Advice needed for Combi boiler replacement

A question about : Advice needed for Combi boiler replacement

Hi All,

Firstly, I apologize if this question has been asked before but I do not know anybody where I can ask for advice.

I have a ravenheat combi boiler and has broken down early this year. I have asked for an engineer to check this out before and had cost me around Ј60 just to check what was wrong with it and told me that valves needed to be replaced. It would cost around Ј400 so he said that it would be better just to replace the boiler.

This week, I've asked for a quotation from EDF energy, and given me an estimate of around Ј2350 incl. VAT, disposal of old boiler, 2 yr warranty and free servicing after one yr. They do a 12 month interest free credit.

I also got a quotation from a local plumber(only seen on yell.com website), and he is now giving me a rough estimate of Ј1500. THis includes disposal of boiler, installation/reinstallation of pipes (as he needs to change them from 15 mm to 22 mm) as he said as of April, by law they are required for put in a Combi Condesing boiler. He also said that it's required to install a building stat, so he would install a wireless one. He is goin to install a Worcester brand. He said the boiler itself would cost around Ј900. But he would give me a proper estimate next week.

Does anybody think this is a good estimate ? I am planning to ask for another opinion. Does anybody know a CORGI registered plumber in the Stockport area ? I live in a 2 story ex-council flat.

Thanks very much!

seaweed

Best answers:

• Ј1500 is a fair price for the installation of a Worcester boiler,upgrade pipes and fit a wireless stat.
• I would charge around £2k for this work, but i am an acredited worcester installer. You should get a standard 2 yr guarantee with this combi boiler. If he is a worcester acredited installer you may get an extra yr free.
  I do know that there is currently a worcester promotion on for the CDi range combi's. They are offering 5yr guarantee for these boilers fitted before end of august.
  Make sure that when it is installed that your Benchmark log is completed and the appliance is registered with corgi. After Jan 1st 2007 you will need this info for the homebuyers pack should you wish to sell your house.
  All new gas appliances should now be registered to the address they are fitted.
  For an installer near you click here:- https://www.corgi-gas-safety.com/
• Yes, Ј1500 is a fair price for a Worcester Combi inc. pipework and controls. He is advising you correctly that as of April '05 replacement boilers must be condensing type (with one or two exceptions which probably don't apply to you).
  Most important I think is to make sure that whoever is doing the job is going to do it right - it's generally best to get somebody who is recommended by a friend or colleague. I am a CORGI reg. heating engineer and I get 99.99% of my jobs from recommendation, in fact I don't think I advertised at all last year and still couldn't keep up with the workload.
  Good luck
  Dan
• seaweed5254:
  Thats does sound a good quote.
  I too live in Stockport and I am looking to have our boiler replaced soon.
  Can you give me your local plumbers details?
  As I might be putting some more business his way!!
  You should be able to send me a Private Message by clicking on my Name 'M4rky' on the left.
  Thanks.
• this guy about spot on with the worcester boiler they are one of the best and the price he has quoted is not bad,i have this system in my house and it verygood,
  Quote:
• i know it's been 4 months, but it's only now that i'm ready to pay for a new boiler replacement.
  the final quote for me 4 months ago was Ј1480. now i foned my plumber again and he made a new quote - Ј1550. he said that prices have increased over the last months. he said if i pay in cash, i can pay Ј1480. it's the same worcester boiler...
  he was suggesting, since i dont intend to stay long in my flat, to get a vokera brand. it's not as good as a worcester one. with that brand, he charged me Ј1350. And that was what i went for. Did i make the right decision ?
  by the way M4rky, i apologize as i haven't seen your message until now. are you still interested to get the details ?? i can PM you.
• Hello we live in stockport and had our boiler replaced about a month ago
  the company we used are called d crossley and son. they seemed very good although we went for a glow worm boiler as opposed to the worcester one thats been mentioned. anyway we found them really good they did a excellent job etc..
  w w w . dcrossleyandson . co . uk
• Hi moneytree123,
  I live in newcastle, and thinking of installing combi boiler, Can you let me know how much you spent on that, does it comes with any warrenty?
  Thanks
• we live in stockport and had our boiler fitted by Direct Line Maitenance Services Ltd and it was cheap. It also had a 5 year warranty.
  www dlmservices co uk
• My boiler was fitted around 2 months ago. The company, based in the west midlands charged Ј795 including parts and labour for the whole job.
  The reason I am posting a reply to this message is that I am sick of tired of PEOPLE GETTING RIPPED OFF BY PLUMBERS.
  We originally got 4 quotes for this job. The gas supply pipe also needed to be re-run as it was in 15mm and this is appaerently, while other companies were charging Ј250 for this alone, this company charged just Ј50 (it was only 2 meters and we actually supplied the copper pipe for this.
  We paid just Ј750 for the whole work.
  The quote was broken down like this:
  Glowworm Betacom 24 HE Combi Boiler Ј395
  Labour- boiler Ј290
  Chemicals for hot and cold flush Ј20
  Copper pipe 15mm and fittings Ј40
  Labour- copper run from meter to boiler Ј50
  Other- certificate, building control, balancing system, commissioning, all work to best practice.
  Total Ј795.
  This was around half of what other companies were charging.
  When I quizzed the engineer who had been working with that company for around 8 years he told me that it was simple. They buy big and sell cheap. He said they got that particular boiler for around Ј320 including flue, timer and clock. It would be available to the average person for over Ј500 inc VAT. They also buy fittings cheaper than most companies and pass the savings on. He said most weeks they fitted between 40 and 70 boilers per week.
  The cost some companies supposedly claim and actually have must differ greatly. This company said it relied soley on customer referals and word of mouth. Please be aware of companies that charge more than double what other companies charge and ask for a complete breakdown of costs.
  A combi boiler swap should typically not cost you over Ј900 and thats if you want it re-sited!
  If you are in the birmingham and surrounding area its possible to get a boiler swap for under Ј900 and thats with additional work included (including changing a washer on a shower head and tightening two taps and replacing one- although I did pay for the tap)
  Quote 1 (accepted) Ј795
  www.newboiler.co.uk new boiler
  Quote 2 (declined) Ј1790
  heat247.co.uk
  Quote 3 (declined) Ј1627
  combidocheatingandgas.co.uk
  Quote 4 (declined) Ј2400
  British Gas
  It just makes me so angry that plumbers can abuse the good nature or the vulnerability of customers, especially in the midlands. A friend of mine recently had her boiler serviced at a cost of Ј110 +VAT. I know its a good idea to do these kind of things but to pay that much?
  Get as many quotes as you can and dont pay ANY money up front. If its a good, decent and reliable company that you get to work for you they wont ask for any money up front.
  Always ask for an ID card and make sure you dont get someone illegal working in your house!
  I know this website is about saving money so good luck to everyone.
  RANT OVER.
  Merry Christmas everybody and a Happy New Year.
  Byeeeeeeeee!
• Sounds poor, chemicals should be dearer, even if they're Ј10 each, (sentinel isn't)
  flush the old system, flush the new, and then inhibitor is three lots, and a magnaclean is always a good bet with a new system if you want it to last.
  What about TRV's?
• Inhibitor Ј3
  Cleanser Ј15
  TRV's around Ј5 each, Ј3 if you buy in bulk but may have been present already?
  Hot and cold flush is ideal and a magna clean may have been suggested but customers dont want to pay the extra in my experience. We can only advise.
  The above does seem a cheap price however. We pay Ј450 for that boiler inc VAT; but depends on how many you buy I suppose.
  mrcentralheating does some amazing heating pack prices if anyone is interested.
  Regarding the above posting on www.newboiler.co.uk I know this company quite well. I know where they buy their stock from and they buy lots of it so yes it will be cheaper than the average engineer can get it. I havent got a bad word to say, they have lots of engineers and seem to be busy all year around. Lucky for some hey!
• Also a powerflush is a good idea also, but it will cost around Ј400.
• It would be around 8 hours to do the work. 6 on the first and 2 on the second. So charging Ј250 labour (which is what I would have to charge to match that offer) would still mean me earning around Ј40 per hour. Just goes to show that some companies that charge ridiculous amounts like Ј2000 for a straight swap are simply over overcharging- whatever that boiler!
  A 24kw boiler would typically be ideal for a small flat or house. Anything bigger would require a more powerful boiler.
  I have just checked www.newboiler.co.uk and there is lots of stuff adding there now so have a read if you dont know much.
  You can build your own quote which is quite innovative- might work well.
• HI, the Ј400 was not just for labour. Ј400 is for labour, chemicals and the supply and fit of a magna clean- which is a must for obvious reasons!