Bruce MacAfee

I purchased a renovated house that already had forced air heating installed but the functioning steam radiator system had also been left in place. Two winters later without needing radiator heat, I wanted the added room space so I sought to have all the radiators, the boiler, and exposed steam pipes from a finished basement removed. Radiator Removal was not a category on anglies list. I called plumbers and heating contractors for quotes. These quotes came back too high ($4500) for what I believed was essentially demolition work. I got a referral from a contractor who gave me Bruce?s phone number and was told that he is an independent subcontractor who has done several radiator removal jobs for general contractors as part of larger renovation projects. I spoke with Bruce by phone, described the count and size of the radiators, and told him that I had already drained the system. He quoted me $2500 over the phone without visiting the house. He said the work would take two days. He described similar jobs he had performed and assured me that he knew how to cover and protect hardwood floors during the process and that he would break apart the larger radiators to make removal easier and haul everything away. He confirmed with me that I understood he would not remove pipes from inside the walls and beneath the floors but that nothing would remain outside of that I suspect he does not normally work directly with homeowners and that he does not have liability insurance. He preferred to be paid in cash and I agreed to pay him half after the first day of progress and half after completion. I know took a big risk hiring him based on a verbal agreement, but the referral was trustworthy, the job seemed straight forward, and the $2000 price savings was worth the risk to me. He, with the help of his son, completed the work in two days as promised. No damage was done to the floors. He allowed no trace of the black muddy sediment in the radiators to splatter. He capped off the gas and water refill pipes from the old furnace. Everything turned out as well as I could have expected. As a courtesy, he returned free of charge to rough-patch drywall holes in the finished basement from where the steam pipes had been removed and replace some rotted deck boards that he happened to notice. Neither of these extra items were included in the quote. He is a character and will give lots of unsolicited advice and observations about work done by other professionals in your home and will tell you wild tales of the money saved and projects he has rescued for other customers, but I can attest that he performs this niche service of radiator removal expertly and wanted to give him a mention on angies list.