Of the ~10 contractors I spoke with to update my heating, no one wanted to replace the boiler with an updated unit. I asked about a new heating system and most wanted to do forced hot air with the furnace placed in the attic. I thought about this option, but decided that I would rather have efficient radiant heating. I consulted and received estimates from 3 contractors. I picked Winchester Mechanical in Chelmsford, MA. The owner, Ken Winchester, came out to the house personally and was responsive to all of my questions during the component selection process.

I chose to install the Quik Trak radiant piping due to its low profile, at 1/2". The ranch home that I had purchased had 8 foot ceilings, I am 6 '4", and I wanted to conserve head room. The new system would be used throughout the whole house except for the main bathroom, which will be updated during a future bathroom remodel.

On the day that work was scheduled to begin, Mr. Winchester arrived on time with 5 other people including a representative from Wirsbo, the manufacturer of Quik Trak. I still wonder how I merited a visit by a factory rep. What follows on this page, are pictures on a day by day basis of the house progress, starting on Day 2.

Day 2:

New boiler placement

Location for the manifolds

Dining room showing path of large lines to zones

Hole created for tubing to run to baseboard. I chose baseboard for the full bath because I did not want to redo the whole bathroom at this time

View of lines buried in the cement running down the hallway

View of master bedroom into half bath showing sub floor

Day 3:

New boiler placement with wood sides

View to front door from kitchen showing new sub floor

Work is progressing in the kitchen. I'm so glad they got rid of the ancient dishwasher for me

View of the master bedroom and closet

A couple of the manifolds that will be placed in the closet

Work is more detailed in the half bath where the sub floor runs under the toilet

Day 4:

Note addition of cement step under back door to insulate piping

View to front door from kitchen

Work is progressing in the kitchen. It seems they removed the old boiler and poured in cement

View of main manifold location with old boiler removed

View of the master bedroom closet with manifold controls installed

View facing the west wall of the office. Note the holes drilled to the hall for the Pex tubing

Hallway with Quik Trak puzzle in progress

Looks like my new water heater finally arrived

Day 5: Things are really starting to take shape

Living room with Quik Trak

Hall with Quik Trak

The office with Quik Trak and tubing installed, note pass through to hallway

Closeup of office Quik Trak

Guest room Quik Trak

Looks like the baseboard for the main bath arrived

Work on Master bedroom manifold is progressing, note wire for thermostat

The half bath showing a loop of heat around the base of the toilet

Tubing which connects to the main manifold in the kitchen

Day 6: Most of the Quik Trak is down. Wires are run for the thermostats. Boiler and water tank hookups are progressing

The indirect water tank is in place

The Wirsbo control panel

View from kitchen to dining room. Note section with no Quick Track

View from dining room to kitchen. Spoke with Ken and he said if I could get a dishwasher to the house they will install it for me. This sounds like a great way to avoid another headache!

I think the Quik Trak looks beautiful. I am contemplating installing a glass rectangle in front of the fireplace so that visitors can see a section of the radiant heat below

Day 7: Detail work

Copper piping is being attached to the control panel

The empty spot in the kitchen floor has been filled with some concrete

I went to Home Depot, grabbed a Maytag dishwasher and dropped it off on my way to work

View of Pex tubing guided into the master bedroom closet where the manifold is located

Pex routed to the manifold. Note the custom floor pieces and cemented sections keep the tubing in place

Day 8: Quick Trak is finished, thermostats are mounted

Baseboard and thermostat in full bath

Connections from hot water tank to pipes. I'm not happy about the pipes along the ceiling, though I plan to add the den to the garage

Day 9

Exhaust installed for new boiler

Water tank and boiler connections look complete. Note metal duct for exhaust

Connections to master bedroom manifold are almost complete

Day 10

They moved the dryer plug and created a new vent to the outside

Day 11: We have hot water! Thermostats are working.

They created a new vent for my dryer and covered up the old hole. On the roof you can see the steel exhaust and the PVC intake tube for the boiler

Gas meter with hookup going straight to boiler

Manifold in the kitchen is complete

Manifold in master bedroom is complete

Overall this experience was the best with a contractor since I have moved into my home. The people that worked on my house were considerate of my needs while the work was performed. The job took 4 days longer than estimated. Most of that time was due to the insistance by the Wirsbo representative that a new subfloor be installed. Lorraine Martel, in the office, was awesome. She made every effort to get answers to my questions and was a delight to work with. I will update this site with my further experiences with the system in the future.

Since my installation was completed, Ken was featured in the Lowell Sun

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