We decided to purchase a new boiler from Belyea Bros. in September 2008 as the old house we bought had one of those monster cast iron jobs with asbestos, etc. AFTER removing our old boiler, the technician/sales manager advised us that their chimney person would not be able to put the required liner in due to the pitch of our roof and they would need to call a specialist in. The specialist advised that due to the condition of our chimney, they could not insert a liner and so we could not use the boiler as originally agreed on!
Our only option was a high efficiency boiler which vented out the side of the house at over $2,000 additional cost or to redo the chimney at about $10,000. This was a suprise to us, especially after they already removed our old boiler and now had very limited options!
With little to no option from our perspective, we put in the more expensive unit.
We ended up not being happy with the overall experience and think that the chimney, being a major part of the work, would have been scoped properly before the project had started and the original boiler being removed. After discussing this with the company, we were assured that there is no way to confirm the condition of the old chimney before the old boiler is removed. Removal is step one in the job.... I would suggest anyone looking to replace their entire heating system to be VERY sure that every part of the job has been taken into consideration and ask lots of questions BEFORE work starts. Especially if you have an older chimney.
