quotes

[beatts]

Hi all,

having had our boiler condemned (rightly so - see flames escaping thread) we got a guy in from Iguana to quote us on a new combi system and this is what he said.

New 'A: rated combi condensing boiler
5 thermostatic valves (for our five rads)
new flue fitted to o/s wall. (boiler to be fitted on this wall so a hole needs to be knocked thro

brick up existing balanced flue outlet

£2800 fitted. this is keeping the boiler in the same place so no major extra pipework reqd really.

does this seem reasonable, a friend of a friend who is corgi registered quoted us around £1300 months ago how come he can do it so cheap.

who should i go for, - the expensive national company or the independant heating engineer, any thoughts

thanks

 

[boxster]

that is a very good price! alot cheaper than i would charge. Your friend of a friend give a price that sounds like a bit to cheap. The reason he might do it so cheap is maybe he bought a bargin off ebay or its a off the back lorrie boiler. I see people doing heating systems fully fitted for £1300 which is a joke. It means i am to expensive but judging by my work booked in thats not the case or he is got some scam going on. remember the person who fits your boiler can you call him back if something goes wrong? if you can hes ok! but his price is a snip, tell him to come and fit some for me lol

 

[beatts]

thanks boxster,

i;ll bear what you have said in mind when this guy comes round to give a second quote. Maybe the boiler he is using is off a lower efficiency etc, or maybe he just doesnt like making a huge profit. lol not after realising there is huge shortage of heating engineers nationwide, seems like a license to print money

 

[boxster]

lol

 

[ChrisR]

I just replaced an old Vaillant T3 combi with a Turbomax 828, with several metres of new pipe on the (bare) wall, for £1300. The old water was crystal clear so I didn't flush it, which would have been extra. It took a short visit to get the old one off the wall (about 19 screws and a lot of cement..) , the builder blocked the hole and I put the new one in a couple of days later. . That's a day and a bit for about £600. I did another one that week, and another 2 days at £200/day. And compared to most younger guys I'm very slow.

The quick guys get used to more than 1600/week, but to me it beats the hell out of electronics and programming which I was doing a few years ago, and got fed up with being out of date and redundant every 2 years!

 

[boxster]

i am 23 and i do all brickwork {~I HATE THAT } i do all electrics, plumbing and gas well a complate job. The price i charge i for a complete job but i must admit your price is very fair for the work you do

 

[ChrisR]

Well I'm just over twice your age - and weight probably!. I did renew the gas pipe - all 5ft of it, and put a stat and programmer on the wall.

Changing the subject a it - I'm looking at a way of replacing a boiler easily , where there's been a balanced flue. Right PITA waiting for things to set, and even then they're wet. Celcon make thermalite blocks - the usual is 3.5 newton, but they do do a 7 and a 10 newton. The 7 is a good strength and I had no bother getting a fixing for that turbomax with the usual 2 (!) screws provided - (I always stick a couple more in though). Have a look at Screwfix item 49040 - "Window and door fixing foam" 2 part stuff which sets fully in 30 minutes. "six dabs are as secure as any standard fitting" Sounds good enough to me. Maybe some wedges to hold the block while it goes off and a bit of fireproof foam can cover the other stuff, in the crack. Then at least you can hang the boiler and core the flue hole.

I have some to try, will report back. The blocks are ok to cut with a bolster, but an angle grinder is better.

Where are you working , by the way - for your price I mean? I'm London/Surrey border. And is it a Porsche or a Ferrari?

 

[boxster]

hey that sounds good i use scew fix all the time, i will llook for that.. I work in the newcastle, sunderland, stockton, and even as far as amble area... Yer i also drive a porsche boxster due to the great year i had last year... 0-60 in 5.2 seconds, top speed 168, colour is black like a puddle of oil, it looks and drives exellent!

 

[beatts]

obviously have huge profit margins driving a car like that. Is it any wonder people dont trust plumbers prices?

 

[oilman]

We're not all like that, (but I'm not a plumber) I have an R reg van and we have an N reg medium size diesel car, value about £1500. We don't have holidays either.

 

[ollski]

obviously have huge profit margins driving a car like that. Is it any wonder people dont trust plumbers prices?

Why?...if your stockbroker, accountant, branch manager, mobile phone/ settee/ carpet salesman can have one why should the guy who gives you hygenic water and a warm comfortable home not, especially when after he has serviced and inspected your heating he is legally responsible to ensure you and your family dont get killed by it for up to 12 months.

 

[oilman]

Good point ollski, my prices are now changing, I like Bentleys. My accountant charges £100 + per hour, and if he gets things wrong, it's my fault. Somebody who sells Koi bought a new Bentley for cash, he buys a fish for £300 and sells it for £5000.

The only time a job is a rip off is when it hasn't been done properly. If it is done properly, what's the problem?

 

[boxster]

hold on wait a sec before you start jumping mate... I provide a first class service, and as stated above its my name on the sheet. Just because i decided to buy a nice car dont mean i rip people off. I am busy all the time and have people working for me. I have a good name and again do a very good job. I own a porsche, so what, i work for it. I made 176,000 last year wouldnt you buy a nice car???? besides i have always wanted a new porsche from the factory.. I aint a plumber i am a gas engineer. When i do a service you can be sure thats what you get.. its programs like house of horrors that makes it harder for us to price for jobs. All my customers know the price before i start work, there are no extra charges. The price i quote is the price they get charged. If i replace a gas valve on a house warmer back boiler its going to cost £110 labour and £138 for the valve. thats £248 for 20 mins work. Then you have tests ect... which takes it over the limit. I can do another 5 service calls that day. 1 days work can make £780 thats not fitting any boilers or fires. Just basic labour!

If i make £700 a day think about the year ???

I do gas and asbestos and make a VERY good living doing it as i dont even start untill 11.00 am

everyone gets a chance to make money its just the lazy ones who get left behind!

not being nasty or anything but read more into the gas world and see how much we pay out for corgi, insurance, van tax, accounts, bank, ect...

i also agree with the above posts... if a job is priced and done whats the problem?

 

[beatts]

Please dont get me wrong. If you work hard - of course you are entitled to reap the rewards who wouldn't.

All I am trying to say is that in the plumbing / heating industry unlike say the electrical industry prices vary wildly. Not just by a few quid but by hundreds. Electricians generally quote on around £20 -£30 per hour for domestic work whereas people in your line of work quote anywhere from £15 - £100 per hour - with callout charges etc.

Im not having a gripe at you, but there are a lot of cowboys in this trade more so than anyother in my opinion.

 

[oilman]

If they're self employed, £15 is not enough to run a stable business, so it's either pocket money, or unstable. £100 it's not necessary to pay this much. You need to have someone who services your kit once a year who you can call on when other things need doing. He doesn't have to look for new work, and you don't have to look for new tradesmen. But he might not like this as he would have difficulty getting £176,000.

Call out charges should not be made for coming to do a job, if the job is done by whoever. It should be chargeable if someone comes to do a job and you send them away without their doing it.

Of course there are awkward customers about who get the job done and then make any amount of critisims in order not to pay. What we need is a "Customers from Hell" program as well.