Georgetown's brick rowhouses were heated by water and steam for more than a century before anyone here ran a duct, and a great many of them still are. Behind the original plaster you'll find one-pipe steam mains, cast-iron radiators sitting under tall front windows, and a boiler tucked into a low cellar that has outlived several owners. Systems like these reward a technician who actually understands how they're meant to behave, and that's the corner of the trade we live in. When the heat in a 200-year-old house starts acting up, the fix is rarely a part swap. It's reading the pitch of the pipes, the venting, and the water line the way the original steamfitters intended.
That history also shapes what we can and can't do on the outside. Because nearly every block here falls under Old Georgetown Board review, bolting a modern condenser or a row of exterior equipment onto a visible wall isn't really an option, which is one more reason these hydronic and steam systems are worth keeping alive rather than ripping out. We restore quiet, even heat to the system you already have, hidden entirely inside the house, and when a cast-iron boiler truly has reached the end, we talk through high-efficiency replacements and low-profile alternatives that respect both your cellar's tight clearances and the district's rules. Every diagnosis comes with an upfront, flat-rate price before a wrench turns.
Georgetown note: On Georgetown's oldest blocks the entire heating system lives inside the house, so a steam or hot-water repair almost never triggers the exterior-visibility questions the Old Georgetown Board cares about, but cellar access through narrow English-basement stairs and original brick chimney flues still calls for someone who has worked these homes before.
Common Boiler & Radiator Repair Issues We Fix in Georgetown
- Banging, knocking, or hammering noises in pipes and radiators (water hammer)
- Cold or only partially warm radiators and uneven heating between floors
- Failed or stuck steam traps and air vents
- Boiler leaks, low water level, or pressure problems
- Aging cast-iron boiler at end of life — repair or replace?
- Hissing radiator valves and trapped air needing bleeding
What's Included
- Diagnosis and repair of water hammer and loud banging pipes
- Fixing cold or unevenly heating cast-iron radiators
- Steam trap testing, repair, and replacement
- Leak detection and repair on boilers, valves, and piping
- Low-water and low-pressure troubleshooting and correction
- Radiator bleeding and whole-system balancing
- Annual boiler tune-ups and safety inspections
- Honest assessment and replacement of aging cast-iron boilers
Explore our full Boiler, Radiator & Steam Heat Repair service, or see all HVAC services in Georgetown.
What It Costs
Most boiler and radiator repairs in Washington, DC fall between $200 and $1,000, depending on the part and the labor involved, while major repairs on older systems can run from $1,200 to $3,000 or more. An annual service and tune-up typically runs $200 to $500, and a full boiler replacement generally lands between $6,500 and $11,500. Every system is different, so call us for a free, no-obligation estimate before you decide anything.