HVAC Services on West Broad Street, Quakertown

Brick and stone houses of this era have thick walls and plaster, and often old windows and thin attic insulation. How much heat they lose depends as much on air leakage and attics as on the walls, so we calculate it room by room instead of using a rule of thumb. Old equipment sizes were often guesses.

Retrofits take care. Running ducts or line sets through brick, stone or plaster is invasive, so a ductless mini-split with a carefully routed line set, or a small-duct system in a closet or attic, is the usual answer. If your house is in the National Register district or on the borough's historic inventory, exterior changes such as a condenser on a street-facing wall may draw review, so ask the borough before choosing a spot.

In houses this old the chimney may predate the equipment connected to it. A liner suited to a new gas or oil unit, and a combustion and carbon monoxide check at sale or replacement, are routine questions rather than extras.

On an older boiler we start with the controls, circulator, burner or igniter, heat exchanger and venting, then check the chimney liner and draft. An oversized flue on a modern, efficient unit can condense and rot out quickly.

On a replacement quote we calculate heat loss for the house as it is, thick masonry and old windows included, and check the condition of the existing piping or ducts before deciding whether a like-for-like swap makes sense.

For mini-split installs we look for existing chases, closets and utility openings to route line sets, so original masonry isn't drilled, and we pick an outdoor unit location away from the street-facing front where we can.