British Gas C/H Quotation - Boiler Replacement

[mark harrison]

This is my first post so i apologise up front.

My parents live in a 1960 detatched house, they intend to replace th central heating boiler (Glow worm hideaway circa 1982) with either combi or a condensing boiler. They have been in touch with BG and got a date for one of ther engineers to come round and access the best option for them. I read with some concern that they need to powerflsh the syste initially at a cost i hear of up to £1k, then replace the boiler. M parents want the TRV's and controller relacing as well. Any ideas of cost we should be looking at? (The system presently has 1 radiators). Should we wait and see what they quote and then get the local heatin firm to come in as well ?? The reason for this work is that they need to remove the hot wate cylinder to create space in the bathroom and replace it with a showe cubicle (health reasons) and the existing boiler is unpredictable.

Thanks in advance

Mar

-- mark harrison

[mark harrison]

This is my first post so i apologise up front.

My parents live in a 1960 detatched house, they intend to replace th central heating boiler (Glow worm hideaway circa 1982) with either combi or a condensing boiler. They have been in touch with BG and got a date for one of ther engineers to come round and access the best option for them. I read with some concern that they need to powerflush the syste initially at a cost i hear of up to £1k, then replace the boiler. M parents want the TRV's and controller relacing as well. Any ideas of cost we should be looking at? (The system presently has 1 radiators). Should we wait and see what they quote and then get the local heatin firm to come in as well ?? The reason for this work is that they need to remove the hot wate cylinder to create space in the bathroom and replace it with a showe cubicle (health reasons) and the existing boiler is unpredictable.

Thanks in advance

Mar

-- mark harrison

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , mark harrison writes

I wouldnt touch British Gas with a bargepole - their prices are almost at Rogue Trader levels.

Make sure you get a few quotes, and have it done by someone who is recommended.

[John Rumm]

Welcome to the group!

(No need to apologies, you have not done anything wrong yet! ;-)

All boilers you can install these days will be condensing. A combi is one that heats the domestic hot water directly (usually) without any storage cylinder. (for the pedants there are some hybrid combis that include stored water all inside one box as well)

"Them" being BG no doubt... ;-)

Flushing (power or otherwise) is probably well worth doing. However there is no need for it to cost anything like that much (even from BG who are well known for charging twice to three times what anyone else would charge).

You could be looking at anything from about £1500 upwards. BG will no doubt come in nearer £3K!

No, get the local firm in now as well - no point in waiting. That way you should have a few quotes to compare.

[Broadback]

If they realy want BG and are not in a hurry get them round to give an estimate. Then, if at all like when I got an estimate for full CH installation over the next three months they kept sending me reduced new offers. Eventually it was slightly lower than the company I had to install it in the first place.

[tarquinlinbin]

Mark, as usual you will read a tirade of comments slagging off BG. There is good and bad everywhere and it is unfair to say that BG rip off all their customers/do crap jobs etc etc blah blah blah. This equally applies to independant contractors. The whole area is a minefield and you really do need to be sure that you are comparing like with like both in the equipment quoted for,the skill and ability of the installation team and the back up/service.

I have no particular axe to grind save for the fact that i worked for BG from 1980 until 1995 and installed heating for them most of the time.

Flushing of some description,prior to new instllation,is certainly adviseable. It doesnt necessarily have to be a powerflush job though,just get some Sentinel X400 or similar and put it in the system, let it run round for a week or so then flush out.

Always get a series of quotes but as i said,make sure your comparing like with like!

joe

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[Richard Faulkner]

In message , tarquinlinbin writes

Being told that a flush will cost £1,000 is a rip off, and nothing less!!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

True, possibly, but BG seem to quote near double the price that an independant does for like for like boiler replacement. Since they've got big purchasing power for the parts it means they're charging truly excessive rates for labour. Or just making a large profit. ;-)

[Ed Sirett]

Whatever BG quote the likelihood is that a fair price is around 60-75% of their quote.

My guess is that a mid+ quality boiler with new cylinder, TRVs and correct controls would come in around the 2000-2500 with all the correct paperwork etc. etc.

A good combi with TRVS and correct controls would be around 1250-1750 depending on the boiler and the difficulty of getting mains cold and hot to the boiler location and the work involved in a possible gas pipe upgrade.

[DJC]

Others have already said all tat needs to be said re BG etc. Get several quotes. When you have several you will probably not be comparing like for like, so compare specifications and use that as a guide to sorting out what you really would like. Then go back and get a requote on that basis. Repeat as necessary and follow any number of threads here on the topic boilers until you have found a quotation and a contractor you have some confidence in.

This is now the 'boiler season' as the plumber who installed my new boiler over the summer calls it. You will probably get a better quote and a less rushed job if you don't need it done right now.

[mark harrison]

Thanks for all the replies and help. The intention is to try and ge one quote from the local heating firm and one from a local sel employed heating engineer (need to ensure that he is corgi registere though) before BG come round. If my parents were to go with someone other than BG, would they stil have to come round and inspect the installation as they have CH cove with them and on there records would state the old boiler details ??

Thanks again

Mar

-- mark harrison

[Owain]

BG CH cover would (in effect) cease when you have the new system installed, so you might as well cancel the premiums.

You should get a 1-3 year manufacturer's warranty on the boiler anyway.

Owain

[Hugo Nebula]

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 07:52:03 +0100, a particular chimpanzee named mark harrison randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

If you're in the Merseyside area, whatever you do, _don't_ use Merseyside Central Heating.

[Dave]

I had a plumber in school the other day. I was not that busy, so I stated to chat to him about the scarcity of building tradesmen.

The subject got round to the fitting of my new boiler just before the regs came into effect. I had a standard boiler fitted on the grounds that the less there is inside, the less can go wrong.

We then went onto the subject of what part P says you can install.

He then amazed me by telling me that he paid a visit to his favourite plumbing merchants, who were just taking delivery of 100 standard Baxi boilers. So it looks like they are still making them.

After quizzing the merchants and ringing CORGI up, it came out that it is not illegal to sell the old style boiler, but he has not yet worked out just who is installing them. Maybe the DIY boys are buying them.

He also didn't get on his high horse, when I said you only need CORGI if you are paid to install. He agreed with me about DIY, but did emphasize about competency and the fact that it is not defined.

Dave

[John Rumm]

Yup they still make them, and in fact in certain circumstances you can still fit them legitimately. I was simplifying however ;-)

(it also seems that so long as you don't want certification paperwork etc there are plenty of plumbers who are happy to install non condensors as well).