Boiler replacement cost. Any heating engineers?

A

A320_phill

Member
 Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
Bought a 23 year old 3 bed semi back in October with the plan of replacing the boiler. I am guessing it is the original as it looks very old indeed, has a water tank and all the associated pipe work.

Before I start getting quotes to remove the water tank and replace with a combi, what sort of ballpark prices should I be looking at?

Over the phone I have been told anything from £2200 to £2800 depending on the boiler I choose. I appreciate it is impossible to give exact figures without seeing the property.

Also, has anyone recently done similar and noticed much difference in their bills or house warmth? My radiators never seem to get very hot even after bleeding.

Thanks again for the help!
 
I think there is a bit more detail to consider before anyone could give a more reasonable estimation:

Will the replacement boiler be located in the same place? Most times they are re-located to less obtrusive places, like away from the kitchen to airing cupboards, the loft, garage etc.

Why are you doing away with the hot water storage system?

Are you looking for a good quality boiler or the cheapest option? There was a post on here recently on the merits and recommendations of boilers.

Theres' quite a difference in labour rates depending where you are which may need to be considered.

There may be lots of other things to consider with your CH system, condition of pipework, radiators, control valves, circulating pumps, blockages, thermostats etc etc which any good CH engineer would advise on.

I would guess if it's a straightforward replacement boiler, in the same place, no 'extras' like those quoted, then £2500 + is a reasonable estimate, I would budget for nearer £3000.
 
Just had a thought that affected us recently whereby the kitchen installers required our electrical system to be brought up to date and certified before they were allowed to work on it.
Being 29 years old could still have old fashioned fuses etc.
Hoping I'm not being seen as negative, just a few thoughts of a retired engineer who is no longer allowed to carry out some basic electrical jobs around the house because of H&S legislation.
 
I got a friend to do my boiler who is a British gas engineer. Cost me £1500 supplied and fitted, but that was more or less cost with a few quid his way for some beers. Worth considering that you might need to enlarge the gas supply pipes. Think our old boiler was something like 10-15mm copper pipe where we needed 22mm IIRC.

In regards to the radiators i would advise to fit thermostats on each rad so you have better control and can balance the system better. It also makes a huge difference where the thermostat is located. Ours was in the hall which was naturally colder than if it were in the lounge. You might want to consider moving it if you find some rooms are hotter than others. We moved ours to the lounge as its where we spend most our time so prefer that room to be the correct temp over any other. :)
 
ekimj10 - definitely not coming across as negative. I would prefer honesty and if the truth hurts then so be it!
Lots of things I hadn't considered regarding possibly relocating the boiler and pipe work condition. Obvious once you mentioned them but not things I had thought of.

simonlpearce - thanks for the response. Again, more food for thought. Might be a bit naive now that I am thinking properly about it. I have a guy coming on Monday for advice and a quote who is recommended by family. I could be in for a shock!

Thanks again.
 
Just had a Worcester Bosch greenstar 34cdi fitted in the last two weeks
The boiler was £962 and £630 to remove and fit plus £48 for odd bits
Bear in mind if you need a new magnaclean that's about £200.

Hope this helps
 
As well as Worcester Bosch, have a look at Intergas boilers. They are picking up rave reviews from installers and customers for only having four working parts and their quietness in operation.
 
I had a intergas boiler a rated conventional boiler fitted in 6 hrs supplied and fitted 4 bed detached nearly a year ago .it has cut the gas bill by half

well pleased :thumbsup:
 
You also need to check the size of pipework running under the floors phiil, if it's 15mm all the way then that's a lot of the reason your rads don't get hot, you need 22mm runs right through the house then they can branch off to 15mm close to the rads. If the pipework is all plastic speedfit etc in 15mm then the pipe inserts bore size drop it down to 10mm so hence you need 22mm runs in plastic especially, and ideally in copper as well.
 
Sorry mean't to add this as well, no point putting a new boiler in at the not out of the way quoted prices and not get your pipework up to size, the new boiler will just shunt on and off, on and off because they get up to temp internally very quickly but if they're strangled they can't get the heat around the house fast enough, so you may well need new pipe runs throughout, worth it though, new boiler and pipes = toasty phiil. :thumbsup: Worth mentioning also is Aero-therm is a 1mm thick 'plaster' that uses Aerogel developed by nasa, it absorbs heat then radiates it back into the room, it's being used in Europe and will be in the UK very soon, it's incredible stuff, I've got a sample in the freezer, it's a 3mm thick metal plate that you get cold burns off if you're not careful but the 1mm thick aero-therm side is almost at room temp even in the freezer, you can hold against your face and within seconds it's warm, i'm skimming out our garage conversion and house walls in it later this year, should only need to heat the house for an hr a day it's that efficient.
 
john-e89 said:
You also need to check the size of pipework running under the floors phiil, if it's 15mm all the way then that's a lot of the reason your rads don't get hot, you need 22mm runs right through the house then they can branch off to 15mm close to the rads. If the pipework is all plastic speedfit etc in 15mm then the pipe inserts bore size drop it down to 10mm so hence you need 22mm runs in plastic especially, and ideally in copper as well.[/quote


Has someone spiked your drink John :oops: you reckon all pipe runs should be in 22mm copper or the rads won't get hot :o :P the gas feed to the boiler should be 22mm but ive never seen any house with 22mm copper pipework to the rads :cry: it would cost the earth :o
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mr wilks said:
john-e89 said:
You also need to check the size of pipework running under the floors phiil, if it's 15mm all the way then that's a lot of the reason your rads don't get hot, you need 22mm runs right through the house then they can branch off to 15mm close to the rads. If the pipework is all plastic speedfit etc in 15mm then the pipe inserts bore size drop it down to 10mm so hence you need 22mm runs in plastic especially, and ideally in copper as well.[/quote


Has someone spiked your drink John :oops: you reckon all pipe runs should be in 22mm copper or the rads won't get hot :o :P the gas feed to the boiler should be 22mm but ive never seen any house with 22mm copper pipework to the rads :cry: it would cost the earth :o
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Ha no unfortunately..the house i'm working on at the mo has 22mm copper right through. I said you need 22mm runs then branch off to 15mm up to the rads, admittedly it's needed more in plastic due to the pipe inserts.
 
My own house had old leaky 22mm copper as well until I ripped it all out only to have the pikey's drop by and nick it all from behind the skip, I swear those buggers can smell it from a hundred yards away... :D
 
john-e89 said:
My own house had old leaky 22mm copper as well until I ripped it all out only to have the pikey's drop by and nick it all from behind the skip, I swear those buggers can smell it from a hundred yards away... :D
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Yeah they have a in built sensor to alert whenever metal is close by :P pity they aren't as good at finding a job :o
 
They we're determined to have it, I kept putting it and the old boiler in the garage every night then taking it out in the day due to needing access, I got fed up moving it so after 8 days I left it out overnight and damn me it went, they knew i'd get fed up moving it. I'd've given it to charity rather than those thieving feckers... :headbang:
 
I have a Worcester Bosch combi, reasonably pleased with it but glad that I have a maintenance contract. It's failed a couple of times and would have been expensive to fix. That goes for all combi boilers I am told.

Living in a 160 year old detached Victorian house I'm very interested in the Aero Therm product mentioned above. I've had a quick Google look at claimed thermal conductivity values and will do some calcs to see if it's as effective as they say.
 
It's ideal if you hav'nt got any cavaties dr-john as you only lose 1mm off your internal walls and so don't need external wall insulation which you wouldn't put on a Victorian house, they're also looking to put it on plaster boards. Another product which will be available is an underfloor or wall heating mat again 1mm thick so you just put it under your carpet, or before wood floor goes down, run it off a thermostat at low voltage, it also can be cut or a hole punched in it and the only bit that fails is the cut bit, they're hoping to use it on railway platforms etc. Some brilliant stuff being developed.
 
mr wilks said:
john-e89 said:
You also need to check the size of pipework running under the floors phiil, if it's 15mm all the way then that's a lot of the reason your rads don't get hot, you need 22mm runs right through the house then they can branch off to 15mm close to the rads. If the pipework is all plastic speedfit etc in 15mm then the pipe inserts bore size drop it down to 10mm so hence you need 22mm runs in plastic especially, and ideally in copper as well.[/quote


Has someone spiked your drink John :oops: you reckon all pipe runs should be in 22mm copper or the rads won't get hot :o :P the gas feed to the boiler should be 22mm but ive never seen any house with 22mm copper pipework to the rads :cry: it would cost the earth :o
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Now get with the program Mr Wilks, for arguments sake it's done in 22mm copper, done right that will potentially take hot water round and keep our friend phiil warm for 50-60 yrs + with no maintenance @ around 15quid 3mts for the work it does for that length of time that's not only cheap it's free! :P In that time he could easily get through 4-5 boilers and keep the same pipes. Now lace those booties up and have a walk up the lane in the morning to clear that Lancashire fog from your noggin sir :poke: :thumbsup:
Sorry for the thread hi-jack op :oops:
 
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