Rough (I mean rough) estimate needed...

John Felciano

Do you want to put in a new one pipe steam system?The cost to put in such a system will likely be much more than a hot water system.If your radiators are convertable you can maintain the "old look" and have a more afforable system.

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Doug_11

Dollar Amount?

I am trying to come up with a dollar amount that would cover the installation of a single-pipe steam system in a 2300 square foot two-story colonial w/full basement. All radiators (22 total) are on-site, what would need to be done is repipe the whole house as well as install a new boiler (needs to be bought as well). The entire place is gutted to the studs, all asbestos has been abated and the old system (everyting) has been removed. I'm trying to come up with a bottom-line amount for a home equity loan.

Thanks in advance for your time,

Doug

DanHolohan

Doug,

we generally don't talk prices here. There are to many variables. Besides, only a handful of contractors do this sort of one-pipe-steam work anymore.

Geno_13

Don't knock steam.

I wish my house had steam. At the least keep your radiators but you'll have to change the boiler. Replace the pipes now while the walls are down and insulate all of them. Have the contractor recheck the pipes for pitch. Either way you are talking about a lot of moola. Dan's right, there's no way for someone to give you a quote over the net, if they do they either don't know what they are talking about or are nuts, or both! If you switch to h/w you'll be drilling holes all over the place. A good contractor will be well versed in 1 pipe steam. Stick with the steam and good luck. Restoring old homes is as rewarding as it is painful. I know, I used to own one.

BillW@honeywell

Call the \"DAWG\"

If you're anywhere near Long Island, use the "Find A Contractor" feature and look for Matt Sweeney at Triple Crown. He installed his own one pipe system just last year. If you're not in the Long Island area, check the Find A Contractor for your area, there are several steam experts in thed listing. Good luck!

John Felciano

Geno

I'm not knocking steam,well maybee I am,but the cost to install a NEW steam system over a hot water system is huge!And what would the benifits be?If your talking about repairing an exsisting system,fine,but to install a new one from scratch????

If the intent is to keep the historical look of the house it would be way cheaper to convert the radiators to hot water(if they are convertable)I know we've done many of them.

Steam heat had it's day in the sun.Why do you think they are not installed now?(at least none that I've seen in the last 20 years)

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DanHolohan

You should

go visit Mad Dog and see his new system in his old house.

Or better yet, wait a few months. We're filming for episodes of HVACTV.com there this afternoon. Truly amazing work, and a very fast (and silent) system.

The Lost Art lives at Mad Dog's house!

Dale

Forget the steam

I like steam too and it is possible to make it work and work quietly too. HOWEVER it is not possible to make it use less fuel or be as comfortable as a modern hot water system, ever seen any radiant floor steam discussions on this site? Steam needs to get to 212 to work, ( forget new vapor ) how often do you need that? All those big pipes need to get hot, that's why the piping and pickup allowance ( read fuel waste) . Ask any one here how great steam is in the spring and fall for fuel economy. You have the walls ripped out, after insulation hot water can be sized to actual heat loss, the steam radiator size determines boiler size, which will be big and just all that much more iron to heat up. Save yourself and the planet some energy and get a condensing boiler and make yourself happy with an unlimited and fuel effeciient supply of hot water lor the shower and and the comfort of radiant floor heat.

Stemmer

one pipe steam

Just a quick note. good luck finging a new steam boiler that has enough content to handle a one pipe system. As others have stated, find some experts, you may be into storage vessels connected to the boiler to allow the volume required. Bit of a pain in the butt.
Stemmer

J.C.A._3

I hope ....

They let Mad Dog keep the name He's been using for the series
Makes it sooo REAL !"This Damn House"

They say a boat is a hole in the water you dump money into, yet a house is a hole in the ground that you do MORE to.Chris

Unknown

We replace one pipe steamers

with new steam boilers all the time , and never needed some type of condensate storage yet . We used Peerless quite alot in the past , and now its Burnham , and all of them work fine as is , in our residential customers homes .

Unknown

One thing our steam customers never complain about

is hot water . Most of our installs include a coil in the boiler and the homeowners are always overjoyed about the increased supply of hot water - even when the boiler is not producing steam .

About comfort - while we install a new boiler , we strike up conversations with the homeowners . Most of them say they would never even think of using any other type of heat , they love the steam . Now , they might not have ever been in a house with radiant heat , but if they enjoy whats already there , I wouldn't even bring up the radiant option .

With efficiency , if youre working with a brand new boiler , new vents , properly sized and pitched pipes and rads , all of the pipes insulated , I bet the cost to run a steam system is pretty close to the cost of running any other type . Yes , the temp needs to be at least 212 to steam , but how much water needs to be boiled off to heat the system ? Not much at all . Add to that no circulators and fancy controls to power , its pretty economical .