Old House My House

The plumbing and heating rough-in work at our house looked similar to the illustrations in Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day―one of our kids' favorites―except that ours was done to perfection by Aladdin Plumbing. We ripped out all of the old pipes during demolition and started from scratch―put in all new Charlotte cast iron and copper pipes. Once we began working with TOH, we also decided to upgrade our heating system from steam to hydronic with radiant in selected areas.

Aladdin was the ideal company to handle this huge job as they specialize in high-efficiency heating systems and the Gitli brothers are 2nd generation plumbers.

With Munchin and Manny, who also have tons of experience, working tirelessly on our new pipes, and excellent Kevin and TJ handling the heating, we felt secure that everything was being done right. Older brother, Randy Gitli, even dedicated himself to configuring our amazing, new boiler room.

In addition, the Gitli brothers were so amazing when I asked them for info for this post, so in their own words (as I couldn't explain it more clearly or in such technical terms) the following explains the hot water return and the high-tech super efficient heating system, which will help us save water/energy and keep everyone in the house happy/comfortable.

Younger brother Erik explains:

The hot water return is a loop which tees off from the domestic hot water riser just below the top floor. It travels back down to the mechanical room and connects back to the domestic hot water storage tank. The line has an aquastat connected to it in the mechanical room, to sense the temperature of the return water, and a circulator. When the temperature drops in the return line (which means nobody is using hot water for a while―usually over night), the circulator kicks on for a short while to move the water in the domestic hot water riser to the top floor. This process allows for almost instantaneous hot water at the fixtures. It also increases efficiency because you don't have to run the water from the hot water tap for 5 minutes in the morning to evacuate the cool water from the line before the hot water comes up.

On the heating side, Randy explains: 

We've installed two gas fired "Lochinvar Knight" condensing boilers: floor mounted model for the owner, wall hung for the tenant. With it's "Smart System" technology, The Knight boiler is considered one of the most advanced in the industry and can reach efficiencies up to 96 percent. These boilers are "mod/con", which is an industry term for modulating and condensing. The burner will modulate its gas flow based on the precise heat demand. The smart system(s) of the boiler(s) will also control multiple water temperatures to produce domestic hot water (via an indirect-fired, stainless steel storage tank), heat free-standing cast iron radiators, and supply lower temperature water for radiant floor heating. 

The parlor floor level has radiant heat throughout the entire wood floor area. PEX tubing has been attached to the underside of the sub-flooring, between the joist bays. Aluminum heat transfer plates secure the tubing to the wood and help distribute the heat over a greater area. The joists bays are lined with a reflective radiant foil and filled with foam insulation to help drive the heat upward. Radiant heat has also been installed in a concrete slab extension, and tile floor mortar beds in 3 of the bathrooms. All the radiant floors are controlled with individual room thermostats.  

It is a secure feeling to know that behind our perfectly redone walls and under our gorgeously laid wood/tiled floors are equally beautiful and exceptionally installed pipes and tubes. Aladdin's contribution to our project will provide long-term benefits to us, as new homeowners and landlords, and to our planet. We feel fortunate that our hundred year old house now has these state-of-the art, energy efficient plumbing and HVAC systems. I think even a purist would agree that they definitely represent a monumental improvement over shoveling coal into the historic "octopus" boiler, which originally heated our house!