Boilers
Boilers heat water and circulate it through radiators or in-floor loops rather than blowing hot air. They're common in older Vancouver houses, in many condo buildings, and in any home with radiant heating — and they're a different discipline from forced-air furnaces.
We repair, service and replace them.
What we work on
Conventional gas boilers · High-efficiency condensing boilers · Combi boilers (heat and domestic hot water in one unit) Combi boilers · Radiator systems · In-floor radiant systems Radiant heating · Multi-zone systems with pumps and valves · Boiler-fed domestic hot water in multi-unit buildings Commercial water heaters
Common problems
No heat. Ignition, pump failure, or the pressure has dropped below the operating range. Pressure too low. Usually a leak somewhere in the system, or an expansion vessel that's lost its charge. Topping it up repeatedly treats the symptom — the leak is the problem. Kettling — banging or rumbling. Scale on the heat exchanger. Common in older systems. Some radiators cold. Air in the system (bleed them first), a circulation problem, or sludge buildup restricting flow. Leaking. From a valve, a joint, or the boiler itself. Where matters. Short-cycling. Oversizing, a failing sensor, or poor circulation.
Repair or replace
Boilers often outlast furnaces — 20–30 years isn't unusual for a well-maintained conventional unit. Parts availability is usually what ends the conversation on very old boilers.
Replacing a conventional boiler with a condensing model gains real efficiency, but it needs a condensate drain and different venting, and in an older house the existing radiators may need rebalancing to run at the lower flow temperatures condensing boilers prefer. We'll cover all of that before quoting rather than after.
Power flushing
Older systems accumulate sludge — corrosion debris that collects in radiators and pipework, causing cold spots and making the boiler work harder. A power flush circulates cleaning agents to clear it, and it's worth doing before a new boiler goes onto an old system. Fitting a new boiler to a sludged system is a good way to damage the new boiler.
What it costs
Conventional boiler replacement $6,000–$12,000 · Condensing boiler replacement $8,000–$15,000
