By Mike LaBella
Staff Writer
May 09, 2008 12:27 am HAVERHILL — In a manner of speaking, he leaped off the television screen and into the Haverhill Boys Club. Yesterday, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey of the television series "This Old House" toured the building to inspect its new, high-tech heating system. Workers from Uptack Plumbing, Heating and Cooling recently replaced the club's car-sized gas boiler with a far more efficient and much smaller unit. The new unit is about the size of a college dormitory refrigerator. They also replaced the building's old steam radiators with modern, cooler-to-the-touch units. The club purchased the system through Trethewey. When he isn't showing his viewers how to undertake plumbing and heating projects, he works as a mechanical systems consultant. "What you guys are doing is special," he told the club's board members who accompanied him on the tour. "I'd take the feel of an old club anytime," Trethewey said. "These heavy brick buildings were designed to last." The club is undergoing renovations to prepare it to accept girls as members for the first time in its 108 years. The club is one of the last Boys Clubs in the country to allow girls in. During his visit, Trethewey tried his hand at candlepin bowling in the club's basement bowling alley. He rolled one ball and when it reached the pins he yelled "One," to the applause of club board members. "These adaptive reuses of old buildings are always a great story," he said. When club Director Brian Theirrien entered his office each winter morning, it would take four hours for the building to warm up because of the aged system. With the new heating system, Theirrien can bring any room up to temperature in a fraction of that time. With the new system, combination thermostat/sensors in each room send information back to the computer, allowing each room's temperature to be monitored and changed from the front office. "It's all part of the green theme we're doing here," said Joseph Mazzola, board member and club renovation project manager. "We can now remotely monitor and alter the building's temperature." The old heating system was controlled by a single thermostat. "The old radiators knocked and rapped and didn't work well," said board member Frank Iuele. Uptack owner Lenny Hall has met Trethewey on many occasions at industry meetings. He wanted to show the new heating system to him. "This is the first installation we've done with the products he is a representative for," Hall said. "This kind of heating system is fairly new to the area." Hall said the old heating system was so inefficient that it cost the club about $2,300 a month to heat the building during the winter months. He expects to save more than half that amount with the new system. The club's renovation project costs about $350,000, said Mazzola. Much of the work is done, including the installation of two new upstairs bathrooms, a fire alarm system, upgraded electrical system and the new heating system. "You ain't seen nothing yet," Mazzola said. "We'll be installing a handicap bathroom and expanding the office area. We'll have a new computer room and teen center, and a new security monitoring system. All of our rooms will be redefined and redesigned." Several basement rooms will be converted to a large teen center. Robert Wysocki, board president, said one of those rooms has a lot of history behind it. "During the Great Depression, boys in the club would bring their family's shoes in to re-cobble them," Wysocki said. "They didn't have money to pay a cobbler to replace the soles of their shoes." Anyone wishing to donate to the club's heating system fund is asked to send a check to: The Haverhill Boys Club, 55 Emerson St., Haverhill, MA 01830. More information is available by calling the club at 978-374-6171.
Haverhill Boys Club 55 Emerson St. 108 years old 700 members Exclusive to boys, until now Summer camp — Camp Tasker in Newton, N.H., opens to girls this year Entire club opens to girls after renovations to building Changes include new women's activities director, Sharon Silverman
Donations to Haverhill Boys Club renovation $130,000 from the Amelia Peabody Foundation $100,000 security system equipment from Cisco Systems Numerous smaller contributions from local businesses, individuals and from members of the club's board of directors
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Photos
Richard Trethewey, left, a master plumber with "This Old House," talks about the savings the club should see with the new heating system installed in the Haverhill Boys Club. From left, behind him is Lenny Hall, owner of Uptack Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, Joseph Mazzola, board member to the Boys Club, and Jamie Rooney of Uptack Plumbing. Trethewey came to meet with members of the club and the public while he toured and inspected the plumbing of the new heating system. Staff photo