Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.
new steam boiler
Gene_3
Member Posts: 289
on what is quoted, do all the pipes need replacing, does it need a Hartford Loop, do the stairs pose a safety hazard that needs to be adressed and supported?
Get other quotes and makes sure they all put in writing exactly what they are going to do and put in so you can compare.
generally emergency no heat need it yesterday installs are more but not several $1000, it is hard to ball park with out seeing it but it may be @ 5-6,000.
The neighborhood may be a factor too, do they need someone to just watch the trucks??
I find when I do not want to do a job I double the price and then they say yes, sigh.
Get other quotes and makes sure they all put in writing exactly what they are going to do and put in so you can compare.
generally emergency no heat need it yesterday installs are more but not several $1000, it is hard to ball park with out seeing it but it may be @ 5-6,000.
The neighborhood may be a factor too, do they need someone to just watch the trucks??
I find when I do not want to do a job I double the price and then they say yes, sigh.
0
Comments
-
new boiler cost
I have a bit of an emergency situation, where the steam boiler that is heating one of my rental units has cracked and needs immediate replacement.
The company I have a service contract with is quote me $9000 to do the job. This seems really high, so I am trying to figure out if this is reasonable or if they are trying to take advantage because I need to do this today if possible.
Here's the (I think) relevant info:
- I don't know the BTU rating on the current boiler, but the apartment it heats is the first floor of a three decker, about 1000 square feet of space; I would imagine 80K or so should be adequate
- There are 5 cast-iron radiators.
- There is no asbestos on the old boiler, I had that removed a while ago
- Access to the basement is down a flight of stairs, the basement has a cement floor, has about a 6' high ceiling, and is empty
- The building is located in Worcester, MA
I realize its impossible to quote a price without seeing the job, but does $9000 sound reasonable?
Thanks,
-Charlie0 -
Call...
Call a few more plumbers. Make sure the installer has determined what made the old boiler crack.
There are some good guys listed on this site. Some are in your area, I think. Give them a call!
Ed0 -
new boiler
go to the find a pro listing on the top right of this page that price is outrageuse
To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"0 -
Thanks for the replies, guys.
The current unit that is there is from the 60's or 70's, I believe.
I looked up what a Hartford loop is, and to the best of my recollection there is one there (the property is a bit of a drive away, I haven't been out there yet to look at it). I don't know how much of the rest of the pipes will need replacing; the system has worked fine for a long time.
The stairs seem pretty sturdy, there's been 400+ pounds of people on them at one before without any issues. How much does a boiler weigh?
The neighborhood is pretty safe; I wouldn't recommend they leave the truck open, but you don't need to guard it either.
> I find when I do not want to do a job I double the price and then they say yes, sigh.
Ouch! Maybe that is the case with the first guy.
I think we are going to try and put a few electric space heaters in, so we don't have to get it done today but have a day or two to get quotes and then get it done. Fortunately the weather forecast for the next few days is fairly warm for this time of year.
0 -
2nd estimate
I just got another estimate for this job for $4400.
That's a lot more palatable than $9000, that's for sure...0 -
Just make sure . . .
Be sure that the contract with the person that is installing you boiler includes cleaning/skimming of the boiler and possibly system with at least two visits. Be sure that it also includes replacement of main vents and radiator vents. Also make sure that the new boiler will not be piped in copper. Copper can not take the stress that threaded steel endures and the joints will break under torsional stress.
Best of luck,
Michael J. Cascio0 -
new steam boiler
did either company measure the radiators
To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"0 -
Just remember
Sometime's what is cheapest is not alway's best. Remember you get what you pay for...0 -
And never-
Knock someone's price, contract/site unseen. They may have included piping or control changes you don't know about. I was asked to bid a job eight years ago for a contractor, looked at it, saw the boiler he wanted put in, measured my dimensions, figured in repiping the header (8"), along with other changes to make the new boiler work. My bid was $11,500.00., and I explained what needed to be done, and why. He freaked-low bid was $4500.00. No changes in the piping, etc. Took the other guy.
Two months later, three sections cracked in the new boiler, called me to look at it because the installer wouldn't return his calls after repeated problems leading up to the failure. I wished him well. Incidentally, the price the low bidder used to quote was IDENTICAL to a price a certain well respected and used quoting reference had in their manual for that year, for that same size boiler. Was a decent price, if the boiler installed itself.
You can lead a horse to water, but that doesn't mean he won't pee in it.0 -
The guy I went with did measure the radiators, and he is replacing all of the vents. The new boiler will be lower capacity then the old.
The first thing he said when he saw the old system was "its not plumbed right", he seems to know what he is doing as far as steam systems go.
He didn't specifically mention using steel piping, but I am following up with him about this, and about the cleaning.
He's done some work for me before and I have some level of trust and confidence in him, so I feel pretty certain he will do a good job.
0 -
That's the rub
It's easy to say "Sometime's what is cheapest is not alway's best", or after the fact, "you would have been smarter to go with my offer even though it was 2.5x higher".
But how do I, as a consumer who as a basic knowledge of how things work but am not even close to working knowledge of the details of steam heating, differentiate between:
A legitimate reasonable-quality offer (I'm not looking for the Cadillac of systems) that is 2x a lowball inferior offer
and
Someone who is doubling the price because they don't really want the job or think they have me in a tight spot?
Other than price, and the level of comfort I have after talking with the person who will do the work, what else can I do?
Maybe it was possible to competently install that boiler Will Smith was talking about for $4500, and the installer just screwed it up. Maybe it really needed an extra $7000 of plumbing for a reasonable install. How am I supposed to know?
0 -
Hey wayside just take the low price, with the sarcastic tone you do not want to hear why maybe the higher price should be the way to go.You must be the cheapest price at what ever you do right not that you should be paid according to your knowledge and quality work that you do.Not everyone is trying to screw you my friend get more than two bids and the ones usually in the middle are in the ball park.0 -
I realize that you are up against a time constraint. If you click on Hot Tech Topics you will find articles by Dan Holohan on steam heat basics and on sizing or replacing steam boilers. Please read them. Find out from the installers what is included in the bid. Do they have to repipe the header or just do a changeout? Is everthing going to be done in steel and cast (no copper)? Are they reusing or installing new controls, like the pressuretrol/vaporstat, LWCO, water feeder, etc? If they are putting in all new steam trim, are you getting a vaporstat, a water meter on any feeder, a skim port in the skim tapping, etc. etc. I have learned that the installers on this Board do not like to talk price, since there are so many variables, as they have already explained. Both your quotes would concern me.0 -
I'm not being sarcastic
And I'm not trying to pick an argument.
Here's my experience with replacing heating systems:
1) first house, 1998, 1300 sq ft: took out a Paloma Pak being used as a boiler, put in a medium efficiency Burnham gas unit, total cost $2400.
2) second house, 2003, 2400 sq ft: took out an oil-fired boiler and the tank, put in a gas-fired 125KBTU Buderus with the computer module, outdoor reset, new pumps, and 40 gallon indirect HW tank, total cost $6500
Now I need to replace a boiler for a 1000 sq ft apartment. The first guy says $9000. And I need it done ASAP.
Is this good or bad? Based on my previous experience it seems way too high, but it's steam instead of FHW, so maybe that's why. I don't know, I'm trying to learn.
Then you have Gene up above saying "I find when I do not want to do a job I double the price". So what am I supposed to do?
I don't always go for the lowest price, sometimes you can tell that the lowest isn't going to be the best.
But sometimes you get a quality job even if it is the lowest price, so I don't automatically throw out the low price bid, either.
0 -
Bob,
Thanks for pointers. I have been reading some of the articles, but I guess I need to read some more, some of the terms you used I don't recognize.
On the subject of controls, is it bad to reuse them?
I don't have the quotes here at work, but I'll be able to go oever them with a better eye when I get home, and I have soem intelligent questions to ask, and for that I thank you and everyone else here.
0 -
References
Why not ask those who offer you a quote for a list of references? In your case ask for folk's they have installed steam system's for. I have alot of my customer's who are more than happy to answer a phone and talk with someone. They loved the work I did. Then again, click on the find a pro here and see if anyone is in your area. Most who come here take great pride in the work they do....IMHO..0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 86.6K THE MAIN WALL
- 3.1K A-C, Heat Pumps & Refrigeration
- 54 Biomass
- 423 Carbon Monoxide Awareness
- 99 Chimneys & Flues
- 2K Domestic Hot Water
- 5.5K Gas Heating
- 101 Geothermal
- 157 Indoor-Air Quality
- 3.5K Oil Heating
- 66 Pipe Deterioration
- 931 Plumbing
- 6.2K Radiant Heating
- 384 Solar
- 15.2K Strictly Steam
- 3.3K Thermostats and Controls
- 54 Water Quality
- 43 Industry Classes
- 48 Job Opportunities
- 17 Recall Announcements