New boiler and bathroom advice and options

Evening all,

Looking to replace my dated bathroom and have also considered changing the boiler/hot water tank/loft tanks.

3 bed house built by local authority in 1959. Had central heating fitted maybe 70-80's? Currently all rooms have rads and are fed from above as ground floor is concrete. No probs as hallway and sitting room have boxed in/hidden pipes and it looks ok.

Bathroom is above the kitchen and in the kitchen is the boiler at head height... Potterton Netheat.

Airing cupboard with large tank. Lagged but only with wrap around stuff half falling off.

Loft has cold water header tank (massive galvinised one) and radiator expansion tank - plastic.

Bathroom has cold feed from the loft, kitchen from the mains.

Should i convert to combi and pressurised heating system. Family 3 bed house so is that considered OK or inadequate? Simply replace the boiler with a smaller more efficient one..?

I live here by myself so a combi would be perfect for me..... washing machine is cold feed and who has baths these days...? I do shower though!

Depending on the above, do i go electric, grvity or pumped shower?

Getting pipes from boiler to bathroom is easy.

A High Efficieny Condensing Boiler and your up and running,

although I would bet a pound to a pinch of salt that the pipework needs cleaning thoroughly. IME some pipework close to the boiler may need to be changed.

The amount of years you are talking is enough time for carbon deposits to build up to unbelievable propotions.

Do yourself a favour and get BG to quote first.... its a free quotation and your under no obligation to commit.

Electric showers tend to be a last resort. Ok for flats with fortic tank or as a second shower. But if you enjoy showering and think that it will be used a lot, then I would go for a good mixer quality valve.

A gravity system with a pump pros and cons.....

Pros...... Multiple body jets options; Higher performances; Other services can be used without effecting shower.

Cons..... Hot water can be used up very quick if not careful; Pump can be a bit noisy; Showers only available when hot water is on.


Combi boiler

Pros...... Showers always available; Good pressures ( depending on incoming mains pressure )

Cons..... Not usually enough flow to handle more than one shower outlet ( ie no body jets ); Other services can effect shower ( ie flushing loos )

Remember also that if you do go for the gravity and pump route, water is more likely to splash everywhere, so a good enclosure is important - shower curtains or screens may not be enough.

Sounds ideal for conversion to combi system, get a 28kw minimum for better flow rate, electric shower as a backup when it fails or thermostatic mixer valve shower if you want a decent shower.

Upgrade the radiator valves to thermostatics and a programmable room stat.

Have the existing system powerflushed.

That will be £2450 excluding the shower, please.

I did a similar survey two nights ago.

My advice to them was new hot water system, new controls, condensing system boiler, but relocated to other end of kitchen as adjoining properties are too close for a nuisance plume to be tollerable. Also fitting bathroom and recommended a Trevi Boost shower. A more expensive option is unvented cylinder but I seldome recommend this as the Trevi Booost is an excellent shower, and I can think of no other place in a home with a loft where extra hot water pressure is required.

I have yet to write up the quote.

I also shall include in the quote a combi, but shan't put the weight of my recommendation behind it. I would recomend at least one electric shower with a combi for the two weeks in December while you can't get anyone to come and change the diverter valve.

Thanks for the replies.

I do fancy a good combi.. can they support a nice shower. Im not too fussed about the extra jets etc as the bathroom is quite small and I will have to have a shower in the bath.

How much depth in a wall is needed for a mixer? Reason is the two walls I would put the shower on are drywall to the back bedroom. Maybe a shower panel is better option but i do think they look like something out of a tanning salon (Well i suspect they are like that... never been to one!)

Hmm if only the bathroom was a bit bigger then a lot of my problems would be solved.