Boiler and HVAC repair in Wick Park, Youngstown

Boiler, furnace, and AC service in Wick Park

Wick Park sits on Youngstown's north side, just above Youngstown State University, with Stambaugh Auditorium at one corner of the park. The surrounding streets form a National Register historic district of late Victorian and Craftsman houses that date back as far as the late 1880s. These were built for the city's business owners and professionals: mostly large wood-frame houses of 2.5 or 3 stories, with a few brick apartment buildings on the side streets.

Almost none of these buildings were built with ductwork. They're heated by boilers and cast iron radiators, so the work here is mostly boiler repair, boiler replacement, and ductless cooling. We also repair furnaces and air conditioners in the homes that were converted to forced air.

Heating and cooling services we provide in Wick Park

Most buildings around Wick Park heat with boilers, so boiler work and ductless cooling come up most often. Every service below is available here.

• Furnace repair

  Furnaces that won't light, short cycle, or blow cold air.

• AC repair

  Air conditioners that run without cooling, freeze up, or leak water.

• Boiler repair

  Cold radiators, banging pipes, low pressure, and leaking valves.

• Furnace installation

  Replacement furnaces sized to the house, with venting and permit.

• AC installation

  New central air or a replacement for a worn-out system.

• Boiler installation

  New hot water and steam boilers matched to your radiators.

• Heat pump service

  Defrost faults, weak heating, and dual fuel setups.

• Ductless mini-splits

  Heating and cooling for homes and rooms without ductwork.

• Ductwork repair

  Leaky, disconnected, or undersized ducts and missing return air.

• Furnace and AC maintenance

  Fall heating checks and spring cooling checks.

• Emergency HVAC repair

  No heat, a leaking boiler, or a carbon monoxide alarm, 24/7.

Uneven boiler heat in converted apartment houses

Over the years many of the big houses near the park were split into apartments, and a lot of them are rented to students. The heating system wasn't split with them. A house designed as one home, with one boiler and one thermostat in the first-floor hall, now serves 3 or 4 households.

That arrangement causes most of the complaints we hear from both tenants and owners in this neighborhood:

• The apartment with the thermostat controls everyone. If that unit is warm, the boiler shuts off, whether or not the third floor has reached temperature.
• Top-floor units overheat or freeze. On steam, the radiators farthest from the boiler get steam last. If main vents are missing or clogged, the boiler satisfies the thermostat before steam ever arrives upstairs.
• Radiators were removed or relocated when walls were moved for the conversion, which throws off the balance the original installer set.
• Tenants shut radiator valves partway. A one-pipe steam radiator valve must be fully open or fully closed. Half-open, it traps water and bangs.
• Windows get opened in winter to dump heat from an overheated unit, and the owner's gas bill climbs.

Most of this can be improved without replacing the boiler. Correctly sized main vents and radiator vents let steam reach every floor at about the same time. Thermostatic radiator valves or vents give each room its own limit.

Moving the thermostat, or using a control that averages several sensors, stops one apartment from running the whole building. When we look at a converted house, we walk every unit before touching the boiler, because the cause is usually in the piping and vents.

Ductless air conditioning for older homes without ductwork

High ceilings, plaster walls, and 3 stories make conventional central air impractical here. Ductless mini-splits suit these buildings well: each apartment can have its own system on its own electric meter, with its own control, and the only opening needed is a small hole through the outside wall. That also settles the question of who pays for cooling in a rental.

2 things need checking first. Many of these houses still have limited electrical service, sometimes with a separate small panel for each unit, and a mini-split needs a dedicated circuit. And on a tall frame house, the line set has to run down the outside in a cover, so its route should be planned for the side or rear of the building where it won't be seen from the park.

Boiler and heating repair for landlords and tenants

If you rent, your landlord is normally the one who authorizes repairs to the building's heating system, so call them first for a no-heat problem and have them call us. If you own the building, tell us how many units it has and whether each has its own meter and thermostat.

For a no-heat call in freezing weather, don't wait: a house full of radiators and pipes can freeze on every floor. Our emergency service runs 24 hours a day.

HVAC permits and nearby Youngstown neighborhoods

Wick Park is inside the Youngstown city limits, so permits for boiler and furnace replacements go through the City of Youngstown. We also work in Crandall Park a short distance up Fifth Avenue, and across the rest of the north side. HVAC Guy provides heating and cooling repair throughout Youngstown, with a particular amount of boiler work in the older neighborhoods.

Boiler and air conditioning questions from Wick Park

Why is the third floor of my building cold when the first floor is hot?

On a steam system, steam reaches the nearest radiators first. If the main vents in the basement are missing or failed, air can't escape the pipes quickly, and the thermostat is satisfied before steam gets to the top floor. Replacing main vents and balancing radiator vents usually corrects it.

Can each apartment have its own thermostat on one boiler?

On hot water systems, the piping can sometimes be zoned by floor with zone valves. On steam, each radiator can be given a thermostatic valve or vent to limit its heat. True separate control and billing generally requires separate heating systems for each unit.

Can air conditioning be added to an apartment in an old house?

Yes. A ductless mini-split serves one apartment with its own outdoor unit and its own electrical circuit, without ductwork and without affecting the other units.

Do you work with landlords and property managers?

Yes. We service owner-occupied homes and rental buildings. For rentals, the owner or manager needs to authorize the work.