Boiler Removal

How a cast iron boiler comes out of a basement

An old cast iron boiler weighs hundreds of pounds, sits at the bottom of a narrow staircase, and was probably put there before the house was finished around it. It doesn't come out in one piece.

Most cast iron boilers are built from sections bolted together. That's how they got down there, and it's how they come back up: the boiler is taken apart or cut into sections, and the pieces are carried up the stairs one at a time. No walls opened up, no hole in the foundation.

1. Disconnected and drained

   Water, fuel, flue, and electric are shut off and disconnected, and the boiler is drained. Usually your plumber or heating installer does this as part of the new install.

2. Jacket and trim off

   The outer sheet metal jacket, burner, controls, and piping stubs come off first.

3. Broken down into sections

   The cast iron is separated or cut into pieces small enough to carry safely.

4. Carried out

   Piece by piece, up the stairs and out to the truck.

5. Hauled away and cleaned up

   The old boiler leaves with us, and the spot where it stood is left clear for the new one.

Residential and commercial

We take out boilers from single-family basements up to commercial boiler rooms. Bigger boilers mean more sections, more cutting, and more planning, but it's the same work. If it's a commercial job, tell us about access: stairs, freight elevator, loading area, and any hours when we can't be working.

We work alongside your plumber or HVAC installer

You replace the boiler. We haul the old one. A lot of installers would rather not spend a day breaking down and carrying out old cast iron. That's our part.

The usual order: your installer disconnects and drains the old boiler, we take it out, and the installer sets the new one. Tell us who your installer is and we'll work out the timing with them so the house isn't without heat any longer than it has to be.

Installers: here's how to send us jobs.

Asbestos

Older boilers and heating pipes were often insulated with materials that may contain asbestos: white or gray wrap on the pipes, a chalky coating on the boiler, cement-like patching at the joints. You can't tell by looking whether it does.

Here's what New York requires. Industrial Code Rule 56 requires an asbestos survey before a contractor demolishes or removes building components. And only a licensed asbestos removal company may remove asbestos-containing insulation.

So the order is:

1. The boiler and piping get surveyed for asbestos.
2. If asbestos is found, we get a quote from a licensed asbestos removal company, and that work is completed.
3. Then we take out the boiler.

We don't do asbestos removal ourselves. Don't pull or scrape that insulation yourself, and don't let anyone but a licensed asbestos removal company do it either. Mention the insulation when you ask for an estimate and we'll talk through the order of work.

Scrap value

People ask whether the old boiler is worth something as scrap. Honestly, the scrap value of a residential cast iron boiler is small. It doesn't move the price of the job much.

How long it takes

Most jobs take less than a day. Exactly how long depends on the size of the boiler, the stairs, and whether it's already disconnected and drained when we arrive. We'll tell you how long we expect to be there when we give you the price.