Steam Pipe Removal

Basement Mechanical First Floor Subfloor

I’m sorry folks. This post could have been full of exciting, spark-showering photos of angle grinding, but we didn’t take in-progress shots. In fact, I only took phone camera pictures, so on top of not being as interesting they’re also grainy and blurry. I’ll try to do better.

Steam pipes
Steam pipes

Anyway, here’s the old boiler and steam pipes in the foreground with the new boiler and new panel in the background. I finished taking down the steam pipes this weekend. I mostly used the angle grinder with a cutting disk, though in a few places I used the reciprocating saw with a metal blade and some cutting oil.

Water fountain
Water fountain

I was surprised to find that one section of the return pipes was still full of water, even though it hadn’t been running since last winter. I thought it would have evaporated by now, but I guess not. It eventually drained and I finished cutting it out.

Section removed
Section removed

Because some of the supports were literally falling out of the ceiling, I strung it up in places with wire and bungie cords while I was removing it. All of the pipe went into my scrap pile, which at this point takes up a decent chunk of the basement. Once the snow melts I’ll haul it over to the recycling yard.

Scrap pile
Scrap pile

Once everything was taken down it really opened up the basement. I also removed a leftover section of the old gas pipe while I was at it, just so I could call it 100% done. With the pipes removed and the chimney down, there’s nothing in the way of finishing the new subfloor, except for all of the stuff on the first floor I have to move out of the way. I’ve got most of the back section done, and I’m hoping the rest of it will go more quickly.

Pipes removed
Pipes removed

The old boiler will wind up going to scrap too. It’s not as heavy as I expected. It’s pretty amazing how much different this section of the basement is from when we bought the place. I suppose that’s true of the first floor, too, since it’s all gutted, but somehow this feels more substantive.

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