Dead Men Tales: Building a House Every Two Hours

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Building a House Every Two Hours

In the 1940s, William Levitt built a community of 17,447 homes, completing one house every two hours. Levitt chose radiant heating for these houses because it was the cheapest heating system he could find. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares the story of Levittown and how those radiant slabs are doing now.

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EdTheHeaterMan

Always liked that story.

I worked on a Levitt home in the Pennsylvania version. There was also a very small development of 600+ Levitt built homes in NE Philadelphia called Normandy Square. All the streets names begin with N. My Aunt and Uncle lived in one of them. I was surprised to find the boiler under the kitchen cabinet. Many of those houses now have a heater room in the addition that was built on over the years. There are only a handful of "original" homes left with no additions or at least a heater room added on.

mrmikesimons

Loving Dead Men Tales. For more fascinating context on Levvitt town check out: https://www.stitcher.com/show/nice-try/episode/levittownconcord-park-utopia-in-our-backyard-61883714

I'm in MA, and we have our own "Levvitt town" home equivalent called The Campanelli Ranch. Can anyone humor me, and explain why those boilers tucked under the kitchen cabinet doesn't have a barometric damper?

EdTheHeaterMan

mrmikesimons said:

I'm in MA, and we have our own "Levvitt town" home equivalent called The Campanelli Ranch. Can anyone humor me, and explain why those boilers tucked under the kitchen cabinet doesn't have a barometric damper?

They cost extra. works without one. 86 the barometric. I wouldn't be surprised if Levitt was able to have his own installation manual printed by the manufacturer to cover (conceal) things like this.

MarjPinard

I love Steam Heat..that's why I bought your book so many decades ago when we bought our house.. and Is appreciate your posts, your stories, your help, dedication, AND the help of others who comment. NOW IF ONLY I could find someone in Niles MI who Knew about Steam Heat, radiators. ( One more reason why we appreciate all of you: I can sort out those who say they know about steam heat and those who actually do.)

ScottSecor

I also own a Levittown style house here in NJ and grew up in one about a block away. We've expanded ours over the years and unfortunately had to abandon the radiant heat when we bought the house back in 1990. The previous owners could not afford to pay the oil bill and allowed every pipe to freeze. We were aware of this when we purchased the house and were forced to install hwbb. Thankfully our relatively new addition is heated with a radiant slab.

@mrmikesimons there are approximately two hundred of these one and one and a half story slab homes in our town. All of these homes were originally heated with GE oil fired boilers that were fitted with tankless coils for dhw. These homes all had radiant heat for the first floor and on the "premium" models a small cast iron radiator or two in the second floor if they ordered the "finished" second floor. These GE boilers did not require a draft regulator for these homes. We serviced almost every one of these homes at one time and never had draft issues. As far as putting the boiler in the kitchens, they were supposed to look like a cabinet. In my opinion they did a pretty good job. The kitchen cabinets were steel, the Tracy brand countertops were stainless steel and most owners painted the cabinet fronts and the boiler enclosure the same color. Where else would they have put the boiler, in a bedroom? Yes, I changed the location of our boiler (and indirect tank) to a utility room upstairs when we bought the house.

lawnchair

Great Story, I grew up nearby ,my mom was a gardener and often noted the early bloom at Levittown

ChrisHawkins

I love these pictures you come up with, I wish I still had a heated slab. By the way are you a HHS graduate?

Mad Dog_2

Ahhh the Great Levittown...did alot of work there when I worked for R.S. English in the mid 1990s. In fact, Richie and I sat directly front & center. I had just graduated Stony Brook and was ready to re-enter Plumbing & Heating and Richie offered me a job. Started the next day we are good friends till this day. I learned a ton about Radiant boiler installs pvc dormer roughs. I used to do a lot of slab leak repairs but He bought me an ultrasound detector . It would get me right in too of the leak. Great learning experience. Mad Dog 🐕

hot_rod

Have you watched these 3 d printed homes? Taking concrete construction to another level

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2023-3d-printed-houses-austin-texas/

Big Ed_4

You could not use a torch ,water and pressure prevented it . 1/2" compression fittings was the best choice .

Mad Dog_2

"Do you remember those days hangin out at the Village Green????...Engineer boots, leather jackets and tight blue jeans..."  Billy Joel.  Hey Dano...did YOU ever do this with Billy?   Somehow, I don't picture you as The Greaser like Billy, your Classmate at HH.  We used to play The Levittown High Schools in Football.  Ill 🤒 tell you this...they may have been Long Island Suburban boys...but they were very athletically gifted and as tough as any kids from Brooklyn or Queens that we played against.   They had 4!!!! Large Highschools at the time 1980s.  My wife, The Long Suffering Barbara, went to The General Douglas Mac Arthur HS on Wantagh Ave.  In Levittown, they pronounce it "Maaa-gaaahhh-tha."  I remember laughing on our first date about her pronounciation of my beloved General whom I had studied extensively.   I found the Levitt houses to be well-built overall.  They had DWV copper wastes and vents which will last a loooooooong time.  We moved many a boiler from the cabinet in the Kitchen to under the stairs and then out to the garage.  I loved the wood burning 🔥 fireplace that served the kitchen and the living room.  The Levitt houses 🏘️ were warm and cozy.  They also had big yards, sometimes huge deep and strangely shaped yards because the street grids were not NYC cookie cutter layouts.  The streets of Levittown are a Beautifully laid out curves, winding roads that interlock.  Its EASY to get lost in there.  Levittown is a VERY Patriotic town...even today.  Everyone's Dad was WW II, Korean War and their older Brothers and Uncles served Honorably in The Nam.  If I drive through Levittown later today to pick up "The 👶 Baby" Bridgid Colleen at her best freinds house on Falcon Lane, I'd think I was In 🇺🇸 American Flag Heaven!!!!!  Its odd the house that DOESN'T fly Old Glory everyday.  Richie's dad, whom I did get to meet, Mr. A.C. English was the King of Levittown of the 1950s-1980s. A.C. English Plumbing and Heating at its peak had like 30 trucks, 10 oil 🚚 trucks and did much of the dormers and extensions in town.Richie knows the Levittown houses like the back of his hand...."No Matty...look under the Kitchen sink, the Main water valve is under there...the main soil stack c.o. tee is behind the bathroom vanity...we will tie in there..."  I learned so much there and knew then I was very privileged to be working 💪 in these Historical Homes in  Americana.  Thanks Dan...you brought me back.....Mad Dog 🐕