I have worked on heating systems in most parts of New Jersey and a few nearby areas of New York. We much prefer to stay within a 30 minute drive from our shop/office. For those not familiar with my area of New Jersey, it is a densely populated area of the state. We are located about 30 minutes from Newark airport.

The advantages of working close to our shop are many. We are familiar with the roads, traffic patterns, detours, school and school bus traffic, etc. We are familiar with the local supply houses and what each one typically keeps in stock. If we need to need a part that we stock in our shop for a job, it is typically a short drive. Stopping for a meal is convenient as there are many choices around here.

We occasionally get calls to replace heating systems from commercial customers who are further than 30 minutes away. If it is a large install project, it might make sense to tackle the project. Typically, these large jobs take a few weeks to complete. We would get a few deliveries to the site, which allows us to stage the materials. We set up our tools on site on the first day and sometimes leave most of them for the duration of the project in our job box. These tools might include rigging, pipe stands, pipe vises, saws, welding machines, pipe threaders, etc. In most cases, these jobs are profitable and certainly worth driving up to about an hour away.

If the job is a commercial repair, it might also make sense to travel outside of our normal area. If we already perform the routine maintenance on the account, we will likely be familiar with the system. On these jobs, we try to stock much-needed parts in our trucks. There is also a good chance that we installed the system so that certainly helps with being familiar with the job. Most of the time, the repair only takes a couple of hours. We have keys or door “codes” to many of our commercial accounts, which allows us to visit when we get time. Sometimes it might be at 7 a.m., other times it could be 7 p.m. As long as the heat is working, these customers do not seem to care what time we visit.

With residential heating systems, it is rarely is cost-effective for us to drive more than about 30 minutes away for a repair call. This is especially true when the phone is ringing off the hook on a cold winter day. As mentioned in the past, we try to stay focused on wet heating systems. This helps us keep truck and shop inventory focused on our craft.

With regard to residential heating system replacement projects, we will travel a little further for mostly the same reasons as a commercial install. Setup time and wrapping up a residential install are significant.

There are certainly exceptions to these unwritten rules and one came up recently.

We did a small commercial heating system replacement last fall at a local church. The job included the removal of a 50-year-old oil boiler and a separate electric water heater. We ran a new gas line and installed a condensing gas boiler with a small indirect water heater. The job went smoothly, we got paid and the congregation was very happy. They now have reliable heating and DHW systems, the fuel bills were cut in half and they no longer have to worry about that 50-year-old underground tank or boiler failing.

Apparently, word got out that we did good work. Another church reached out and wanted us to take care of their oil-to-gas conversion. This job was much more involved. The existing oil-fired steam boiler was leaking so badly that it was unsafe to operate. In addition, the near boiler piping was not even close to typical. The fresh air louvers were blocked by others years ago. Finally, this project was actually an emergency job as it was now the middle of winter and the church had no heat.

This church was much larger and was located in a bad section of town in one of the biggest cities in New Jersey. Typical drive times vary between one and two hours door to door, depending on traffic (despite being only 20 miles away). I knew we could do the job, but there were three big reasons I did not want the job. First, it would take its toll on our crew as it would require long days and a lot of driving. Second, our regular customers would not be happy if we could not take care of them in a timely fashion. The final reason for not taking this job is that our subcontractors were not available at the time. In the end, we did some design work and others did the actual installation.

I knew we could do the job, but there were three big reasons I did not want the job. First, it would take its toll on our crew as it would require long days and a lot of driving. Second, our regular customers would not be happy if we could not take care of them in a timely fashion.

Another lead came in from that same small church from last fall. This time, it was a family-owned and occupied three-family house. This potential customer is good friends with the church’s pastor and his wife. This is the same city (but a better neighborhood) as the large church with the leaking steam boiler. I spoke to the roughly 60-year-old daughter on the phone and reluctantly agreed to meet, so I could look at the job. I was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike when I received a call from the homeowner. She said I should look for her and her husband on the corner closest to the exit off the highway, I agreed. Five minutes later, I saw the couple waving their hands in the air, I stopped and parked the car where the traffic police suggested. The three of us waked two blocks to the house together as we dodged the street crews and the traffic cones. All of the roads were closed for water main replacements.

When I finally got to the house, I was introduced to the 92-year-old mother and the other daughter, about 55 years old. They told me that the next-door neighbor’s house lit on fire 10 years ago. The fire did serious damage to their house which was built around the turn of the century. They had to vacate the house for over a year while the contractors did their “magic.” The contractor decided to remove the gravity hot water system with cast iron radiators and install two HVAC systems for the three-story home, plus the finished basement. Apparently, the warm air system has never worked properly. I counted five window air conditioners and four electric heaters. None of the family has been happy with the heating or cooling systems.

The family has owned the home since the 1950s. They showed me photos of what it used to look like, of course, I focused on the enormous radiators and the radiator valves. The heating (and cooling) system was bastardized when installed. There were essentially two zones (two furnaces, no dampers) for four different floors of living space. Based on what I saw, I was not confident we could make the system work perfectly.

I am still struggling with taking on this job or not. The family basically asked when we could start and wanted to give us a large deposit when I visited the site. I plan to revisit the site with a friend of mine who specializes in multi-family HVAC jobs.