My three boiler quotes/advice
Discussion
Sorry if brief but but wanted to get the wheels in motion on this discussion!
Had 3 quotes: 2 normal people (one guy from my village who seems the best), one guy who looks after nextdoor neighbours, and BG.
My 'house' is essentially a very large 3 bed bungalow with large open plan living area. we currently have a 700 year old (27 really) 'heatslave' old skool (floor mounted (and effing huge)) combi. these are the 3 options we've had so far. does anyone have any views...? does anyone have any 'questions'?
finally we want the flue to go through the roof rather than wall cos we'll probably add an extension at some point and it'll be way easier this way.
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/product...
(not clear whether includes the magnetic bits collecting thing)
Quote = £3750
British Gas - Based on Worcester Greenstar range (BG532i) wall mounted (central heating output = 30kw). Unique to British Gas
http://www.britishgas-savings.co.uk/boilers/boiler...
also includes the magnetic 'bits collector' and some other de scaler thing - worth the money?
Quote = £3576
Boiler man #2 no boiler specified - 39kw (is this central heating or domestic hot water DHW?) Quote = £3113 (although this does not include vertical flue through roof)
all help very much appreciated because whilst these quotes are roughly the price i expected there is a bit more variation in spec...
Had 3 quotes: 2 normal people (one guy from my village who seems the best), one guy who looks after nextdoor neighbours, and BG.
My 'house' is essentially a very large 3 bed bungalow with large open plan living area. we currently have a 700 year old (27 really) 'heatslave' old skool (floor mounted (and effing huge)) combi. these are the 3 options we've had so far. does anyone have any views...? does anyone have any 'questions'?
finally we want the flue to go through the roof rather than wall cos we'll probably add an extension at some point and it'll be way easier this way.
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/product...
(not clear whether includes the magnetic bits collecting thing)
Quote = £3750
British Gas - Based on Worcester Greenstar range (BG532i) wall mounted (central heating output = 30kw). Unique to British Gas
http://www.britishgas-savings.co.uk/boilers/boiler...
also includes the magnetic 'bits collector' and some other de scaler thing - worth the money?
Quote = £3576
Boiler man #2 no boiler specified - 39kw (is this central heating or domestic hot water DHW?) Quote = £3113 (although this does not include vertical flue through roof)
all help very much appreciated because whilst these quotes are roughly the price i expected there is a bit more variation in spec...
Just had a Vaillant combi fitted in my 3 bed house, magnatec cleaner, all pipework, etc.
The boiler itself was £1250 incl the vertical flue and magnatec, it took 3 days labour to fit the new boiler, remove the old boiler and connect it all up.
There are some ancillaries like the control boxes etc, so say £1500 for the kit/bits assuming no radiators were required.
The rest will be labour. Plumbers make ALOT of money on fitting boilers because people generally don't question that element which is labour.
I had several quotes in your ball park before finding a decent plumber recommended by a friend, it's come in at the £1500 + £650 labour. Which I think is fair.
What part of the country do you live in? Obviuosly if your in London labour rates will be much higher.
HTH
Edited to add, pretty much all the research I did and questions I asked came back with either Worcester or Vaillant, I think they are pretty much equivalent. Plumbers like them because they're easy to fit and maintain.
The boiler itself was £1250 incl the vertical flue and magnatec, it took 3 days labour to fit the new boiler, remove the old boiler and connect it all up.
There are some ancillaries like the control boxes etc, so say £1500 for the kit/bits assuming no radiators were required.
The rest will be labour. Plumbers make ALOT of money on fitting boilers because people generally don't question that element which is labour.
I had several quotes in your ball park before finding a decent plumber recommended by a friend, it's come in at the £1500 + £650 labour. Which I think is fair.
What part of the country do you live in? Obviuosly if your in London labour rates will be much higher.
HTH
Edited to add, pretty much all the research I did and questions I asked came back with either Worcester or Vaillant, I think they are pretty much equivalent. Plumbers like them because they're easy to fit and maintain.
Edited by Timmy35 on Wednesday 18th August 08:59
When BG quoted us they seemed to be throwing in 5 years or so of their top level breakdown cover (this also covers the entire system not just the boiler), it was like warranty extension on steroids. I ended up switching to oil (was lpg not mains gas) but that made their quote for me one of the more attractive ones. Worth checking to see if they have done the same with you, or if not if they will chuck it in.
Edited by touching cloth on Wednesday 18th August 09:06
thanks so far.
nearish MK so not the dearest nor the cheapest part of the country..!
what i guess i was wondering about was actual specs of boilers..
(and are these magnet things worth it??).
and is the BG boiler basically exactly the same as a particular worcester but with a different case or something..??
in previous house my previous boiler cost 1800 fitted but was a normal system with tank etc. and wasn;t the best. this was in herts so dearerish labour...but it was a lower-rent boiler.
i guess i really need to look at the costs of the actual devices...
nearish MK so not the dearest nor the cheapest part of the country..!
what i guess i was wondering about was actual specs of boilers..
(and are these magnet things worth it??).
and is the BG boiler basically exactly the same as a particular worcester but with a different case or something..??
in previous house my previous boiler cost 1800 fitted but was a normal system with tank etc. and wasn;t the best. this was in herts so dearerish labour...but it was a lower-rent boiler.
i guess i really need to look at the costs of the actual devices...
This is what I got, a Magnaclean.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Magnaclean-Professional-cent...
In the context of a £2-3000 boiler job, spending £100 on a device to stop the boiler blocking up with crap seemed like a small additional spend for some potentially valuable boiler life extension.
How much hot water do you want? A 34kw boiler will chuck out about 14 litres a minute. You need ( obviously ) to have adequate water pressure and gas supply to get that!
I went for a 34kw which was £850 because I couldn't see the point in saving £200 buying a smaller boiler then finding that you didn't have much of a shower.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Magnaclean-Professional-cent...
In the context of a £2-3000 boiler job, spending £100 on a device to stop the boiler blocking up with crap seemed like a small additional spend for some potentially valuable boiler life extension.
How much hot water do you want? A 34kw boiler will chuck out about 14 litres a minute. You need ( obviously ) to have adequate water pressure and gas supply to get that!
I went for a 34kw which was £850 because I couldn't see the point in saving £200 buying a smaller boiler then finding that you didn't have much of a shower.
Kindersley said:
Have any of them mentioned new rad valves etc or maybe even new runs to the rads??
New boilers DO NOT LIKE old pipes and valves
New valves maybe, but not necessarily. As for new pipework, apart from new pipes if the boiler location has actually moved, I can't see why you'd need new pipework. Obviously you'll want the system flushed out, but after that I don't think the boiler particularly cares whether the copper pipes are 1 day or 10 years old. They are a conduit for the water flowing to and from the boiler, as long as they allow that water to flow freely it'll be fine. New boilers DO NOT LIKE old pipes and valves
illmonkey said:
Worcester are rated very highly by my plumber.
Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Th BG boilers are just re-branded worcester. Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Edited by illmonkey on Wednesday 18th August 08:52
Road2Ruin said:
illmonkey said:
Worcester are rated very highly by my plumber.
Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Th BG boilers are just re-branded worcester. Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Edited by illmonkey on Wednesday 18th August 08:52
illmonkey said:
Road2Ruin said:
illmonkey said:
Worcester are rated very highly by my plumber.
Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Th BG boilers are just re-branded worcester. Don't go with BG, if its unique to them, parts will be hard to get.
Get a specific model from the 3rd guy. It maybe rated higher but maybe a crap make bigging up numbers.
Edited by illmonkey on Wednesday 18th August 08:52
kers when it comes to having a new boiler fitted. Don't go BG
Do get a power/chemical flush
Do get a Mag filter - and watch what somes out after a year - it's quite impressive! Even though my system was flushed through and was pretty clean considering, the gunk caught after 1st year service showed me the filter does its job.
I got a Vaillant and they would offer a 5yr warranty instead of a 3 year if I had the filter fitted.
Do get a power/chemical flush
Do get a Mag filter - and watch what somes out after a year - it's quite impressive! Even though my system was flushed through and was pretty clean considering, the gunk caught after 1st year service showed me the filter does its job.
I got a Vaillant and they would offer a 5yr warranty instead of a 3 year if I had the filter fitted.
briSk said:
..yes they all include power-flushage.
views on this then:
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
ta
Not sure how much space you have etc but why look at a floor stander when a wall mount can free up the space? They can also be hidden away inside a kitchen cabinet.views on this then:
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
ta
Edited by briSk on Wednesday 18th August 12:59
cjs said:
briSk said:
..yes they all include power-flushage.
views on this then:
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
ta
Not sure how much space you have etc but why look at a floor stander when a wall mount can free up the space? They can also be hidden away inside a kitchen cabinet.views on this then:
Boiler man #1 - Worcester Greenstar Highflow 440CDI (Central heating output = 29w) - floor standing
ta
Edited by briSk on Wednesday 18th August 12:59
hmm.
i need to check the figures quoted tonight but based on one timmy 35 says..i should be expecting a quote of 2500 or so all in. i guess theres a bit of extra time for 'making good (existing vent thing in wall) and a bit cos of the vertical flue (one of those roof hole things) but still, it looks as though 'the best man' is a grand out.
let's face it the work will be done in flaming september so not exactly over-burdened you'd have thought...
i think some figures checking and then a conversation needs to be had...
i'll pay a little more for a local non-dodgy chap..but there's more and there's more...
i certainly can;t see how it can be over £ grand on the face of it. so that's at least £750 i need off.
hmm
i need to check the figures quoted tonight but based on one timmy 35 says..i should be expecting a quote of 2500 or so all in. i guess theres a bit of extra time for 'making good (existing vent thing in wall) and a bit cos of the vertical flue (one of those roof hole things) but still, it looks as though 'the best man' is a grand out.
let's face it the work will be done in flaming september so not exactly over-burdened you'd have thought...
i think some figures checking and then a conversation needs to be had...
i'll pay a little more for a local non-dodgy chap..but there's more and there's more...
i certainly can;t see how it can be over £ grand on the face of it. so that's at least £750 i need off.
hmm
re the floor stander.. this IS something i was going to discuss with him.
basically it's because there's a bespoke cupboard built in by the bathroom and the esisting boiler is floor mounted (they don't make anything strong enough to hold that effort against a wall!
).
i think he's just elected to do a like for like.
but because we want the flue through the roof i think this is even more of a reason to go wall mounted (although it's semantices because there's not loads in the price). the other thing i wondered was that this actuall model does 'sound right' for us so there might be an element of that.
the existing boiler is ste and gives off enough heat to dry towels etc ( 
) so it might make sense to be floor mounted and then have towel rails in the cupboard above the boiler.
basically it's because there's a bespoke cupboard built in by the bathroom and the esisting boiler is floor mounted (they don't make anything strong enough to hold that effort against a wall!
).i think he's just elected to do a like for like.
but because we want the flue through the roof i think this is even more of a reason to go wall mounted (although it's semantices because there's not loads in the price). the other thing i wondered was that this actuall model does 'sound right' for us so there might be an element of that.
the existing boiler is s
te and gives off enough heat to dry towels etc ( ) so it might make sense to be floor mounted and then have towel rails in the cupboard above the boiler.briSk said:
hmm.
i need to check the figures quoted tonight but based on one timmy 35 says..i should be expecting a quote of 2500 or so all in. i guess theres a bit of extra time for 'making good (existing vent thing in wall) and a bit cos of the vertical flue (one of those roof hole things) but still, it looks as though 'the best man' is a grand out.
let's face it the work will be done in flaming september so not exactly over-burdened you'd have thought...
i think some figures checking and then a conversation needs to be had...
i'll pay a little more for a local non-dodgy chap..but there's more and there's more...
i certainly can;t see how it can be over £ grand on the face of it. so that's at least £750 i need off.
hmm
If you're going vertical flue, and you have the loft space, seriously put it up in the attic. It's pretty common now. i need to check the figures quoted tonight but based on one timmy 35 says..i should be expecting a quote of 2500 or so all in. i guess theres a bit of extra time for 'making good (existing vent thing in wall) and a bit cos of the vertical flue (one of those roof hole things) but still, it looks as though 'the best man' is a grand out.
let's face it the work will be done in flaming september so not exactly over-burdened you'd have thought...
i think some figures checking and then a conversation needs to be had...
i'll pay a little more for a local non-dodgy chap..but there's more and there's more...
i certainly can;t see how it can be over £ grand on the face of it. so that's at least £750 i need off.
hmm
Have you thought about asking around friends for a recommendation of a good plumber who has worked for them in the past? The vast majority of plumbers are s
t heads IMO, so getting a good/decent one in my experience comes via a personal recommendation. It is also worth doing some research and knowing what you'll need/ asking for. I had quotes of upto £3500 + VAT. Cheeky buggers.
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