Antiques have their charm. Antique boilers do not.

 The homeowner was in love with her old boiler because of its unique cast iron look. At some point all of the original asbestos had been stripped off (most likely in a non-compliant manner) and as a result her cats like to sleep near it because a lot of heat was escaping into the basement.

On closer examination, it turned out her main return line was over 90% blocked, meaning the critical function of keeping a good water level was compromised. To make matters worse, we discovered her chimney was also severely block, preventing  adequate venting of exhaust gases. Should this chimney become completely blocked, the risk of carbon monoxide was great.

All of these serious issues were resolved with the installation of a new boiler. The system was properly balanced so the whole house was evenly heated and the cats could sleep comfortably wherever they chose.

At Verne & Ellsworth Hann, we too think antiques have their charm. We just don’t think your boiler should be one of them.