You still have hot water, but the radiators and baseboard are cold.
That usually means the boiler is firing, but the heat is not reaching the radiators or baseboard. The first safe check is the thermostat: set it to Heat and a few degrees above the room temperature. If the house stays cold after that, the next step is boiler repair—not a new water heater, and not another reset.
Showers are hot and every room is cold?
Check the thermostat, then see whether the boiler is warm and the circulator is humming. Do not open the cabinet, the wiring, or any gas parts. Shop hours are Monday–Friday, 7:30 AM–4:00 PM, Saturday by appointment—not overnight dispatch. Call (774) 226-6062 or request service and say the house is cold but the hot water still works. If you smell gas, leave and call 911 and the utility, then use gas leak detection.
1Name this morning before you call the boiler dead
In a lot of homes here, the same boiler makes the hot water for showers through a coil or a separate tank. Hot showers plus cold radiators usually mean the boiler has heat, and that heat is not moving through the house. A silent, cold boiler is a different morning.
Stay on this checklist when:
- •Showers are still hot and the radiators or baseboard are cold through the house.
- •The boiler feels warm, or you can hear it fire, but the rooms do not heat.
- •You do not smell gas and you are not standing in water.
Leave this page when:
- •The boiler is cold and silent: use why your boiler won't kick on.
- •Only one radiator or one zone is cold: use why one radiator is cold.
- •The gauge keeps falling: use what it means when your boiler keeps losing pressure.
- •Water is under the unit: use why is water leaking from my boiler.
- •The main problem is banging or kettling: use why is my boiler making noise.
- •The faucets have no hot water: use no hot water this morning.
2Do the homeowner-safe checks only
You can gather useful clues without opening a panel, touching wiring, or working on gas parts. Those steps belong to a licensed tech.
Safe to look for:
- ✓Thermostat mode, setpoint, and batteries. Heat mode, a few degrees above the room, and fresh batteries if the display is dim.
- ✓The boiler service switch. It often looks like a light switch on or near the unit. Leave it alone if you are standing in water.
- ✓Whether the boiler is warm and the circulator is humming. A warm boiler with a silent pump is a different morning than a cold, quiet unit.
- ✓A glance at the pressure gauge. If the needle keeps falling, leave this page for the pressure article instead of guessing a refill here.
Stop there. Do not open the burner cabinet, pull thermostat wires, or relight a gas boiler.
3Circulator pump not running
The circulator moves hot boiler water out to the radiators and baseboard. It can stop while the boiler still fires, and while a coil or tank still supplies showers. If the boiler is warm and the pump is silent—or it only hums and the pipes stay cool—the house will not heat.
Book boiler repair when the pump is quiet or humming and the rooms stay cold. Do not open the pump or its wiring.
4Stuck zone valve
A zone valve that stays shut can block heat to a loop. One cold room belongs on why one radiator is cold. When every room is cold, it may be the main zone, or more than one valve, not a single radiator.
Book boiler repair if the thermostat is calling for heat and the whole house still will not warm up. Do not force a valve by hand unless a tech has already shown you that exact valve.
5Thermostat or control
A thermostat left on Cool, a dead battery, or a control that never starts the pump will leave the house cold even when the boiler can still make hot water. The safe checks above cover the thermostat itself. After that, the control board and the wiring are not a homeowner job.
Book boiler repair when Heat is selected, the setpoint is above the room, and the house still stays cold. Do not pull the thermostat off the wall or jump wires.
6Air in the lines
Air can sit in the radiators or baseboard and keep heat from moving, even when the boiler is warm. A gurgle through the whole house is often a tune-up conversation. A single cold radiator is the other article, not this one.
Book hydronic boiler maintenance when the system still mostly heats and you want the air removed or a seasonal check. Move to boiler repair if the pump or the valves are not moving water. Do not crack bleed valves you have not used before.
7Choose repair, a tune-up, or a later replacement talk
This article stays with the symptom. The pages below keep a warm boiler with cold rooms from landing on a silent no-heat checklist—and keep an aging boiler from sitting only on a parts guess.
Go to boiler repair when:
- •The whole house stays cold and the hot water still works.
- •The circulator is quiet, a zone never opens, or the controls are not sending heat.
- •The thermostat is already on Heat and set above the room temperature.
Boiler & furnace repair is the visit for that. From there you can request service or contact the shop.
Use a different page when:
- •Air in the lines, and the house still mostly heats: hydronic boiler maintenance.
- •An older boiler keeps losing heat after a pump or control repair: heating installation.
- •A cold silent boiler, one cold room, a falling gauge, a puddle, or a noisy fire: use the matching articles above.
Replacement talk waits until someone has seen the unit. Pinette does not run 24/7 dispatch. Monday–Friday, 7:30 AM–4:00 PM, Saturday by appointment.
8What to do while you wait for a tech
A few notes help the visit start faster than another guess at the cabinet.
Do this:
- •Write down whether the boiler is warm and whether you hear the circulator.
- •Note the thermostat setting and whether every room is cold or only one.
- •Say that the hot water still works when you call or request service.
Avoid this:
- •Opening the cabinet, the pump, or the wiring.
- •Jumping thermostat wires or forcing a zone valve.
- •Staying in the house if you smell gas.
When you are ready, request service or contact the shop and mention hot water with cold radiators, whether the boiler felt warm, and whether you heard the pump. Call (774) 226-6062 during shop hours if you would rather talk it through.
Hot water, cold house FAQs
Why do I have hot water but no heat?
Many boilers also make shower water through a coil or an indirect tank. Showers can stay hot while every radiator stays cold. That usually means the boiler has heat, and a circulator, zone valve, thermostat, or control is not sending it through the house. Set the thermostat to Heat and above the room temperature first.
Does hot water mean the boiler is still running?
Not by itself. An indirect tank can stay hot for a while after the boiler stops. If the boiler is cold and silent, use the article about a boiler that will not kick on. If the boiler is warm and the rooms are cold, book a repair visit for the pump, valves, or controls.
When should I book a repair instead of a tune-up?
Book a repair when the whole house stays cold after the thermostat is set to Heat, the circulator is quiet, or a zone never opens. A tune-up fits when the system still heats and you want air removed or a seasonal check. If an older boiler keeps losing heat after those repairs, the later conversation is replacement.
Final thoughts
Hot water with a cold house is easier to sort when you name the pattern first: the boiler is warm, the rooms are not. Check the thermostat, listen for the circulator, and leave the cabinet closed. Book a repair visit when the pump, a zone valve, or a control is the likely stop. That keeps this article useful without turning it into a second service page.