Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Burlington’

The More You Know: Boilers Rarely “Boil” Today

Monday, December 11th, 2017

large-boilerFurnaces have a long history as residential heating systems. After all, the first fireplaces were basically the original furnaces, and ever since people started to construct pipes connected to stoves to distribute heat to other parts of a building, furnaces have been the most common kind of central heating system.

But the boiler has a long history as well. Boilers didn’t become prominent in homes and commercial buildings until much later than furnaces, but they’ve been common since the 19th century. Boilers offer a number of excellent advantages that have kept them around for all those decades: energy-saving performance, clean heat that doesn’t blow around dust, and a toasty warm feeling that people often prefer to the forced-air comfort that comes from a furnace.

Boilers have changed immensely since their first introduction, of course. Perhaps the biggest change of all is that most boilers today don’t actually boil anything, but instead use hydronic power.

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Watch for Boiler Repair Concerns Early in the Fall

Monday, October 2nd, 2017

boiler-residentialWe aren’t quite at the true heating season yet—the time of the year when home heaters turn on to provide warmth. Temperatures are still hovering in the cool-to-warm region. But it’s October, which means fall is here and just over the ridge is winter. If you use a boiler system to heat up your house in winter, you want to ensure that it’s in the best shape possible before the cold weather hits. You can do this by arranging for a heating tune-up and inspection through one of our preventative maintenance comfort plans.

But today we want to focus on what happens once your boiler actually gets to work—especially if you end up putting it to work before it has maintenance. We urge you to avoid this situation, but it can still happen. If it does (and even if you did have routine maintenance this year) look out for some of these early indications that you need to call us for boiler repair in Burlington, VT. The sooner you have the trouble fixed, the less expensive it is likely to be and the less long-term damage it will do to the boiler.

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Some Important Kitchen Plumbing Jobs

Monday, September 4th, 2017

kitchen-interior-with-islandIt may not seem like it, but the kitchen is not the area of your home that contains the most plumbing. That’s actually the bathrooms, which can account for more than 50% of all freshwater use in a house and contain vital fixtures compressed into a small space.

But the kitchen contains a large amount of plumbing, and many of the fixtures in it are unique to this space. Caring for the plumbing in your home requires knowledge of many different types of appliances and fixtures, whether you need to have new installations, basic repairs, extensive repiping, or regular maintenance. It takes people skilled with kitchen plumbing in Burlington, VT to get these jobs done—and that’s why you should always contact our plumbers, no matter what you need.

Below are a few important kitchen plumbing jobs you may require and which we can handle for you:

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Why You Should Always Hire a Professional Plumber

Monday, August 7th, 2017

plumbing-toolsThis is something we can’t repeat enough: when it comes to your home’s plumbing system, whether you need a simple fix to stop a leak or a full new appliance installation, ­always hire a professional plumber from the start. We understand it’s tempting to try to tackle some jobs on your own—after all, you did get that great set of wrenches as a birthday present last year. Or you may want to save some money by going with a local “handyman” or some other non-professional who says something like, “Hey, I can fix that for you totally cheap!”

Don’t be fooled! Proper plumbing work requires the best in training, experience, and equipment. Amateur work will not only be time-consuming, it can lead to water leaks, backed-up drains, and damage to your house.

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The Advantages of a Zone Control System

Tuesday, July 25th, 2017

room-ventCentral heating and air conditioning is one of the greatest inventions in the modern home (maybe not at the level of indoor plumbing, but we’re not here to debate old sayings). One comfort system can distribute cooled and heated air to rooms throughout a house.

But there’s a flaw in the standard way a central HVAC system is designed, which is that it’s an “all-or-nothing” proposition. On a hot day, when the air conditioner turns on, cooled air goes to every room. That sounds great at first—until you realize that some of these rooms aren’t occupied. This is an expenditure of energy the home doesn’t need.

And, thanks to the creation of zone control systems, it’s an unnecessary expenditure of energy. Zone control allows for better manipulation of how cooled and heated air is distributed around a house.

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Why Won’t My Toilet Stop Running?

Monday, June 26th, 2017

toilet-with-sprayer-and-phoneWe’ve written posts before about toilet plumbing emergencies, such as when a toilet overflows. Toilet plumbing is a major part of the job of any professional plumbers, and we’re ready to help no matter what repairs you may need for your toilet, including installing a new one. (This is something we recommend if your toilet is more than 20 years old. Just the savings you’ll enjoy from the lower water use will make it worth it.)

We’re going to look at another toilet plumbing problem that may not seem like it’s an emergency—but it’s still something you’ll need to have fixed as soon as you can or else it will create a massive amount of water waste.

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Help! My Toilet Is Overflowing! What Do I Do?

Monday, May 29th, 2017

toilet-with-button-flushWe know an overflowing toilet is one of the more alarming events that can occur with home plumbing, right up there with a burst pipe. However, there are steps to take to stop the flow and have it corrected. If you do some planning ahead to prepare for an event like this—and it can happen to any toilet, no matter its age or how well it’s cared for—you can prevent serious water damage and dangers from an overflow of sewage.

Remember, helpful professional plumbers are on-call to assist you with bathroom plumbing in Burlington, VT and throughout Northwest Vermont and Northeast New York.

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Why You Should Sign Up for One of Our Maintenance Programs

Monday, May 1st, 2017

service-reminder-clockAn important part of providing air conditioning service for our residential customers is helping them avoid air conditioning service as much as possible. Yes, this sounds like a self-defeating goal, but the aim of our company is to make sure our customers have the finest in comfort. Finding ways to help our customers’ air conditioning systems work at their best and without the need to call us for emergencies is something we’re glad to do.

And the best way to let us help you with air conditioning service in Burlington, VT is for you to sign up for one of our regular maintenance programs. Here are some of the reasons this is a great idea:

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Warnings Those Clogged Drains May Be Sewer Line Problems

Monday, April 10th, 2017

water-down-drainNobody wants to encounter a slow or clogged drain in their home. It’s an annoyance and can bring simple tasks in the household to an indefinite halt until it can be remedied. Fortunately, clearing out a clog isn’t a tough job. If you can’t manage it using a basic drain plunger or with a hand-cranked drain snake (don’t use chemical cleaners, please!), you can always call our plumbers any time of the day or night and we’ll have the drain cleared out fast.

However, clogged and slow drains sometimes indicate a problem that runs deeper than blockage in a drain pipe. Your home’s sewer line might be suffering from breaks, obstructions due to tree root infiltration, or organic and inorganic build-up. These are more serious troubles than drain clogs, because they can lead to the full failure of your home’s drainage system and eventually sewage backing up into the basement or foundation.

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We Know It’s Still Cold… But You Need to Think about Your AC Now

Monday, March 27th, 2017

air-conditioning-grillIt was only a few weeks ago that a major March blizzard struck most of the Northeast, including here in Burlington and Plattsburgh. The weather has warmed up a touch since then, but we’re still experiencing cold tempeartures at the official start of spring. It may feel as if the real spring warmth is a long ways off.

But it isn’t! April is the month when the last of the cold weather stirs around and finally gives way to the heat that rises until its mid-summer peak. Even though we’re still dealing with chilly outdoor temperatures, this is the time of the year to start thinking about your air conditioning and ready it for the coming hot weather. We’ll look at how you can prepare your home’s AC for the late spring and summer.

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