a pump moves it through the pipes to each radiator | SteamThe boiler makes steam, which rises through the pipes and fills each radiator |
| What you hear | Hot waterA quiet circulator, and air gurgling after a repair | SteamHissing vents, some knocking where pipes hold water |
| What an owner can watch | Hot waterThe pressure gauge and the temperature setting | SteamThe water in the gauge glass and the pressure setting |
| What tends to fail first | Hot waterCirculators, zone valves and air in the lines | SteamVents, traps and the low-water cutoff |
| Why one room stays cold | Hot waterAir in the radiator or a zone valve that sticks | SteamA stuck vent, a shut valve or a pipe that sags |
For owners with tenants
When the no-heat line rings
In heat season a person answers, day and night. This is what happens next.
- 01
Step 1: You call, or your tenant does
The dispatcher takes the address, the unit and what the tenant sees: cold radiators, no hiss, no hot water.
- 02
Step 2: We tell you who is coming
You get a technician's name and a time before the truck leaves the shop, so you have something to tell your tenant.
- 03
Step 3: The boiler first, then the pipes
Gauge glass, pressure and burner, then the main and the riser that serves the cold apartments.
- 04
Step 4: A note for your file
What we found, what we did and what is still open, written so you can show a tenant, a board or the city.
For boards and managing agents
What you can ask us for
- License
- Master Plumber · NY License no. 000000 · NYC Department of BuildingsThe licensed person who signs boiler and gas-piping permits for the work
- Insurance
- General liability and workers' compensationA certificate goes to your board or managing agent on request
- The firm
- Since 1986
- Papers for the building file
- Insurance certificate · Sent to your board or managing agent on requestService log · What we found and did at each visit, kept by building
Owners and boards
What they say about the visit
“Our board wanted the insurance certificate and the boiler log in one email. We had both the next morning, and nobody had to ask twice.”
Shelley B.Treasurer of a six-unit co-op, Mill Basin
“He showed me the water in the gauge glass and told me what each vent was doing. It was the first time I understood my own boiler.”
Oleg R.Owns a three-family house, Sunset Park
Sample reviews.
Where the crew goes
Brooklyn, from Sunset Park to Canarsie
- South and west Brooklyn: Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, Bensonhurst
- Central Brooklyn: Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Midwood, East Flatbush
- Southeast Brooklyn: Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Canarsie
- East Brooklyn: Brownsville, Ocean Hill
- Queens border: Ridgewood
We don't work in Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island or New Jersey.
ZIP codes: 11203, 11204, 11207, 11209, 11210, 11214, 11218, 11219, 11220, 11226, 11228, 11229, 11230, 11232, 11234, 11236, 11385
Before you call
Questions owners ask about steam
My radiators bang in the morning. Is that dangerous?
Usually it is not, and it is not harmless either. Banging is steam hitting water that sat in a pipe that sags or a valve that is half open. It wears fittings and can crack a radiator. We find the low point, reset the pitch and check the valves.
One radiator stays cold and the rest are warm. Is the boiler failing?
Rarely. A cold radiator on a working system is most often a stuck air vent, a valve that is shut, or a pipe holding water. We check those three before we look at the boiler.
How often should a steam boiler be serviced?
Once a year, before the heat season starts. Many owners add a mid-season visit to test the low-water cutoff and flush the boiler. Your insurer or the city may set a schedule for your building; ask your managing agent.
Tenants say there is no heat. What do I do first?
Check the gauge glass on the boiler: if you can see water in it, the boiler has water. Then call the no-heat line. We take the address, the unit and what the tenant sees, and tell you who is coming and when.
Do you work with co-op boards and managing agents?
Yes. We send the insurance certificate, a written scope for the board and a service log for the building file. One person at the office keeps your building's history, so a call starts with what we did last time.
Schedule service
Tell us about the building
Say what is going on and where. The office reads every message and calls you back. If tenants are cold right now, call the no-heat line instead.
Phone(718) 555-0102
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:00 am – 5:00 pm
- SaturdayToday
- 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
No-heat line, October 1 to May 31: a person answers, day and night.
No-heat line, October 1 to May 31(718) 555-0103