Questions
Questions owners and boards ask
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.
What if I smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds?
Get everyone out of the building first. Call 911 and your gas utility from outside, and do not restart the boiler. Call us once the utility says the building is clear, and we will find the cause before the boiler runs again.
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.
Should I add water to the boiler myself?
Only if you have been shown how and the boiler is cool. Adding cold water to a hot, dry boiler can crack it. If you cannot see water in the gauge glass, leave the boiler off and call us.
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.
Can you tell me whether to repair or replace?
We tell you what the boiler needs now, what it is likely to need next, and what a replacement involves. A boiler is not replaced because it is old; it is replaced when repairs stop making sense. You get that in writing.
Will a new boiler fix my cold apartments?
Not by itself. A cold apartment is often the pipes, the vents or the balance of the system, not the boiler. We check the distribution first, so you are not paying for a boiler that leaves the same rooms cold.
What does the visit cost?
The visit and the repair are priced separately, and we tell you the visit fee when you book. The repair estimate is in writing before work starts. How we price is on the pricing page.
Have a question that is not here?
Call the office or send a message about the building.