Plumbing and boiler repair in Burholme, Philadelphia
Radiators cold upstairs, or the boiler cycling on and off? We repair hot water and steam boilers in Burholme, fix leaking radiator valves and baseboard, and take care of the everyday plumbing in the same house.
- Burners, circulators, expansion tanks and low water cutoffs checked
- Radiator valves, air vents and baseboard loops repaired
Who fixes boilers and plumbing in Burholme?
Burholme homeowners call us for boilers as well as plumbing, because a hot water or steam heating system is pipework at heart. When rooms go cold, we check the burner, circulator, expansion tank, air vents and water level before replacing anything. We work on both the gas side and the water side, and our phones stay on through the whole heating season.
Burholme sits near Fox Chase and Lawncrest, with Cottman Avenue running through it, a short trip from our office in Huntingdon Valley.
Many Philadelphia homes still heat with boilers, and a boiler is a plumbing system with a burner attached. Radiator valves weep, air vents stick, expansion tanks lose their charge and circulators seize after a summer off. We work through the system in order, from the burner and controls to the last radiator upstairs, and fix the part that is actually failing. When a cast iron boiler has cracked or the repairs no longer make sense, we talk through a new boiler sized for the house, not copied from the old unit.
Cold snaps and what they do to heating pipes
Freeze risk for pipes climbs once temperatures hold below 32 degrees for more than 72 hours, and it is worst where water sits still overnight. A boiler that quits during a stretch like that turns into a plumbing emergency, because the cold the heat was holding off starts working on supply lines in outside walls.
That is why a no-heat call in a Philadelphia winter gets treated as urgent. If the boiler is down, keep faucets on outside walls dripping, open the cabinet doors under sinks and call. We get the heat back first, then look for any lines that froze while it was off.
Plumbing jobs we handle in Burholme
Heating and plumbing overlap in Burholme homes. These are the jobs that come out of it.
Boiler Repair
Burners that will not light, circulators that hum without moving water, and low water cutoffs that shut everything down.
Radiator & Baseboard Repair
Leaking radiator valves, stuck air vents and cold baseboard loops that need bleeding or a new section.
Boiler Replacement
A cracked heat exchanger, or a boiler that needs another repair every winter, is often due to come out.
Gas Leak Repair
A gas smell near the boiler or water heater means the supply gets shut off and the leaking fitting found and remade.
Frozen Pipe Thawing
Lines in outside walls freeze when the heat goes out during a hard cold spell.
Pipe Leak Repair
Old copper and steel lines around the boiler room spring pinhole leaks at elbows and joints.
Air is trapped in it. On a hot water system, opening the bleed valve with a radiator key lets the air out until water spits. If the radiator fills with air again soon after, the expansion tank or air separator may need attention.
Usually water trapped in a pipe that has lost its pitch, so steam slams into it. It can also come from a radiator valve left half open. We check pitch and valve positions and fix the run that is holding water.
If the heat exchanger is sound and the fault is a control, pump or valve, repair usually makes sense. A cracked section, water leaking into the firebox or a run of failures over several seasons points toward replacement. We show you what we found before you decide.
Leave the house, do not flip switches or use anything that sparks, and call the gas utility from outside. Once the utility has made it safe, we find and repair the leaking fitting so the system can be relit. Our gas leak repair page explains the steps.
Yes. We handle the gas piping, the heating side and the household plumbing, so a cold radiator and a dripping tub spout can be dealt with on the same trip.
Burholme house going cold?
Pick up the phone at any hour. We will tell you how to protect the pipes until the heat is running again.