Call us at...
Richard T. Curley
Richard T. Curley
Richard T. Curley
PLUMBING & HEATING
Heating problems... In Marlborough Ma Installations, Replacements, and Repairs
Common Heating Questions in Marlborough
Yes. In Marlborough condos, banging or creaking baseboard is usually air in the loop or copper pipe rubbing against the framing as it expands. Bleeding the air stops the noise from the loop. For rubbing, we isolate the pipe where it passes through a tight opening — a quick fix once we find it. If the noise is coming from the boiler room of a multi-unit building, the circulator pump may need attention.
In older Victorians, especially those still running on original steam or two-pipe systems, the problem is often uneven venting. If the main vents are undersized or clogged, steam reaches the radiators closest to the boiler and never makes it to the far side of the house. We upgrade main vents and tune the system so steam travels evenly. A properly vented system heats every room.
Once a year, ideally in late summer or early fall before the first cold snap. An annual service catches small problems — a weakening circulator, a corroding expansion tank, a burner that’s burning dirty — before they become no-heat calls in January. It also keeps the boiler running at its rated efficiency, which matters when Marlborough Utility rates go up.
It's not an emergency, but it's urgent. The most common cause is a waterlogged expansion tank — the water heats up, expands, has nowhere to go, and pushes past the relief valve. Every drip is money and water down the drain, and it means the expansion tank has failed. We can test and replace it before the pressure cycling damages the boiler.
In most cases, yes. The boiler serving your unit is typically separate from the building’s common boiler — it’s a standalone unit in a utility closet. We coordinate with the condo association when access to common areas is needed, but the shutdown is limited to your unit. We’ve done it in buildings all over Marlborough.
It can. Marlborough’s water carries chlorine that, over years, accelerates wear on rubber seals, gaskets, and some internal boiler components. It’s not dramatic, but it means annual inspections matter more here than in well-water towns. We check seals and gaskets as part of every service call.
For the full scope of heating services across every Metrowest town we serve, see our heating system repair guide for Metrowest.
Need bathroom plumbing while we’re in the house? Our bathroom plumbing services in Marlborough cover toilets, sinks, tubs, and showers.
If your hot water is part of the heating problem, our water heater services in Marlborough handle gas, electric, and tankless repair and replacement.
Follow us
The Heating Business...
Richard T. Curley Plumbing and Heating has kept Marlborough MA homes warm since 1980. We specialize in boiler repair, boiler replacement, radiant heat, baseboard systems, and circulator pump service. If your heat runs on hot water or steam, we handle it.
We do not push new equipment when a repair will do the job. If your boiler can be fixed, we fix it. If it's time for a replacement, we'll give you a straight answer — no pressure, no scare tactics, no upsell.
Here at Richard T. Curley Plumbing and Heating, we are committed to same-day heating service for every Marlborough resident. A cold condo on a January morning or a shivering Victorian off Route 20 isn’t something you wait on.
Boiler Repair and Replacement...
Boiler Repair… A boiler that’s making noise, short-cycling, or leaving radiators lukewarm needs attention before it fails completely. We troubleshoot gas boilers, oil boilers, steam boilers, and high-efficiency condensing units across Marlborough.
Common repairs we handle: failed circulator pumps, faulty zone valves, expansion tank failures, air-bound radiators, thermocouple replacements, and pressure switch issues. Marlborough’s municipal water carries chlorine that can accelerate wear on internal boiler seals over time — we check for that. Most repairs take one visit. We carry circulator pumps, zone valves, and common control parts on the truck so you’re not waiting on a second trip.
Boiler Replacement… When repair isn’t the smart money, we guide you toward the right replacement. Marlborough homes span from Victorian-era houses near downtown with original steam systems to mid-century capes to newer condos with modern hot water baseboard. Each calls for different equipment.
For the multi-unit buildings and condo associations around French Hill and downtown, we coordinate with property managers to minimize downtime across units. We size the boiler to your home’s actual heat loss — not a guess based on what was there before. Getting it right matters, and we get it right.
- Weil-McLain
- Burnham
- Utica
- Buderus
Radiant Heat...
Radiant floor heat… Is the most comfortable way to heat a home, and Marlborough renovations are adding it more often — especially in kitchen and bathroom remodels. We install radiant tubing, manifold systems, and mixing valves. We also repair existing radiant: cold spots in the floor, a zone that won’t heat, or a manifold that’s leaking.
Radiant systems run at lower water temperatures than baseboard, so boiler setup and control strategy are different. We dial in the outdoor reset and mixing to keep the floor warm without wasting fuel.
BOILER CONTROLS...
- Installation
- Replacement
- Repair
- Honeywell Thermostats
- Honeywell Controls
- White Rogers Controls
- Resideo Controls
- McDonnell & Miller
- Watts Regulator
- Just a few brands.
Baseboard and Radiator Systems...
Baseboard Heat… Marlborough homes with hot water baseboard know the sound of creaking copper as the heat comes up. When that sound stops — or when one room stays cold while the rest of the house is warm — something is wrong.
We bleed air from baseboard loops, replace stuck zone valves, and flush sediment from older systems. If a baseboard section is damaged or leaking, we replace it. We also add baseboard to finished basements and converted attics — common projects in Marlborough’s older capes where square footage grows over the years.
Radiators… Marlborough’s Victorian and early-1900s homes have cast-iron radiators that can last a century if maintained. We repair steam and hot water radiators, replace failing air vents on steam systems, and fix leaking radiator valves. A cold radiator in an otherwise warm house is almost always a simple fix — a stuck vent or a trapped air pocket.
In multi-family buildings, a single cold radiator sometimes means a zone valve buried in a wall that hasn’t been touched since the Carter administration. We find it.
- Slant/Fin Baseboard
- Suntemp Baseboard
- Weil-McLain Cast Iron Baseboard
- Sunrad Cast Iron Radiator
- Installation
- Replacement
- Repair
Circulator Pumps and Zone Valves...
The circulator pump… The circulator pump is the heart of a hot water heating system. When it fails, nothing moves. Common signs: the boiler fires but the pipes stay cold, or you hear the pump humming louder than it should.
Zone valves… control which part of the house gets heat. A stuck zone valve means one thermostat calls for heat and nothing happens — or worse, a zone that won’t shut off.
We replace Taco, Grundfos, Bell & Gossett, and Honeywell circulators and zone valves. Most are on the truck. For Marlborough condo buildings with multiple zones per unit, we can convert older three-wire zone valves to modern two-wire when the time comes.
Expansion Tanks… Every hot water heating system has an expansion tank, and most Marlborough homeowners never think about it until it fails. A waterlogged expansion tank causes the pressure relief valve to drip — and that dripping is the canary in the coal mine.
We test expansion tanks, repressurize bladder-type tanks when possible, and replace them when they’ve failed. In older Marlborough homes where the expansion tank hangs from the basement ceiling in a spot nobody checks, a five-minute inspection once a year prevents a waterlogged tank from taking out the whole system.
- Taco Circulator Pumps
- Taco Zone Valves
- Grundfos Circulator Pumps
- Bell & Gossett Circulator Pumps
- Extrol Expansion Tanks
- Installation
- Replacement
- Repair