How we ended up across the street

We were doing a job for a really good customer, running a building drain and a rain leader, so we were on site for a while. The whole time, there was a competitor working the house across the street, and they were there for about two weeks. On an HVAC change-out for a renovation, not even new construction, two weeks is ridiculous. Eventually the homeowner across the street walked over and talked to my dad, who was doing a site visit.

Here is the part that stuck with me. This was a very reputable company. My dad used to speak highly of them back in the day. But they had gotten bought out by a private equity group, and whatever was going on over there, they screwed up this install so badly they could not even figure out how to fix it. So we got brought in, ripped out all the equipment, and started fresh. Two or three days later it was up and running. No big deal for our team.

The combination boiler that scared me

The one I really want to walk you through is a job we did more recently. We were ripping out a combination boiler, which is honestly one of the things we do better than anybody on this planet. A combination boiler heats your home and makes your domestic hot water out of one appliance, so the piping has to be exactly right.

When we opened it up, here is what we found:

• The service valves were cross-connected. The valves for the water heating side were piped into the hydronic heating side of the appliance. Totally incorrect, and totally unsafe. The temperature and pressure relief on potable drinking water and on hydronic heating are very different, so this was an immediate, glaring red flag.
• No temperature safety on the drinking water. Because of that cross-connect, there was no temperature safety device protecting the potable water side at all. That is a dangerous situation, not a cosmetic one.
• The wrong gas connector. They used an appliance connector, which as a company we only ever put on movable appliances. That is not what belongs on a fixed boiler.
• No dirt leg. A dirt leg catches moisture and debris before it reaches the burners. Skip it and you let junk into the burners, and eventually the unit stops working right.

The Rubbermaid tote and the sump pump

And that was not even the best part. The whole job looked like a mess, like amateur hour did it. But the real kicker was the condensate. A high-efficiency boiler makes acidic condensate water that has to be pumped away, and the little condensate pump on this thing had gone bad. So instead of buying a new condensate pump, this company took a big green Rubbermaid container, slid it under the boiler, dropped a sump pump in it, and piped that into the condensate.

I have been doing this since 2006 and I have never seen anything so jerry-rigged in my life. That is not a repair. That is a hazard with a lid on it.

Why this is really a story about picking a company

Here is the thing I want every Pittsburgh homeowner to take from this. The reputable name on the truck did not protect that customer. The codes and inspectors did not catch it either. The industry we work in is closer to the wild west than most people realize, and so much of what you actually get comes down to which company you let in the door. That is exactly why we are obsessive about our Google and Better Business Bureau reviews, because those have been the most honest way to judge a company.

When we were done with this one, it turned into one of the most beautiful boiler installs we have ever done. We absolutely crushed it for that customer. If it looks good, it is good, and that is the standard, every time. If you want to understand what actually goes into doing one right, start with how to pick a boiler for a Pittsburgh home.