Plumbing Quotes !!

[chanakyapundit]

Hi everyone,

I am a first time buyer muddling through the madness of a house purchase. I posted some questions on the electrical forum and got some excellent advice, so coming back for more, this time on plumbing...

Background: I am buying a 1930's semi-detached (1200 sq ft, 2 rooms+kitchen+WC downstairs, 2 regular and one small bedroom upstairs, one on-suite and one family bathroom).

I got my first plumbing quote from a local plumber and wanted to check with this forum if this is reasonable or not. He has quoted£10k (£5k for material, £5k for labour, + 20% VAT). The question is.. is this fair and how can i bring this down ?

Requirements (material+labour):

1. Supply and install a new plumbing and heating system incorperating a 250L unvented Megaflow hot water cylinder in the loft.

2. Install a new Worcester Bosch system boiler in the loft.

3. Install 8 new radiators complete with new valves including thermostatic valves at one end, a new gas main from gas meter to new required points; use plastic under the floors, and copper above.

4. A new water mains throughout the house. Upgrade incoming pipe from pavement to fit requriements of megaflo.

5. A new soil and vent pipe to pick up waste.

Fitting only:

1. A new bathroom (tiolet, basin, shower cubicle, bathtub)
2. new ensuite (toilet basin, shower cubicl)
3. New WC on ground floor (toilet and small basin)

Unfortunately, I dont have the splits and have contacted the plumber for more details.

Thanks again for all your help. Any advice is welcome !

Regards
Sunil

 

[Dan Robinson]

Sounds fine... from the information you have given anyway.

 

[Tibbot]

The question is.. is this fair and how can i bring this down ?

Only you can decide what you think is fair. This forum is meant for technical advice. You can always bring prices down by doing the work yourself.

 

[Diyisfun]

I would think twice about boiler in the loft.
I had my boiler installed there 7 yrs ago, thought what a good idea, saving space.
BUT
When it trips as it does often its a pain in the R's resetting & of course you dont know its tripped until there is no hot water.

 

[Dan Robinson]

A new boiler installed properly shouldn't cause a problem in the loft. It is an ideal place for all of that stuff really.

 

[Diyisfun]

A new boiler installed properly shouldn't cause a problem in the loft. It is an ideal place for all of that stuff really.

Mine was installed properly, It seems that most boilers have common faults, & my potterton was no exception.
I just posted a piece of advice.
Oh also forgot to say, bathroom hot water quickly, kitchen long wait, then you have all the hot water in the pipe that goes cold, 30mins later want more hot, long wait again then more waste.

 

[Dan Robinson]

It was not installed correctly then. It was incorrectly specified.

PLUS it was a Potterton.

I need say no more

 

[Diyisfun]

It was not installed correctly then. It was incorrectly specified.

PLUS it was a Potterton.

I need say no more

Wont argue, as I was trying to give advice that anyone should be thinking about, it may never even cross the minds of most people.
But installation & specified boiler are two different things.
If you bought a new car that had a manufactures recall (fault), does that mean you bought the wrong car for your needs? (ie specification)..

 

[dcawkwell]

I would suggest a glow worm ultra power for your house size.
A cross between unvented cylinder and combi. It will
be cheaper than separate and faster to install.
Forget putting it the loft. Unless there is easy access.

 

[Jezclayton]

Quote as it stands isn't unreasonable, but i would get a couple of others as you might well get a more competitive price in the current market.

Seriously question if an unvented cylinder is merited for this property and this could be adding as much as £2,000 plus VAT to the overall cost. Modern combination boilers are very reliable when properly installed and correct specification should more than satisfy your requirements. Boilers such as the Remeha Avanta coupled with a Remeha iSense will allow much of the control to be conducted remotely from the boiler and thus minimise the necessity to climb into the loft.

 

[sooey]

Here's a good plumbing quote


"Sh*t runs downhill".

 

[DeltaT2]

I so wish we could get £10K + vat for a wee job like that!!

I'd worry a wee bit about anyone that estimates a job with a 50-50 split like that???!! Let's just look at the £5K Labour;
At £30/Hour that's 166hours!!! Any Plumber worth his salt would do a job like that in half that time!!!

I think you should get further estimates.

 

[oilboffin]

I agree with you delta the labour is high and in mho I think there is a large mark up some ware in the quote too

 

[doitall]

£12K inc VAT is well over the odds for a small job and an average boiler, unless there's a lot of hassle factored in.

Get another couple of quotes, including BG.

 

[Stingray13]

Does seem a little high but it all depends on what actually needs doing, we can all guess what needs doing but the soil alone could be an absolute nightmare.