I hired Karl Carpenter of Brookeville Radiant to replace a 1940s Boiler with a new energy efficient condensing boiler system, and to Then also add a separately regulated loop into a previously unheated Sleeping porch. This was one of the nicest experiences I've ever had With a contractor. Karl really knows his stuff. He works hard, does What he says he'll do, takes appointment times seriously, is Accommodating, is honest and ethical, takes great pride in his work, And is friendly and fun to boot!

When the originally scheduled time for the boiler replacement was Going to be during the coldest days of last winter, Karl called and Asked if I'd like to reschedule after the extreme cold was over since I'd be without heat for a day or two. He would always call or email to Confirm appointments and let you know if anything happened to change a Time. He worked hard and efficiently, and was careful and neat.

It's not easy working with the vagaries of an old house (1925) and Karl had to do some creative pipe-laying to get around existing stuff. But it all worked out beautifully, looks great, and works just as it Should. Karl also patiently answered all my questions, helped me to Understand (as much as I ever will) of how the system functions, and Had some clever suggestions when we ran into some of those old house Quirks.

I would highly recommend Karl (Brookeville Radiant) without Reservation to anyone needing work on, or replacement of, their Hydronic heating system.



"We hired Karl Carpenter of Brookville Radiant to replace a nearly 70-year-old boiler in our home and install some new radiators. We were very pleased with the quality of his work, professionalism and knowledge. Of all the contractors we interviewed, Karl had the most professional ideas for removing and replacing the old boiler as well as the most reasonable price. He implemented the work exactly as he had proposed -- on time and on budget. He performed the work in a professional manner and left the work area clean and tidy. We highly recommend him and would be happy to serve as a reference."

"If you are in search of a heating expert, I cannot recommend Karl highly enough. We had a very complicated heating problem due to new and ancient radiators that were installed in various parts of the house. The two styles had very different hot water needs, but shared the same boiler and thermostat. The result was that parts of the house were freezing during the winter. Through the course of 8 years, we had various "experts" come in to look at the problem and all of them either said it was too difficult, too expensive or impossible to find a solution that would work. Brookville Radiant was able to devise a plan and install new piping and new zoning so that all parts of the house are heated sufficiently. The quality of the work is phenomenal and is even pretty to look at! When I came home from a trip recently and the heating had shut out due to a power outage, Karl was able to walk me through the entire process by phone and had an incredible memory of just which buttons to press. I am not a technical person but was able to follow the clear instructions and get the heating started again."

When building a new house, you encounter many contractors, sub-contractors, etc. over the period of the lengthy construction.  Without exception, Karl and Brookeville Radiant were far superior to any others that we worked with.  In addition, Karl is a very pleasant person to work with.

In short: they provided radiant in-floor heating, baseboard heating and registers, and a triangular tube boiler for the heating and domestic hot water in our new house. The planning, execution and results (from a winter’s experience) have been outstanding.

 

Specifically: 
In the initial planning phase, their obvious experience and knowledge about how to plan a system specifically designed for the unique architectural features of our new house were evident.  The ability to work with the architect, the builder and us, as well as the evident competence and confidence in recommending a design was very reassuring. 

 

In the implementation phase, (by Karl and partner themselves, not some other subcontracted people), the personal handiwork observed in installation of the tubing system under the floor, setting up of the boiler room piping and equipment, in-house zones, distribution systems and thermostats, proceeded as planned and on time and was a pleasure to observe being accomplished so well.   The attention to detail and the care to provide a system that they were proud to call theirs was very evident. 

 

As one example, the design and implementation of the layout and piping in the boiler room, with the multiple isolation valves to provide for future easy maintenance, the symmetry and common sense of the layout providing easy understanding of its operation and beauty of the workmanship (which might sound funny for copper pipes and tubing, but which is actually true when seen) was impressive.

 

In the operation phase, the initial testing and preliminary adjustments were accomplished efficiently.  Then, as winter came on, their pro-active follow-up visits for tuning the system, using their and our combined assessment of it’s functioning, allowed us to get the system heating the house just as planned.  Now, it is simply a matter of adjusting the thermostats in the various zones to control the heat and to have the system automatically shut down as summer comes on. 

 

I asked Karl to drop by the other day to provide me with an explanation of how the system in the boiler room works since it is interesting to me.  I also wanted to thank him and offer to write a recommendation for him because we have been so pleased with his work.