It's been a cold eight days since our boiler went out. Even with the space heaters it's been horrible. I've had some reprieve with going into the office but I wound up catching a cold (still recovering) from the constant temperature switch. Dom's even had to come upstairs to sleep for a few nights. Company #1 did come over last Thursday to check on the state of the boiler. The technician reviewed it and determined that the boiler couldn't be saved. They normally charge an $80 service call charge but since they didn't repair it they waived the charge. Instead they sent over a second person who came an hour or so after the first technician to discuss the costs for a new boiler.
The second person reviewed the boiler and pipe setup. He then eyed my water boiler and noted its age. He came up with two options. We could either get a new boiler on its own or he was suggesting what was called a combi-boiler which functions as a boiler and a water heater. The minimum estimate for the boiler was $12,000 (which was way higher than I expected). He sited having to remove the old boiler and retrofitting the pipes into the boiler as reasons for the cost.
He was slightly pushy by saying I could sign a contract as soon as he drafted it out and work could begin as early as the following Monday. I told him that I would be getting a second quote as well. He left and said he would send me an email with the estimates the next day.
Dom immediately thought it was way too expensive. I thought it was on the high-end but felt like everything these days is costly. I forgot to ask if that included labor as well. But I did want a second opinion. Dom was suggesting reaching out to Home Depot since they could direct us to technicians.
I reached out to Home Depot online. They paired me up with a technician but when I looked at the website, I saw that they did not specialize in boilers. So I knew they would not be able to assist. Home Depot said the technician would reach out to schedule something but they never did. They probably noted that I wanted to replace a boiler since I did explicitly say boiler and chose not to waste their time or mine.
In the meantime I never received a quote from Company #1 as promised. We were stuck on what to do. I thought of reaching back to Company #1 but I'm not a beggar and the guy promised he would mail an estimate.
The temperature outside slightly warmed up past the weekend which helped the inside temps a little bit but it was still cold inside.
We had our Church board meeting on Monday. Dom came on camera and pleaded with the board for help in finding someone for us. The Church has had a couple folks come over to repair their furnace in the past and suggested them to us as possibilities. I wasn't sure if either of them did boiler work.
One of them right off the bat I knew would not come to our neighborhood. Dom reached out to that one by email and they never responded. The second outfit was closer to our neighborhood and I figured they may check it out, assuming they did boilers. I called them Tuesday morning and got confirmation that they do work with boilers.
I scheduled a technician from Company #2 to come out yesterday (2/11). I directed him to the basement but had to leave because I had a customer call. Dom was downstairs so he was able to stay with the technician.
As I was on my call, I started hearing some noises from the basement. I was thinking, is he actually attempting to repair the boiler? I sent Dom a quick text message and he confirmed that the technician mentioned replacing a part in the boiler. I was elated.
In the end he mentioned having to replace the thermocouple, which is a sensor that tells the boiler if the flame is on. The cost of the repair including labor was $274. The tech from Company #2 also said that the boiler was worth saving as the Crane Sunnyday was made to last a long time (clearly as ours is over 70 years old).
$274 is much much better than financing over $12,000 (and I assume I would've had to make a down payment as well). I'm guessing Company #1 didn't bother with sending an estimate because they knew I would either beg them to come do the work or find someone that would do it cheaper. I will say I even contemplated waiting till Spring or Summer to replace the boiler thinking it may be cheaper.
But in the end things worked out. The house is warm again. I may still be able to pay off the mortgage this year after all. Won't he do it!!
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