cost of a new heating system

[ladylola]

Originially I posted this in the trade forum but in retrospect here would make more sense so here goes-
Ok one for the heating engineers out there.
I'm looking at redoing the heating on my parents house, the present system is probably over 20 years old and only covers downstairs so I want to put heating upstairs as well.It's a two bed semi by the way.
I've had one quote which includes a worcester 28i boiler with remote sat , 7 rads and towel rail plus some additional pipework to relocate the boiler and lay in a point for a cooker. This came in at £3450 which I felt wasn't too bad but thought for peace of mind I'd ask what others felt.

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[Agile]

That sounds quite reasonable if its to be a good job done by a professional.

Using my rule of thumb unseen quotation method it came to £4040. But that can often be trimmed after a site visit as its designed to be a worst case cover.

But in a recession you could probably get it done for about 30% less if you get more quotes but then you risk a shoddy job. Better to stick to someone with a reputation to protect.

If you know nothing about the quoter ask him for addresses where he has installed full heating and go round and see what they think after the event.

One of the differences between a cheap job and one done properly is that there is no response if there are any queries after the bill has been paid. A professional will be available to give advice and help with any problems.

Tony

 

[simond]

As a Gold Level Worcester accredited installer, I can tell you that if you find one in your local area (see Worcester's web site) you will get a 7 year warranty on 25Si and 30Si combis, and some other models.

Worth having..... and as the installer are doing the necessary numbers of boilers to qualify they are going to be familiar with the product and (hopefully) can be relied upon to be competent.

 

[swbjackson]

Worth having..... and as the installer are doing the necessary numbers of boilers to qualify they are going to be familiar with the product and (hopefully) can be relied upon to be competent.

 

[ServiceNumpty]

My tuppence worth, get the 30si instead of the 28i Junior, the installer may upgrade you foc, if you give him the job with the 30si & check what warranty they give, as mentioned it should be 7 years if they are an accredited installer.

 

[ladylola]

To update-
Just had BG round to look at it , although they have still got to do a full survey. The engineer has said that the water pressure is insufficent to run a combi which probably explains why the house currently has a tank heated with a back boiler so has advised that we most probably need to change track a little. Without a proper survey he couldn't give us a quote but did say off the top of his head a ballpark figure would be around the £5000 mark from British Gas

 

[ChrisR]

BG will rarely be the cheapest - unless they're doing a promo!
You may get an independent subbie even if you choose BG though.

It's unusual but not unheard of, to have too little pressure for a combi in a house.
You can verify to some extent - try turning your cold mains tap(s) on, eg kitchen ans outside taps. With them both open full at the same time, see how long it takes to fill a standard bucket (usually 9 litres).

Then, can you, or someone with a strong thumb, stop the mains coming out of the tap?

You may have good pressure, OR good flow, but not the other.
If you get over something like 17 litres per minute, and it's really hard to hold the water with your thumb, then you should be OK.

Extended warranties are fine, but remember you have to have the thing serviced every year to keep it.
Almost nobody actually does that, because it's expensive.

 

[ladylola]

We tried with the kitchen tap on full turning the bathroom taps on and practically nothing came out.
I've spoken to the second guy to give us a quote and he said that the water board (severn trent by us) have a duty to provide 14L per minute , so have spoken to them who are coming out next week to check on the pressures.
I understand that BG wouldn't be the cheapest , I called them to see the "top end " qoute if you like

 

[doitall]

Think you'll find that should be 9-10Ltrs/min.

If you upgrade the service pipe to the property, too 32mm you probably would get that easy, but you need pressure as well if, you want to to get upstairs.

 

[Agile]

You really should be considering the dynamic flow rate.

About 10 li/min @ 1.0 Bar is the minimum for a combi boiler when a shower is used.

Tony

 

[ladylola]

dynamic flow rate.

this could really confuse a humble joiner

 

[davidgcroydon]

I've just gone with a quote to replace my Potterton Flamingo II standard gas boiler and replace with a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 37CDi, also replacing 7 TRV valves. They are also fitting a pump to pump the condensate from beneath the boiler up into the loft space and into the soil stack. The work on the roof also requires scaffolding to go up 3 storeys (I'm in a townhouse).

All in it comes to £4,800 inc VAT and with a 7 year warranty parts and labour on the boiler (subject to be serviced annually by the installers).

They will also be disconnecting our power shower pump