Boiler Repair & Replacement

Hydronic heating systems, repaired and replaced properly.

Silver Spring and Takoma Park are full of houses still heated by hydronic and steam systems older than the people living in them. We repair, tune and replace boilers of every vintage. When a boiler can be saved, we say so instead of quoting you a new one.

Why this matters

The work behind the work.

Boilers are still the primary heat source in a large share of the older housing stock across Montgomery County and inside the Beltway in Prince George's County. Cast iron radiators in Takoma Park bungalows, converted oil-to-gas systems in older Silver Spring colonials, copper fin baseboard added during 1960s and 1970s remodels: all of it is still out there, still running, and much of it can keep running for years with the right service.

Home Comfort Air Services has worked on these systems since Yosef founded the company in 2014, and our NATE certified technicians treat a boiler as a complete loop rather than a single box in the basement. That means we look at the circulator, the expansion tank, the air separator, the zone valves and the radiators along with the burner and the heat exchanger. When a boiler genuinely needs to be replaced we will tell you plainly, and when it does not, we will tell you that too.

Fig. 01 · Boiler Repair & Replacement

How we work

How we run the job.

Repair, replacement or maintenance, the sequence is the same every time. You get the price before the work starts, and no surprises on the invoice.

In Home Diagnosis

A NATE certified technician evaluates the whole hydronic loop: burner, heat exchanger, circulator, expansion tank, controls and safeties, plus the radiators or baseboard the system feeds. You get the findings before anything is quoted.

Options In Writing

We put the repair path and the replacement path side by side, with what each one costs and what each one actually buys you, including AFUE and venting implications, so the decision stays yours.

Repair Or Installation

Floors and stair routes are protected, the old unit comes out, near boiler piping is rebuilt where it needs to be, and venting and combustion air are brought to current code before startup.

Startup And Follow Through

We fill and purge the loop, balance the zones, run a combustion analysis, document the readings, register the warranty and walk you through operation. Annual service keeps both the equipment and the coverage in good standing.

Methodology

How we actually do it.

Every boiler call starts with the same two questions: what is the system actually doing, and what was it designed to do. We check operating pressure and temperature against what the loop calls for, verify that the expansion tank still holds a charge, confirm the low water cutoff functions, and inspect the relief valve.

On gas fired equipment we run a combustion analysis and check the venting from the appliance connection all the way out, because a boiler that burns dirty wastes fuel and raises a safety question at the same time. Steam systems get their own attention: main vents, radiator vents, the pitch of the returns and the condition of the water line.

We explain what we find in plain language, show you the readings when you want to see them, and give you the repair option alongside the replacement option instead of only one. Repairs are quoted before we start, and nothing happens on your system that you did not agree to.

Equipment

What you can install.

Most homes we look at fall into one of three paths. The first is keeping the existing boiler and correcting what is wrong with it, which is often the right answer for a well built cast iron unit that has been maintained.

The second is a straight replacement with a modern cast iron or steel boiler, generally in the low to mid eighties for AFUE, which suits homes with existing chimney venting and high volume cast iron radiators that run at higher water temperatures. The third is a condensing boiler, which vents through PVC out a sidewall and can reach the mid nineties in AFUE, but only performs that way when the loop returns water cool enough for the heat exchanger to condense.

That is a design question rather than a sales question, and it depends on your radiators, your zoning and your piping. We also handle indirect fired water heaters running off the boiler, zone valve and circulator conversions, and near boiler piping corrections.

Project Day

The hours and the hand-off.

For a service call, expect a technician inside your scheduled window, floor protection on the way to the basement, and real time spent on diagnosis before anything is quoted. For a replacement, expect a day or two on site for most residential jobs, longer if the near boiler piping has to be rebuilt or the chimney needs a liner. Old boilers are heavy, so we plan the removal route in advance and protect stair treads and door frames.

We pull the permits your jurisdiction requires in Montgomery County or Prince George's County and coordinate the inspection. Heat is restored the same day whenever the job allows, and when it cannot be, you hear that up front rather than at five in the afternoon. Our 24-hour emergency service covers no heat calls, and the 100% satisfaction guarantee applies to the finished job, not just the invoice.

After the Install

The paperwork we handle for you.

Warranty coverage

New boilers carry the manufacturer warranty on the heat exchanger and a separate term on parts, and the specifics vary by brand and by model, so we go over the exact coverage on your quote before you sign anything. Many manufacturers require registration within a set window after installation and require documented annual service to keep the longer coverage in force. We handle the registration and we tell you what the maintenance requirement is.

Our labor warranty on installation work is stated in writing on the same proposal, and repair work and the parts we install carry coverage as well. Home Comfort Air Services is family owned and has been doing this since 2014, so a warranty question is a phone call to the same company that did the work.

Available incentives

Washington Gas runs residential rebate programs for qualifying high efficiency gas heating equipment, and Maryland EmPOWER is the statewide framework those utility incentives sit inside. BGE and Pepco residential programs apply on the electric side and matter most when a project includes controls, a heat pump component or related weatherization work. Home Comfort Air Services participates in the BGE and Pepco residential rebate programs.

The federal Section 25C credit that used to apply to this equipment ended for anything placed in service after December 31, 2025. Program rules and funding change, so we check current eligibility against the specific model going into your house instead of quoting a number from memory, and the paperwork goes out with your invoice.

The Fine Print

Nothing buried in a 40-page document.

Rebate and tax credit eligibility depends on the equipment installed, your utility and the program rules in effect at the time of installation, and is determined by the program administrator rather than by us. Maryland HVACR license MD70918.

Service Area

Montgomery and Prince George's County.

We provide boiler repair & replacement in every city we cover. Click your city for what this job actually involves in those houses.

Silver Spring College Park Hyattsville Takoma Park Greenbelt White Oak Wheaton Bethesda Potomac Adelphi Beltsville New Carrollton Cheverly Bladensburg Brentwood

Questions

About this service

Questions we get about boiler repair & replacement.

What is the difference between a boiler and a furnace?

A furnace heats air and blows it through ducts. A boiler heats water and circulates it through radiators, baseboard or radiant tubing, and the room warms from that surface. Boilers are common in older homes inside the Beltway, including 1920s and 1930s houses that never had ductwork installed. It also means a boiler house needs a separate plan for cooling, most often ductless.

My radiators are cold at the top, what does that mean?

Trapped air. Water cannot fill the upper part of the radiator, so that section never heats. Bleeding the radiators with a key while the system is warm usually solves it. If air keeps coming back, something is drawing it in: a failing automatic air vent, a leak on the return side, or a waterlogged expansion tank. Repeated bleeding is a symptom to investigate, not a fix.

How often should a boiler be serviced?

Annually, before the heating season starts. The visit should include combustion testing on gas equipment, cleaning the burner and heat exchanger surfaces, checking the flue and draft, testing the low water cutoff and the pressure relief valve, verifying the expansion tank charge, checking circulator operation and confirming system pressure. Safety controls on a boiler are not optional, and an untested relief valve is a real risk.

What pressure should my boiler gauge show?

A typical residential hot water boiler sits around twelve to fifteen psi cold, rising modestly once it is hot. Pressure that climbs toward the relief valve setting usually means a waterlogged expansion tank or a fill valve leaking water into the system. Pressure that keeps dropping means water is leaving somewhere. Either direction is worth a service call, because a relief valve that discharges repeatedly may stop reseating.

Is it worth replacing an old cast iron boiler?

Cast iron sections can last decades, so the real question is efficiency and controls, not just age. An old atmospheric boiler with no outdoor reset runs at one fixed water temperature all winter and wastes fuel in the shoulder seasons. A modern condensing boiler modulates and can cut fuel use substantially, but it needs the right venting, a condensate drain, and radiation that performs at lower water temperatures.

Can I add air conditioning to a house with radiators?

Yes, and there are two normal paths. Ductless mini splits mount indoor heads in the rooms that matter and need only a small penetration for the line set, which suits older homes with plaster walls and no chase space. The other option is a high velocity ducted system using small flexible tubing routed through existing cavities. Both leave the boiler in place to handle heating.

What affects the cost of a boiler replacement?

Boiler type first: a standard efficiency unit versus a condensing modulating one. Then the piping, since near boiler piping usually has to be rebuilt and older systems often need a new circulator, expansion tank and controls. A condensing boiler means new venting and a condensate drain. Chimney condition, gas line sizing on your Washington Gas service, and county permits all factor into the scope.

My boiler makes banging noises when it fires, why?

Banging usually traces to one of three things. In a steam system it is water sitting in piping that has lost its pitch, and the steam slams into it. In a hot water system it can be trapped air or a struggling circulator. Delayed ignition is the third and most serious: gas builds up before it lights and the burner thumps. That one should be diagnosed promptly.

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