Plumbing/central heating advice please

[Diderot]

Hi guys,

I'd be seriously grateful for some advice (and truth) about central heating/boiler installation etc.

Basically, our boiler is buggered and needs to be replaced. We've had 2 quotes so far, one more on Tuesday. First is £3,300 latest is £2.5k. (which is, to put it mildly, a ) Our GCH system is getting on a bit; it was apparently installed in the mid 80s, and so the response from the plumbers has been, sharp intake of breath, and a list of items that need doing if we are to meet building regs etc: new hot water tank (pre-lagged - ours has a jacket), new pipework to and from boiler, thermostatic valves on each radiator, new thermostat etc etc.

So my question, is this true? Or can they just replace the boiler?

Cheers

[Glassman]

visit the Totteringham thread - few plumbs and plumbers there

[cuneus]

Size of house ?
Bedrooms ?
Bathrooms ?
Occupants ?

What make/model are they quoting ?

[ferg]

The 'Energy Efficiency' rules will try to make you do most of this, but common sense should prevail. I wouldn't make anyone have a new cylinder. TRVs are part of the 'Benchmark' certificate that is required when a new gas appliance is installed and since most manufacturers use that as a basis for the warranty AND their contribution towards lower running costs is noticable, I'd get them done whilst the system is drained down.

As for a new thermostat... if you mean the Room Thermostat, is the old one working?? If so, keep it.

[wainy]

Just had a similar thing, new boiler (combi from normal) moved from kitchen to airing cupboard, 8 new rads (replace old) new valves and controller for £3400 quote (includes all fitting, new flue, and 24/7 parts andlabour for 1st 2 years)

[Diderot]

cuneus said:

Size of house ?
Bedrooms ?
Bathrooms ?
Occupants ?

What make/model are they quoting ?

Detached
3 Beds
1 bath
3 receps
Kitch/break

ETA: me and wifey

No make of boiler quoted, but 24kw



Thanks chaps

Edited by Diderot on Saturday 8th November 12:10

[cuneus]

Given that spec not sure why they are keeping the hot water tank at all.
A combi would seem OK

Even the best boilers are only going to be high hundreds £'s

[Baby Huey]

Yes, no need for a tank if you get a combi, we had an excellent Glow Worm 24 kw installed for around £1400, boiler itself was around £700.

[ferg]

Careful with the Combination boiler route though. There are quite a few downsides.

You may well need to increase the size of the gas supply due to the big outputs from the boiler. There is also more to go wrong, depending on the particular boiler. It will neccessitate the removal of any stored water and the availability of hot water in the event of boiler breakdown. Filling a bath, too, is slower with a Combination boiler even the big output 40-odd kW models. (see gas supply point above)
Hard water is a significant problem too and beware of the other side of the heat exchanger where particles in the heating system from the previous boiler will block it unless a Powerflush is done PROPERLY.
[gender stereotype mode]You'll also lose the airing cupboard which offends many women[/gender stereotype mode]Storing stuff in a boiler compartment is difficult within regulations.
Otherwise, choice is yours!!!

Edited by ferg on Saturday 8th November 13:04

[wizzbilly]

b&q was doing a special not that long ago , think it was something like 7-8 rad's and a combi boiler for under £1000

includes all flue , valve's , boiler , rad's

only other thing you need is copper and fitting's .

i have fitted a few of these system's and never had a problem with them and will meet your need's

is the shower electric or gravity ?

if you dont actualy need the rad's think the boiler itself is around 400ish but would presume you do as you said your old system was fitted year's ago .

[ozzerr]

Last week i purchased a 24 kw vokera including flue kit and v.a.t £389 of the shelf.

[ferg]

Good price, what model?

[V12Les]

No brainer, get a good quality combi, and dont go cheap, you'll get what you pay for. Get more quotes and a break down.

[FlossyThePig]

Your profiles says you are in France. Is the boiler for a French property? If so some of the suggestions here may not be applicable.

There are quite a lot of differences between house wiring in France compared to Britain so perhaps there are differences in plumbing practices and regulations.

[Diderot]

FlossyThePig said:

Your profiles says you are in France. Is the boiler for a French property? If so some of the suggestions here may not be applicable.

There are quite a lot of differences between house wiring in France compared to Britain so perhaps there are differences in plumbing practices and regulations.

FTP, this is for the UK gaff; the one in France is oil.

Thanks for all advice so far guys.

So basically, there's no need to replace the tank if I'm getting a condensing boiler, or I ditch it if I get a combi (but there are downsides to the combi). Either way, you guys think £2.5k is still steep?

I'm seriously tempted to just go down to screwfix or wherever and get me some nice slimline wall hung convection heaters and eff the gas (the way I see it paying £3k just to be able to heat the house is theft and an awful lot of electricity bills could be paid for out of it, and that's no factoring in the Russian's butt fking us in the future? Does the idea of electric heating sound remotely sensible or complete madness?

Cheers