Oil Central Heating Installation Costs

[Honeydipped]

I want to install oil central heating in a 2500 sq ft house in a rural area that I am currently renovating. The insulation levels will be high in the property, but this will be offset by a fair amount of glazed areas.

How much (ballpark figure) should I be allocating to the costs of getting someone to install a floor standing oil fired boiler, oil tank and associated cylinders / cold water tank etc. I can deal with installing all the radiators and pipework for the rads myself. I will need to pay VAT on the installation.

From recent experience in getting quotes for various things I find that

they have varied wildly depending on anything from the weather to whether people could be even bothered to turn up!

[Michael Chare]

One issue to bear in mind is the flue. A balanced flue is likely to be cheaper, but you may not like the fumes.

Installing an oil fired boiler is not that difficult. If you would install a gas one, there is no reason why you should not install an oil one.

I was quoted over £1,000 just for replacing my flue liner. The materials cost me about £250

[Peter Crosland]

I had some experience of this earlier in the year. As far as I can see much of the cost is because plumbers are in short supply and can therefore charge very high rates. However, much of the work does not require a high skilled plumber to do the work. You might want to get a plumber to oversee the work whilst you do much of it assuming you can persuade one to do so. Certainly the oil tank does not need a plumber to install it nor does the fitting of the boiler into place. You need to get an OFTEC certified installer to commission the boiler and tank. My experience was that all the installers asked to quote expected to charge the full retail price for the boiler this providing them with an imediate profit of some £600.

Peter Crosland