Well New Year's was fun. We went sledding with the kids and warmed our selves up with hot chocolate afterward. Then we sat around the house for a few minutes and I got bored. I wandered into our basement and started organizing my tools. Thats when I started getting an irrestible itch to demolish our vintage 1909 cast iron boiler.
The boiler scared us when we moved into our home five years ago so we just ignored it and installed a forced air furnace assuming that the boiler was dead. Today I finally explored the boiler's innards while putting my demolition gameplan together. If you ever wanted to see the bowels of a 101 year old boiler, here they are.
This is the chamber that would be filled with coal and heat the water into steam. Sometime in the 1950's it was converted to gas. That big plate would site over the hole in the floor of the chamber and was used to even out the heat from the flame. Apparently, something malfunctioned and burned a hole right through the plate. Thats not good. Notice all the charred iron sitting in piles on each side of the chamber.
Here is a look inside the fire hole. Lots of debris.
This is a photo of the upper chamber of the boiler. I am unsure what the purpose of this chamber was. Lots of corrosion.
I heard that people often destroy claw foot tubs with a sledge hammer to break them into managable pieces. (If you ever are going to do that, call me first and I will remove it from your property for free.) So I got my sledge hammer out and started whacking away. I didn't do anything except give a portion of the boiler a nice hammered finish. Puzzled, I got my drill out to see how thick the metal is. I need to size up my opponent. I discovered that this monster is made of 3/8th-inch iron or more. That is some really strong stuff...stronger than me that is. Unless someone can suggest some really good ideas for do-it-yourself boiler removal, I have decided that I will need to hire a welder to cut the thing out of our basement. Score: Jeremy - 0 Boiler - 1.
Whoa. In some ways, it's a bit sad to see a 100-plus year old boiler be removed. It's mostly due to the age, since a lot can be done with the space when it's removed. It's practically a deadweight already. Despite the wear and tear, it looks like a ton of work has to be done to move that.
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I would like to buy your boiler door for a project Im doing at home Gpappas@tcco.com
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