Boiler repair & HVAC in Gowanus, Brooklyn

We serve Gowanus from our Ridgewood shop, about 19 min away. Plumbing, HVAC, boiler repair, heating, drains and gas piping. Emergency calls answered 24/7.

Gowanus has some of the oldest surviving residential building fabric in Brooklyn, with pre-Civil War wood-frame houses and Greek Revival brick rowhouses dating to the 1840s and 1860s built to house workers in the canal-side factories and iron foundries. Buildings this old were originally plumbed with iron supply and cast-iron waste — galvanized steel wasn't yet standard — and many retain those original systems under layers of later renovation work. The canal's industrial use through the mid-20th century suppressed residential development, which means Gowanus largely missed the 1920s and 1930s apartment-building waves common in surrounding neighborhoods. The post-2010 rezoning and conversion activity has introduced modern plumbing into many buildings, but the oldest row house stock is among the most historically layered residential plumbing work in Brooklyn.

Our Gowanus row house dates to the 1850s — what should we expect to find when we open the walls?

Buildings from the 1840s–1860s predate galvanized steel and were originally fitted with wrought iron supply and cast-iron waste. In an 1850s Gowanus row house, opening walls may reveal original iron supply — still carrying water but likely heavily corroded internally — original cast-iron DWV, and evidence of later renovation layers: sections of galvanized steel added in the early 1900s, copper branch lines from a mid-century renovation, and possibly PVC drain repairs from more recent work. We document every layer before recommending scope — buildings this old rarely need everything replaced at once.

We're converting an industrial building near the Gowanus Canal — what does a full plumbing rough-in look like for that type of building?

Industrial conversion rough-ins involve new water supply stacks from the building main, drain installation through or below the concrete slab (or overhead where slab cutting isn't practical), HVAC mechanical work — typically mini-split or hydronic in the loft format — and fixture rough-in for each residential unit. Canal-adjacent buildings in Gowanus often have soil and foundation conditions that affect what's feasible below the slab. We assess site conditions before recommending the drain approach and work with the contractor and structural engineer on the mechanical plan.