Not DIY but advice needed.

My Mum wants to do away with her immersion and loft tank (surveyor says loft tank in need of replacement, also convenience of instant hot water etc.). She has had a quote from a guy who used to be the plumber at her factory before it shut down and they all got made redundant. He has set up on his own and is CORGI registered, I asked her to make sure and look at his card! She doesn't need a combi as she has gas wall heaters and doesn't want radiators so it is just for hot water, also removal of loft tank and copper cylinder etc, (the boiler is going in this cupboard). He has quoted her "about £800, might be a bit cheaper". I appreciate you cannot see the pipe runs but the gas supply is on that side of the house, almost below where the bolier is going and presumably it is a case of connecting to the hot water pipework to that already in the cupboard, and a new rising main feed to the boiler. She is reluctant to get another quote because "George is alright, I've known him for years!" Is this a reasonable quote based on the information I have given?

If this helps with the boiler spec. it is a 3 bed semi with one bath, one sink and the kitchen sink . Bathroom is above kitchen and the 'immersion cupboard' is next to the bathroom so pipe runs are only quite short from the boiler

Cheers

John

Reply to
John
Loading thread data ...

As a punter, "about £800, might be a bit cheaper", sounds very good, and a combi is a fair solution to the problem. It will be a fairly basic boiler though, unless he is making very little on it.

Perhaps he feels he is a friend and as he is just starting, wants good recommendations from satisfied customers.

Is it near Bristol?

Reply to
EricP

Not a combi as it's only for heating. A multi-point, I'd guess.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

This isn't a bad price at all. An instant water heater costs about £350 with all the bits, so £450 for what will probably be 3 days work is not unreasonable. There's a fair amount of fiddling to do.

Do check the mains water flow rate before committing to this, though. Use a bucket or other container of known volume and see how long it takes to fill at the kitchen tap. To get reasonable results you need to have around 20 litres/minute.

She also should be aware that in the winter, the hot water rate will be less than the summer and less than she has now. If she is OK waiting longer for baths etc. than at present and having the extra space is more important, then that is OK.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Reply to
Andy Hall

A combi does us very well for hot water in the summer months when the heating is off - why is a combi "only for heating"

Nick

Reply to
nick smith

============= I assume that you mean, "..............only for heating *water*....." in which case I would agree that a multipoint seems to be the simple answer. As a multipoint costs about £350 and there seems to be very little new pipework involved in this case I think she should at least get another quote for the job. Labour rates vary considerably from one area to another and £800-00 seems to be a little high for a provincial plumber.

Cic.

Reply to
Cicero

Brain fart - left out water. It's only needed to heat water - not central heating.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Many thanks for the replies, especially the ones that read my posting before replying ;-). She had another quote tonight from a plumber (over the phone) who has worked for her friend, similar job. He gave her a 'ball park, finger in the air' price of between £900 and £1000, another fella is coming to look on Friday, she lives in Leeds. In answer to Andy's statement about pressure, she has loads of it, turn the cold tap on too quickly at the kitchen sink and it looks like you didn't get to the toilet quick enough!

Thanks again

John

Reply to
John

He says combi and it may just be that. For e.g, just under £400 gets you a combi from B&Q that gives 11 litres/min, some dealers do good deals to the trade. A common multi-point does not give that flow rate. It is easy to fit a combi and only use the DHW side. Also the combi is available if they ever want rads or heat a cylinder, or just a towel rail. I would fit a combi.

Reply to
IMM

Wow. For the second time in two days, I'm in agreement! (Provided she is aware of the significance of the limited flow rate).

Multipoints tend to be fairly low quality old inefficient designs. Many don't even modulate, making the water temperature fluctuate even at low flows. The combi will usually provide a better and more stable system and probably with a higher flow rate, too. However, the installation will be slightly more complex and might involve slightly more external pipework. This is probably outweighed by the fact that you could install central heating later for little additional cost (just a few radiators, TRVs, room stat and some pipes). Even if she is anti-radiator herself, the fact that real central heating could be added cheaply would add to the value of her home if she decided to sell.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.