Mike Seidel has been in the heating trade for 31 years, most of which has been spent at Charles D. Riley, Inc., where he’s currently the hydronic estimator and system designer. He’s even taken second place in the Service Titan Elite Plumbing National Championship, but until last year, he didn’t know what the word “lanai” meant.
If you don’t live in Hawaii, you probably don’t know either. For those of us on the mainland—like Seidel, who lives in Altoona, PA—a lanai is a ground-level sunroom with concrete floors.
Riley Inc. and its team of hydronic techs, including lead foreman Scot Gensamer and technician Jim Roland, were charged with heating a lanai that was to be added to a large Pennsylvania home. In fact, that was just one of many alterations the house would undergo after changing hands.
The company was well acquainted with the customer who purchased the 12,000 sq ft residence in late 2024. The 15-person plumbing and heating firm had installed boiler systems at several of the family’s homes, and Riley Inc. techs were acquainted with the house, too.
“Back in 2022, two years before the home was sold, we installed two U.S. Boiler Company Series 2 boilers in place of the 22-year-old original boilers,” said Seidel.
“The new owner wanted to upgrade the boilers to a high-efficiency system and make a lot of other improvements, so we tore the almost-new boilers out.”
Mike Seidel insists that while the system looks complex, it’s actually quite simple, intentionally.
To the Studs
The home was gutted, leaving studs and joists open to accommodate changes. Riley Inc.’s familiarity with the home helped during the design phase. For example, they knew the original hydronic system was designed and installed by a previous Riley Inc. employee and—at the time—President of the Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA, then called the Radiant Panel Association). When the customer said that they wanted to leave the existing radiant heat in place while upgrading the fin-tube baseboard portions of the home to new radiant, Seidel knew he could trust the original loop layouts, sizing, etc.
The owner also wanted snowmelt, outdoor fire features, a generator and a heated pool house. Mentally tallying the new heating capacity while speaking with the general contractor, McCloskey Builders, Riley Inc. President Jim Riley knew the property would need expanded fuel service. He was right; the company had a second four-inch natural gas line installed.
Demanding the Best
“The homeowners are great people and fantastic to work with, but changes happen often,” said Seidel.
“We take that in stride. This project is residential in nature but commercial in scale. It’s the largest project we did in 2025, and it’s not done yet.”
Just like the insistence on a high-efficiency boiler system, the family also wanted domestic hot water recirculation, in-floor heat in areas that were previously served by baseboard and a home automation system. A controls subcontractor installed a Lutron system (operating through Crestron) for automation, but the rest was on Riley, Inc.
When Seidel, Gensamer and Roland first arrived onsite in late 2024, they found 24 hydronic zones. By the time the work was 90% complete in late 2025, the home had 26 zones, including DHW. Fortunately, Gensamer and Roland, who did all the work, had the time and the space to deliver what was expected.
Scot Gensamer, Lead Foreman, checks the boiler supply water and DHW supply temperatures on the USB-Connect App.
The home has 25 zones of in-floor heat, not counting the DHW recirculation loop.
Boiler Room Upgrade
Fin-tube radiation was torn out and half-inch Rehau oxygen barrier PEX was stapled into joist bays. Remote manifolds were used, piped back to the boiler room with three-quarter or one-inch copper. The existing remote manifolds were replaced with Watts stainless steel Flowmeter manifolds.
“I forget how many manifolds there are,” said Seidel.
“I’d have to ask the guys, but it’s more than 18 and fewer than 26.”
All piping in the mechanical room was removed and replaced with copper, pressed in place with a mix of Viega and Nibco fittings. A Spirotherm air eliminator and Caleffi magnetic filter were installed on the primary loop. Grundfos Alphas were used as zone circulators, with four Taco Zone Switching Relays.
All the hydronic manifolds on the property, most of which are remote, were upgraded to stainless steel.
In place of the cast iron boilers, Gensamer and Roland installed two 210 MBH Alpine condensing boilers. Riley Inc. purchases boilers from either Penstan Supply in Altoona or Famous Supply in Johnstown, PA.
Hung on the wall with ample service space in all directions, the boilers were vented first with CPVC before transitioning to PVC and terminating through the basement wall on the far side of the home.
“The Alpine is a high-efficiency workhorse,” said Seidel.
“It earned our trust years ago. All our service techs know the boiler inside and out and we have parts in stock. All our trucks carry a USB-Connect Bluetooth device, allowing our techs to plug directly into the control panel and make changes, like setting up outdoor reset or clearing error codes.
“That device is a must-have for a company like ours, because it works with every mod-con unit U.S. Boiler Co. makes.”
Gensamer, knowing the outdoor design temperature in Altoona is 10°F, left the boiler’s factory outdoor reset settings in place. The curve begins with 110°F supply water temperature at 70°F outdoor ambient, moving up to 130°F at 55°F ambient and reaching 180°F supply at 10°F outdoor air temp.
The two boilers, which operate lead-lag, also provide heat for three, 40-gallon indirect water heaters. A domestic hot water recirculation system maintains hot water at all fixtures in the 10 bathrooms and six kitchens.
Indoor/Outdoor Living
The home’s roof, siding, walkways and outdoor entertainment areas were upgraded, too. The 1,500 sq ft Hawaiian sunroom is joined by new patios, a new pool and hot tub surround, a pool house and new walkways. Those walkways, as well as the upper driveway, were freshly poured over PEX tubing. All told, 5,000 sq ft of concrete is snow melted, with more potentially being added.
The decision to add snowmelt was made after the Alpine boilers were installed, and the jury is still out on whether to heat the pool with a condensing boiler via a titanium heat exchanger.
“We needed a lot more heating capacity than we first thought,” said Seidel.
“Therefore, we installed a 1.25 MMBTU Citadel condensing boiler in the main mechanical room to handle everything above and beyond the interior of the home. If the pool’s load isn’t added, the boiler will never hit high-fire, which doesn’t hurt a thing.”
“I like the Citadel because it’s a true commercial unit with installer-friendly controls,” he continued.
“It’s high tech, but anyone that knows residential condensing boilers can service and troubleshoot it. Plus, it works with the USB-Connect.”
Remaining Nimble
Installing a big modulating boiler for all the outdoor features offered Riley Inc. some flexibility. The homeowner admits they’re likely to change things as the project progresses, and Riley Inc. has taken that into account.
“Every day brings a new change, and we’re told to ‘use our best judgement,’” said Seidel.
“We knew that going into the project, and the way we’ve designed it and selected products accordingly reflects it.”
The way Riley Inc. builds hydronic systems is scalable. Whether it’s a two-zone system or 26 zones, the basic piping principles are the same, and yield a clean, straightforward product. “Scot and Jim put a lot of heart into their installs,” said Seidel.
“They really strive to give the customer a show piece. We keep our systems as basic as possible, but to the untrained eye, it’s a complex masterpiece.”
As of late 2025, the home is unoccupied. The upstairs—complete with its own kitchen—should be done shortly, allowing the customer to move in if they don’t mind construction noise.
Oh, and the lanai is almost finished, too.
The team, from L-R: Joe Dinardo, service tech; Dallas Luke, plumber; apprentice Trenton Clowson; John Feather, journeyman plumber/HVAC tech; Alex Musselman, journeyman/foreman; Mike Seidel, estimator/project manager/master plumber; Scot Gensamer, lead foreman; Jim Riley, Riley Inc. Owner & President/master plumber; Rich Zeek, journeyman plumber; Jim Roland, technician; Owen Reihart, apprentice; Wayne Croft, lead HVAC tech. Not picture: Mike Riley, master plumber/foreman; Bill Foster, lead service tech; Penny Platon, office manager; Max Riley, journeyman; and Mike Ball, shop worker.