Heating Services In Northborough, Ma. Installations, Replacements, and Repairs
The Heating Business...
Richard T. Curley Plumbing & Heating has kept Northborough homes warm since 1980. We repair and replace boilers — gas and propane systems, steam and forced hot water — plus radiant, baseboard, and circulator pump service. Northborough is a town where a 250-year-old colonial with its central chimney sits a few streets from a 1980s colonial with vaulted ceilings and five heating zones. The old ones run steam; the new ones run multi-zone hot water. We work on both.
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 Northborough resident. A cold colonial on a January morning or a drafty executive home isn’t something you wait on.
Boiler Repair and Replacement...
Boiler Repair… A boiler that’s making noise, short-cycling, or leaving baseboards lukewarm needs attention before it fails completely. We troubleshoot gas and propane boilers — steam and forced hot water — plus high-efficiency condensing units across Northborough. For oil-fired systems, we service the controls, circulators, and zones.
Common repairs we handle: failed circulator pumps, faulty zone valves, expansion tank failures, air-bound radiators, thermocouple replacements, and pressure switch issues. Northborough’s mix of water sources matters — homes on private wells pull water with a mineral profile different from the town supply, and each leaves its own mark on the boiler. We check for it on every call. 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. Northborough spans every era — 250-year-old colonials and capes built around central chimneys, split-levels and ranches from the 1960s and 70s, and executive colonials from the 1980s onwards with vaulted ceilings and open plans. Each calls for different equipment.
We size the boiler to your home’s actual heat loss — not a guess based on what was there before. Oversized boilers short-cycle and waste fuel. Undersized ones can’t keep up when the temperature drops and stays there. 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 Northborough renovations are adding it in kitchens, bathrooms, and finished basements. We service and repair existing radiant systems — cold spots in the floor, a zone that won’t heat, or a manifold that’s leaking. If you’re planning to add radiant in a remodel, we can talk through whether it makes sense and what it takes to do it right.
Radiant runs 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… Northborough 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 attic conversions — common in Northborough where families grow and square footage expands.
Radiators… The older colonials and capes around the village center still 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 two-story Northborough homes, the upstairs radiators sometimes run cooler than the downstairs ones — not because anything is broken, but because the system was never balanced. We tune the vents and valves so every room gets its share.
- 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… 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. In Northborough homes with four or five zones — common when additions were built over decades — a single stuck zone valve can leave a whole wing cold. We find it and fix it.
Expansion Tanks… Every hot water heating system has an expansion tank, and most Northborough homeowners never think about it until it fails. A waterlogged expansion tank causes the pressure relief valve to drip — that drip is your early warning.
We test expansion tanks, repressurize bladder-type tanks when possible, and replace them when they’ve failed. A five-minute inspection once a year prevents a waterlogged tank from shortening the boiler’s life.
- Taco Circulator Pumps
- Taco Zone Valves
- Grundfos Circulator Pumps
- Bell & Gossett Circulator Pumps
- Extrol Expansion Tanks
- Installation
- Replacement
- Repair
Heating across the MetroWest…
Richard T. Curley Plumbing & Heating handles heating in Northborough and the towns around it. If you’re in a neighboring town, here’s where to go:
Call (978) 562-3736 for service in Northborough or any of these towns.
Common Heating Questions in Northborough
That’s a balancing and zoning problem, common in Northborough’s two-story homes with vaulted ceilings and open plans. Heat rises, so the upstairs zone warms fast while the first floor lags. It can also mean a stuck zone valve or air in one loop. We check the thermostat placement, test the valves, and bleed the loops. Most fixes are straightforward.
We service the controls, circulators, and zones on oil-fired systems — thermostats, zone valves, expansion tanks, and pumps. We don’t tune or clean oil burners, so if that’s the specific job you need, that’s outside our scope. But if the issue is the controls or the hydronic side, we can help.
A slow leak somewhere in the system. In Northborough homes with long pipe runs, a pinhole leak in a baseboard loop or a weeping radiator valve can drop pressure gradually without an obvious puddle — especially on an upper-floor loop. We pressurize the system and trace the leak. Most are fixed in one visit.
It depends on how the boiler was sized and how much space you added. Older Northborough capes were often oversized to begin with, so a modest addition might be fine. If the boiler was sized tightly, the new space stretches it thin on the coldest nights. We run a heat loss calculation on the expanded footprint and tell you whether your current boiler can keep up.
Listen to it. A healthy circulator hums quietly. A failing one whines, rattles, or runs hot to the touch. If the boiler fires and the pump runs but the pipes stay cold, the impeller may be seized or the coupler broken. We replace it same-day — Taco and Grundfos pumps are always on the truck.
That’s usually mineral scale built up in the heat exchanger, trapping water against the hot metal so it boils too fast. It’s common where hard water has run through a system for years. A descaling flush usually quiets it. Left alone, it stresses the boiler and cuts efficiency.
Need a new water heater too? Our water heater service in Northborough handles gas, electric, and power-vent installation and repair.
If your heating call turns up a leaky bathroom or a sink in trouble, our bathroom plumbing in Northborough covers faucets, drains, toilets, and shower valves.
For a kitchen faucet, disposal, or drain issue, our kitchen plumbing in Northborough has you covered.
For everything we do in Northborough — heating, water heaters, bathrooms, kitchens, drains, and more — see our full Northborough plumbing services page.