 In rural Sussex County, New Jersey, George Harper chose Ultra-Fin for his 6,000 square foot renovation of his family’s historic 1852 farmhouse. His new bed and breakfast retains plenty of historical charm, plus memories of visits from baseball great Babe Ruth.
The Babe was a regular at the house during the 1940s, even though he never had the pleasure of warm radiant floors. He used to visit to play cards during his regular fishing and hunting trips in the area after Harper’s grandfather bought the farmhouse in 1942. The two had been teammates for two years during Harper’s grandfather’s eleven-year career in the major leagues.
Fast-forward more than 60 years, and George Harper decided to bring this post-colonial masterpiece into the light of the twenty-first century with a complete makeover. One of the key challenges: a modern heating system that could produce the BTUs required to warm its spacious 6,000 square foot interior. The system also had to work with wood floors.
Steven G. Pisauro Plumbing and Heating of Layton, New Jersey recommended and installed the Ultra-Fin radiant heating system. One of the reasons was the 8-10 inch wide plank pine flooring in the house.
“We did a lot of research and decided on Ultra-Fin because it works so well with wood floors,” says Pisauro. “You just put it together, you follow the rules, and it just works – it’s so simple.”
 During the renovation, workers were glad to discover that the system kept them warm even before insulating.
“We installed 26 heating zones and over 8000 feet of tubing in the house,” says Pisauro. “We fired up a portion in October, and then we fired up the rest in December just before Christmas. After that, we were working in t-shirts all winter long. We weren’t even insulated – the house was basically wide open, just the windows in – and it just heated right up.”
As a renovation option, the system also worked well with the existing radiators. Two boilers feed the 26 zones, and two of the zones use the 1937 steam radiators that were already in the house. There’s also a hot air system with three air handlers with hot water coils to provide hot air if there’s a 2 degree lag.
|
