The oil-fired boiler was original and the hydronic loops were a tangle. I kept the Buderus boiler and built a new copper manifold off it with three Honeywell zone valves and a Taco controller, so the basement, the main floor, and the attic each ran on their own thermostat. New fin-tube baseboard along the walls, new smart thermostats up top, and finally a system I could actually control.
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Before Original flue connection — corroded through, charred, insulation falling apart. Reason enough to redo the whole heating side.
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During Pulled the baseboard covers to get at the fin-tube. Half of them were painted over so badly the fins couldn't breathe.
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During Building the manifold up on cardboard before I hung it — three Honeywell zone valves on the bench, soldered and ready.
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After Manifold installed on the supply lines with the Taco controller above. Three zones, each on its own thermostat.
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Buderus boiler with the new zone valves and exhaust venting in place. Boiler had life left, it just needed everything around it redone.
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After New hydronic baseboard run with copper supply lines tucked tight to the wall. Clean install, no kinks.
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Before Up in the attic crawl — pull-chain light, joists exposed, stack of baseboard covers waiting to go back up.
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After Finished knee wall in the attic with thermostat above the baseboard. Painted shiplap, sloped ceiling, controlled heat.
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During New Honeywell stat in over the old larger ring. I'll patch the drywall on the next pass — function before finish.
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Stat reading 69° on hold. After everything I'd torn out down there, finally seeing the system actually hold a setpoint.
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App view: basement at 69 with 61% humidity, crawlspace at 67. Now I can watch it from anywhere instead of guessing.
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