Estimates for replacing Gas Boiler, Steam Heat

Anyone replace their gas boiler recently?  I've had two estimates, for new unit plus labor/parts, ranging from 9200 to 12500.  Seems high but maybe that's the price these days. We replaced the boiler in our old house over 20 years ago for half the amount. 

As for my recent estimates, I actually feel much more comfortable with the guy/company that gave the lower price.

I'd love to hear what anyone else's recent experience has been.


ffof said:

Anyone replace their gas boiler recently?  I've had two estimates, for new unit plus labor/parts, ranging from 9200 to 12500.  Seems high but maybe that's the price these days. We replaced the boiler in our old house over 20 years ago for half the amount. 

As for my recent estimates, I actually feel much more comfortable with the guy/company that gave the lower price.

I'd love to hear what anyone else's recent experience has been.

I was going to guess 10-12k.  


Be very careful about who you choose. Make sure you get a steam heat expert. We replaced ours many years ago and recently have discovered the near boiler piping was done wrong. This has lead to water hammer, wet steam and spitting vents. For great advice before you start go to  http://forum.heatinghelp.com/ . Good luck.


Thanks guys (gals?).  


used Woolley 3 years ago. Paid around 11,000 if I recall correctly. They were already servicing my steam system, so it made sense to us to use them for installing a new system


Yes, i liked the Woolley guy, so that's great to get the thumbs up there.


Wow. We replaced ours about 2-3 years ago for about $7k. Marc Bleiweis, our plumber, who is a steam-heat expert, did it for us. 


As I realize more and more the mistakes that were made when our boiler was replaced I would urge anyone who is replacing a steam system to read up on how it should be done. The least expensive plumber may be cutting corners that will cost you later. Looking at the website for the above mentioned plumber notice that the boiler pictured was piped with copper piping near the boiler. Although this saves considerable money over using steel it is considered less than optimal for steam. Hopefully it is an older picture and jobs are now being piped correctly.


The cost depends on how many radiators you have. That dictates the size of the boiler needed. For an average M/SO, I'd say $9-12K is accurate. Also, be advised that there is frequently additional costs for venting, chimney, etc.


$8k about four years ago for a small house in the Wyoming section, by Right One, who corrected some problems in an auxiliary loop, resulting in much more even heat. I'm on the PSEG equal-payment plan, and my monthly bill has dropped each year since.


We had a Bunham installed in October.  The boiler was about 7000 and the return piping cost $3000 (it also had to be replaced).  So $10-$12K is the correct range.  Fortunately we did not have to reline our chimney.


I'll also add that we consulted Homeowner's Hub in South Orange when we needed household repairs/estimates. They offer a wonderful service that assists homeowners with many home repairs. They have vetted professionals and offer good pricing on services. I highly recommend them! 


All high numbers. Go to Palmer Plumbing Supply and ask for a reference from the guys there.


depends on the size of your home, size of the boiler.   We made do with a 6500-7000 variety, appr 2500 sft.


Pre-calculations are very important.  A lot changes in a house over 20 years.  New windows, replaced Rads, insulation changes, room additions or do-overs.  (i had a house and later found that a Rad was removed and capped off in the basement.)  During our Heating do-over we added it back a solved a number of problems.

Boilers have changed, a lot.  So make sure your contractor is doing the BTU calculations to a detail level and you understand them.  This is not a time to 'wing it'

Again, the boiler, the physical size will likely be different.  So????  Your contractor will have to calculate the piping and should develop an 'A' and then a 'B' dimension for the near boiler pipes.  Very important.  He or she may even need to build up or lower the boiler base pad to changed the height of the new unit.

Problems.  Have a list of current problems to be solved.

Then you get to models and prices.

Get several bids based off the design then ask questions of things are different.

Other than the Brand of the boiler, the size and the install design should be pretty close.

Get and read the book.  'The Lost Art of Steam Heating'  No others.


Gateway replaced our boiler 5 years ago with Burnham IND7 (130K BTU) with brand new everything (except for an automatic water feeder, which I didn't opt for). $7,000 including the permit fee.


Did ours 4 years ago for about $7,000.  Falcon Plumbing and heating.  My neighbor used him 2 years later for about the same.  I've been happy with it and they did a fast and clean job.


xavier67 said:

Gateway replaced our boiler 5 years ago with Burnham IND7 (130K BTU) with brand new everything (except for an automatic water feeder, which I didn't opt for). $7,000 including the permit fee.

Same for us.  No problems, happy with the work.


How long do boilers tend to last these days? I know some of the older units would easily last 50 years .. curious as to the newer models (circa 2000+) ?


We just had our gas boiler replaced a couple weeks ago, same price range of quotes we received.  Anyone giving you a quote should be coming to your house, counting & measuring your radiators to calculate the correct radiate for your house as well as looking at your current set up.

We went with Air Group and were happy with the job they did.

PM me for details if you want.


I agree.  These estimates sound very high.  We had ours done in the $5-$6k range.


jimmurphy said:

All high numbers. Go to Palmer Plumbing Supply and ask for a reference from the guys there.

seaweed said:

How long do boilers tend to last these days? I know some of the older units would easily last 50 years .. curious as to the newer models (circa 2000+) ?


ours is 25 years old (Weil mcLain).  it is actually limping along and heating the house, but it has a leak and 2 of the 'thingies' (where the gas comes out...lol...) are rusted. 

the guys we had over said 17 years is the limit these days.


Our boiler was 25+ years old when we replaced it.  There is a NJ Energy rebate that you can apply for.  


We did the boiler with the hot water heater at the same time, both were past their lifespans and on the edge of failing.  Weltman did both for $14K, and we have both under the maintenance plan, which some people on here dislike, but ease of use at this point in the game was a big consideration.  So far all went well, and they paid strong attention to detail in measuring and installing.


For what it's worth, the square footage of the house is not a factor in determining the size or model of a replacement steam heating boiler.

What determines the size of a steam boiler is the "connected load", that is, the calculated surface area of the radiators and exposed riser piping. 

The dimensions of the room or home determine the radiator sizes, but assuming you're not replacing all the radiators, you size the boiler to fill them with steam. That's called ab EDR calculation.


Second for Falcon.  We replaced our oil burner for gas.  cost was $7,000.  Nice guys, quick and clean.


How about posting a picture of the installation if you're going to post the price? 

As much as we'd like to think they would be, not all installs are equal. Not by a long shot. 


Will all those pipes get insulation?


rhw said:

Will all those pipes get insulation?

Never right away. It's better to wait until you know the system is tight.


FYI....We went with Bleiweiss. Very honest and knowlegeable. Best estimate.



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