New Combi Boiler Reqd,

[ewanrob]

anyone had one supplied & fitted lately...trying to get an idea of cost for a 30kw size...any help much appreciated.

[bfccrazy]

http://www.boilergrants.org.uk

Start here and see if you qualify for the grants being given for them.

[tim_noone]

Buy cheap buy twice...get a good one is my advice.

[ewanrob]

We've had a Vokera for nigh on 17 year...its just about to give up the ghost (heat exchanger gone) and now all parts obsolete !!

[claretnproud]

did my house up 3 years ago and installed new plumbing throughout costing 1100 quid labour....my advice is ask your plumber his advice on which type to get then pay him to fit it. I bought mine off the internet instead of local plumbers merchant and the exact same one was £300 cheaper. if plumber says he wont fit a boiler unless he supplies then get another plumber. some like to put a substantial mark up on for doing nothing.
plenty of reviews online then make sure it is a type with readily available parts. mine was just over 800 quid and perhaps cost 2 or 300 to fit.

[Herts Clarets]

And if you are local to Burnley, I can pass on the name of a decent guy who will fit, workload allowing. He is ex British Gas, was an apprentice to my step father and a bloke I have known for about 35 years.

[Sutton-Claret]

When it comes to boilers plumbers have favourites based on which is the easiest to install and what discounts and rewards they get. I used to design commercial and domestic boilers up until about 10 years for an engineering consultancy (non biased). The best by far were the Worcester bosch and Veissman. Not as cheap at Potterton / Baxi /Halstead but far better engineered. Most now have stainless steel heat exchangers which will last forever.

[ElectroClaret]

Good money saving tip here....
If your plumber has an account at Screwfix, he can buy it for you and get ten pc off for you.(think it's ten)

Thinking of a new one myself, my plumber/gas fitter mate reckons a good balance
of price, reliability and efficiency are Ideal boilers.

Screwfix is behind KFC. Loads of boilers in their catalogue.
Might be the same with places like Plumb center.

[bfcjg]

My contractors tend to prefer baxi for parts, reliability and ease of service, however as mentioned above you get a lot of boiler for your money with a Worcester and a lot of contractors prefer them. Fit a magna flow and some suppliers will even increase the warranty period.

[evensteadiereddie]

I had a Worcester fitted last year, absolutely superb and every bit guaranteed for ten years. I thought I'd knackered it recently when I bled a radiator and it wouldn't come on but a handy little sticker inside the door told me simply to top up the pressure (video on youtube) and all was well.

[ewanrob]

Yep been looking at a Worcester Bosch last night, how much did you pay if you don't mind me asking evensteadiereddie

[MACCA]

I got a baxi fit the other year. 5 year parts and labour gurantee.
Not heard a dickie bird out of it ( not that you should at 2 year old like )

As the poster above says Veissman, Worcester , Valliant and baxi are the best options ( well least they were when I was on the tools ) depending on your budget and what sort of guarantees you're after.

Don't touch
Ravenheat
Ferolli
Biasi
Ideal
They were shockers, and the Blackpool of boilers!

[Sausage]

I had a Worcester Bosch boiler installed five months ago. I simply asked what boiler the plumber had installed in his own house, knowing that he would have installed the best rather the cheapest boiler in his own gaff. No point telling you what I paid for it as I live in south east London. Let's just say I wish I'd invested in Bitcoin!

[ewanrob]

Reason I ask on price, is that we have had the BG Homecare for a few years. They came to our house last night, quoted the hole lot (Worcester) + additional stuff that is now a legal requirement that wasn't on my old unit...£2400 job done. Sounds a lot...but as I say I have nothing to gauge it against at the moment.

[MACCA]

Reason I ask on price, is that we have had the BG Homecare for a few years. They came to our house last night, quoted the hole lot (Worcester) + additional stuff that is now a legal requirement that wasn't on my old unit...£2400 job done. Sounds a lot...but as I say I have nothing to gauge it against at the moment.

You from Burnley?
What's the additional stuff that is now a legal requirement?
Also is boiler going in same place, and what boiler is in now?

Never use British gas, expensive compared to what you can pay.

[Rowls]

Most plumbers have deals with specific boiler companies. They get commission. So when they say "I really recommend XX brand" what they're looking for is either commission or to use up the boilers they have in stock which they bulk-bought from their supplier at a discount.

Nothing wrong with them doing this (they've got to earn a living as best they can) and they *might* have a deal which is right for you. BUT - you want to make sure they're selling you a boiler which suits YOUR needs rather than just whatever they have in stock or get commission for.

So: Do your own research - you can do this with Which online or just by checking out forums and taking advice from friends/relatives.

To really save money buy the boiler you like best directly from a trade dealership (after researching trade prices online) and then get quotes from plumbers for installation only.

You can save yourself a couple of hundred quid doing it this way because you're not going to get over-charged for the boiler by the plumber and you have the upper hand negotiating a price for installation because they're essentially just plumbing it in for you.

[Sutton-Claret]

I had a BG quote for a small rental property in York. Even with their 50% discount offer they were still a few hundred quid more than an independant plumber - like for like Worcester boiler with TRVs on each rad.

[mealdeal]

The only issue with buying your own boiler and then getting an engineer to fit it, is that it muddies the water when it comes to under guarantee problems. Whose fault is it, if something isn't right 8 months down the line? If the plumber sources and fits the boiler then the onus is on them to correct it, but if you supplied the boiler and its that at fault then it might get complicated.

Of course, if the plumber in question is happy to fit on that basis then fair enough, but I'd have the conversation beforehand.

[Rowls]

As has been said - Do NOT go through British Gas or any other energy supplier.

Use a well referenced, independent plumber who has references from people you trust.

Ask round your mates and take their advice. If you know anyone who's had work done recently their recommendation is worth more than anything else you'll find.

[MACCA]

Rowls - Its ok saying that, but you might pay £800 for a boiler at a trade counter, that the plumber may have got £650.

You are correct they sometimes get other bits chucked in, when the plumber picks it up, but it maybe fittings etc for your job, a bit harsh thinking they will over charge you for the boiler, or add money on to the bill.

Also, if you buy the boiler and simply "pay someone to fit it" they are also relying on you picking up all the necessary gear. Are you willing to pay the plumber for any time, or wasted day should you not collect everything needed for the job to be completed.

There's more to it, than buying a boiler and just paying someone to fit it. Price of copper and fittings have gone through the roof, so you may end up paying more in the end anyway.

Also there's the guarantee issues then too, should he just turn up and fit it.

[Rowls]

Rowls - Its ok saying that, but you might pay £800 for a boiler at a trade counter, that the plumber may have got £650.
You are correct they sometimes get other bits chucked in, when the plumber picks it up, but it maybe fittings etc for your job, a bit harsh thinking they will over charge you for the boiler, or add money on to the bill.
Also, if you buy the boiler and simply "pay someone to fit it" they are also relying on you picking up all the necessary gear. Are you willing to pay the plumber for any time, or wasted day should you not collect everything needed for the job to be completed.
There's more to it, than buying a boiler and just paying someone to fit it. Price of copper and fittings have gone through the roof, so you may end up paying more in the end anyway.

As I said, they *might* give you a good price. They *might* be able to offer you better than you can find yourself. But unless you're willing to look round you'll never know for sure.

I got my boiler for £450 (it was discounted at the trade dealership) but two plumbers quoted me £600 for comparable boilers - which they no doubt managed to buy for a discount themselves.

It doesn't matter how much the plumber bought the boiler for, what matters is how much they're willing to sell it to you for.

It's not a case of plumbers being "cheeky" or ripping you off. Most plumbers I've met and used are decent people who do good work. It's simply a case that if a plumber negotiates *himself* a discount by bulk-buying boilers he is more likely to see that as *his* discount. Therefore when he quotes you for a boiler he quotes you the full price. There's nothing wrong with that but if you are willing to go direct to a merchant and get that discount for yourself you can save a bit of money.

Plumbers tend to bulk buy from specific manufacturers which is why they normally "recommend" certain brands. That's fine if it suits you. I was offered perfectly good boilers by plumbers but managed to get a better deal going direct to a trade dealership myself.

And of course -yes- as you point out, if you buy direct from a plumbers merchant you have to pick up the boiler yourself. That was a hassle but given that I saved a few hundred quid it was well worth it. You shouldn't have to pick up anything other than the boiler itself though if it's a simple like-for-like replacement. The plumber should have the necessary tools. My plumber pointed out that he needed to replace a small section of pipe too for which he gave me a small charge (which perhaps he wouldn't have bothered to charge for if it hadn't been an installation-only job) but that was perfectly fair and I still saved a couple of hundred.

Edit - and there isn't any guarantee problem at all. The boiler is guaranteed by statutory rights and by the manufacturer and the installation is guaranteed by the plumber.

[MACCA]

As I said, they *might* give you a good price. They *might* be able to offer you better than you can find yourself. But unless you're willing to look round you'll never know for sure.

I got my boiler for £450 (it was discounted at the trade dealership) but two plumbers quoted me £600 for comparable boilers - which they no doubt managed to buy for a discount themselves.

It doesn't matter how much the plumber bought the boiler for, what matters is how much they're willing to sell it to you for.

Plumbers tend to bulk buy from specific manufacturers which is why they normally "recommend" certain brands. That's fine if it suits you. I was offered perfectly good boilers by plumbers but managed to get a better deal going direct to a trade dealership myself.

That's fair enough. I can only speak from experience, however, I never baught boilers in bulk. I always discussed what sort of budget they had, and liked to see what sort of preformance they needed to be satisfied.
It's ok saying I'll buy a £700 top of the range boiler, and then it not doing the business.

Or buying the cheapest out there, only to realise ot's let you down.

Ask friends, get recommendations, get a couple of quotes and get the exact details of boilers, timers and thermostats etc as it all mounts up, and 1 plumber might undercut another by what looks like a substantial amount, but the extras are not the same quality, and you will suffer.

[ewanrob]

Condensor drain from memory and a couple of other things...not got quote in front of me. Their estimate on the install was £1750 which made me gulp I can tell you...reduced boiler from 1200 to 500...just trying to contact a few friends of friends to get prices. Cheers for the guidance

[Rowls]

That's fair enough. I can only speak from experience, however, I never baught boilers in bulk. I always discussed what sort of budget they had, and liked to see what sort of preformance they needed to be satisfied.
It's ok saying I'll buy a £700 top of the range boiler, and then it not doing the business.

Or buying the cheapest out there, only to realise ot's let you down.

Ask friends, get recommendations, get a couple of quotes and get the exact details of boilers, timers and thermostats etc as it all mounts up, and 1 plumber might undercut another by what looks like a substantial amount, but the extras are not the same quality, and you will suffer.

Quite right.

I had the time and was willing to do the research and make sure the boiler I chose was up to spec and could comfortably provide the output I required. I actually went a bit over to ensure it wasn't pushed too hard.

I also got lucky in finding a local merchant who had a suitable boiler for me (I could have bought 3 or 4 from different brands that fitted by requirements) which they were heavily discounting at the time.

It depends how much work people are willing to put into it. For example, I even thought about plumbing the boiler in myself (ie. hooking up everything apart from the gas) which I am perfectly capable of doing but (a) I wanted it done by somebody who is actually a professional and (b) more reputable plumbers wouldn't have taken on that job.

The plumbers who gave me full quotes gave me fair quotes. It's just that I was able to find a cheaper alternative.

[MACCA]

There is a gurantee grey area.
Scenario.
Plumber fits boiler, 3 months later it starts to play up, you ring manufacturer, finds its a small error, or something simple to sort. As there's nothing wrong with the product supplied, they charge you £100

Or You ring plumber, he says, ok I can come and look but since you supplied the boiler, if I come and it's down to the manufacturer, I will have to charge you for my time diagnosing the issue.

I've always used recommendations and build up a trust or understanding with the fully qualified skilled expert. It usually works out well for all parties.
Trying to save bits here and there, can sometimes cost you more in not just financial ways.

[Rowls]

Condensor drain from memory and a couple of other things...not got quote in front of me. Their estimate on the install was £1750 which made me gulp I can tell you...reduced boiler from 1200 to 500...just trying to contact a few friends of friends to get prices. Cheers for the guidance

A good plumber is a highly skilled professional and you have to ask yourself what kind of wage that dictates.

Fitting a boiler (installation only, no unforeseen problems) should be a day's work for a skilled plumber. I think that's fair.

So how much is fair remuneration?

I'd say IRO £200 labour + £500 boiler = £700

That's a very fair wage for skilled work in my book and that's the kind of quote I'd be looking for.

But you DO want to make sure it's a skilled, experienced plumber with recommendations.

[basil6345789]

As a guide take 50% off the British Gas price.
I'd advise you to call Chris Lawson on 07976928741

[MACCA]

Condensor drain from memory and a couple of other things...not got quote in front of me. Their estimate on the install was £1750 which made me gulp I can tell you...reduced boiler from 1200 to 500...just trying to contact a few friends of friends to get prices. Cheers for the guidance

I'm not fully clued up now a days as I'm out of the game, but a condensate pipe, needs to run to a drain or tapped into a nearby waste pipe, easy peasy job usually.

Wow £1750 is a lot.
Used to fit a boiler in a day, could do 2 if like for likes.

I got mine done for £1800 all in

Baxi boiler 5 year parts and labour gurantee.
Relocated to attic from bedroom ( basically lifted up 10 foot )
2 new rads piped up, but was on the circuit.
( I supplied and fit them myself , just got piped up )
Wireless timer and thermostats
All outside pipes extended to new location ( condensate & gas )
Old hole bricked up, new hole cored through etc.

Took him a day and a half in total.

[Rowls]

There is a gurantee grey area.
Scenario.
Plumber fits boiler, 3 months later it starts to play up, you ring manufacturer, finds its a small error, or something simple to sort. As there's nothing wrong with the product supplied, they charge you £100

Or You ring plumber, he says, ok I can come and look but since you supplied the boiler, if I come and it's down to the manufacturer, I will have to charge you for my time diagnosing the issue.

I've always used recommendations and build up a trust or understanding with the fully qualified skilled expert. It usually works out well for all parties.
Trying to save bits here and there, can sometimes cost you more in not just financial ways.

That's fair enough but if you have a basic knowledge you can normally tell whether it's a manufacturing fault or a fitting fault. Agreed there is a small risk of being caught in the middle of such a hypothetical dispute. But if you understand the risk and weigh it up then it's up to you. I was willing to take that risk for the money I saved and I believe it's paid off.

[MACCA]

£200 a day for a self employed gas engineer is cheap as chips.
Find 1 willing to fit your boiler for that, snap their hand off.
10 hour day minus tax, van, insurances, apprentice and it's about £10 an hour...

[MACCA]

That's fair enough but if you have a basic knowledge you can normally tell whether it's a manufacturing fault or a fitting fault. Agreed there is a small risk of being caught in the middle of such a hypothetical dispute. But if you understand the risk and weigh it up then it's up to you. I was willing to take that risk for the money I saved and I believe it's paid off.

That's good, I think the message is then,
Do your research
Way up the pros and cons for your situation/knowledge

There's no 100% guarantees which ever way you do it.

[Rowls]

£200 a day for a self employed gas engineer is cheap as chips.
Find 1 willing to fit your boiler for that, snap their hand off.
10 hour day minus tax, van, insurances, apprentice and it's about £10 an hour...

Depends which way you look at it...

£200 x 5 days a week = £1000 a week = £52,000 a year.

£52,000 is a VERY healthy wage.

Of course, you've put the other side to it - the tax, the expenses, the small parts they might not charge for, their expertise, their travel costs, VAT etc etc.

And if being a plumber were as straight forward as installing boilers 5 times a week then EVERYBODY would be doing it.... ... but it's much trickier than that!

Plumbers are (generally) skilled and honest tradesmen so I don't like to mess them around but I do like to negotiate a good price.

£200 would be my opening offer (Hey! I'm not rich and if I always took a first quote I'd be even less rich!) to which I might expect a plumber to snort or laugh at and say they couldn't do it at that price. To which I tend to reply, "Oh well I'm not rich and my budget is small. Tell you what - you tell me how much you want for a day to install it?" then the plumber says, "£300" and I say, "How about we meet in the middle at £250?" and we tend to agree on something like that.

I'd adjust it according to how much experience the plumber had. If it was a mere slip of a lad, fresh out of an apprenticeship I'd go lower. If it's a chap with leather for hands I'd be willing to pay him a bit more.

I think I paid between £200-£250 for the day's installation of my boiler. That was a LOT of money for me and I didn't consider it cheap but he was a good plumber, I think it was a fair price and it was a price I negotiated as opposed to what was quoted.

If a plumber knows you've gone to the hassle to buy your own boiler they tend to appreciate you have a handle of how much things cost.

[pureclaret]

Hi not saying this is cheap but British gas wanted to charge me £4,500 for this
• Baxi duotec ERP33kw (7 year warranty) £882.00
• Vertical flue £90.60
• 2 x flue elbow £73.10
• 2 x flue extension £82.80
• Roof flashing £33.50
• Magnaclean system filter £86.00
• Honeywell wireless control £114.50
• Consumables pipe fitting inhibitor £175.00
• Warranty Registration
• Gas Safe Building regulation Certificate
• Labour £375.00

Materials and labour £1912.50
I have a hive unit too that means i can switch on and off from mobile phone
Bloke who did mine is from rossendale
ABV plumbing called Richard on 07501018811.
Hes been back to service it and do a couple of other jobs for me around the house, works clean and took all old parts away and packaging even got out his own vacum.
Also this was in a bungalow and put in the loft i have easy access to it as boarded the floor. British gas wanted to move it to another part of the loft.
I know you can get things on line and save a little but for me I would not know what I needed so would either end up buying more than i needed so higher cost or not enough so having to pay for extra and that costs more.

[claretnproud]

Good money saving tip here....
If your plumber has an account at Screwfix, he can buy it for you and get ten pc off for you.(think it's ten)

Thinking of a new one myself, my plumber/gas fitter mate reckons a good balance
of price, reliability and efficiency are Ideal boilers.

Screwfix is behind KFC. Loads of boilers in their catalogue.
Might be the same with places like Plumb center.

my plummer mate told me exactly the same so I got an ideal boiler for around 800 quid. Had no bother at all and it has been installed for about 3 1/2 years. decent boiler at a fair price.

[Sausage]

• Consumables pipe fitting inhibitor £175.00

£175? For inhibitor? F**king hell!

[KeighleyClaret]

I had an Intergas 40kw boiler fitted recently by an excellent plumber from Barlick. Very high quality boiler made in Holland. Simplicity itself and can work in open vented, combo or however you want. It’s quiet and has proved 100% reliable. I paid about £1100 for the boiler.

[JarrowClaret]

I had a Worcester Bosch fitted about 4 years ago cost me about £2500 all together I think, but my system was full of sludge so some of that cost was rectifying that. At that time if you bought there filter as well you hot a 9 year warranty might be 10 now. The filter sticks out and is extremely ugly though something to weigh up might he one that does the same is less ugly. I have not had an issue with mine I get it serviced annually as well though.

[evensteadiereddie]

My Worcester Bosch RI - suited for a small or medium - sized house cost perhaps £800 and is or was the Which ? Best Buy for seven years running.
My plumber, an ex-headmaster of mine believe it or not, supplied and installed it, filter, system clean and a few valve replacements for £1400.
Theres probably a bit of a mate's rate in there but if you go on the Worcester Bosch website, you'll see their prices/quotes.
It was put in the loft in exactly the same spot as the knackered old one so there wasn't much new re-piping or venting to do.
He's Corgi-registered and all the rest of it, Worcester Bosch posted the certificates and guarantee just days later.
Go for it - the increase in flow of hot water, really hot water, makes a hell of a difference and the wireless thermo/controller is pretty neat too.

[Burnleyareback2]

Needed a new Boer about 3 years ago, paid about £2300 fitted for a baxi , it’s not let us down and came with a 5 year warranty. We also got the magma clean fitted. Serviced each year. There was other work at the same time including a radiaor flush and a water tank removed.

The plumber heavily recommended the Worcester which I think came with a 10 year warranty. I think it was about £400 more- I was very close to going for it until I asked him what boiler he had installed in his house, he had a Baxi.

[Elder statesman]

I'm looking to get quotes for a new boiler. Can anyone recommend a good heating engineer please? I've got Ian's number, the guy recommended above, but would like a couple more.
Thanks

[john'sroseyspecs]

Padgetts on leeds road in nelson. Good people and very professional. Mainly Worcester boilers i think

[KeighleyClaret]

Alex Leaver in Barnoldswick.

[Quicknick]

Buy cheap buy twice...get a good one is my advice.

Precisely. I moved into a house in east London in 1994. I had problems with the old boiler within the first two years. I put money into it which was a mistake. As soon as they start playing up get rid. Which I did, but I bought a cheapie. And eight years later, another cheapie which was playing up when I sold the house in 2011.

Follow tim's advice.

[UnderSeige]

I bought a boiler 18 months ago. The make of the boiler is 'Main'. I had it installed by a 'Gas Safe' engineer who is also Baxi registered. The total cost was £950. It is guaranteed for four years as long as I have it serviced by a Baxi Engineer.
'Main Heating' is part of the Baxi group. The installation engineer told me that the boiler is virtually the same as the Baxi equivalent. The 'Main Heating' website also has a ''find an installer' feature.

[Elder statesman]

Thanks for the replies. Ideally looking for a small company or one man band.
UnderSeige was that in the Burnley area?

[MACCA]

Daniel Burns - 07854112987
Getty - 07875884435
Andy Maguire - 07877684392
Manta Plumbing and heating ( called Lib ) - 07809414104

All 1 man bands in the Burnley area.
Should be able to do you a very competitive price.
Tell them Macca sent you

[Elder statesman]

Macca, many thanks. Just what I needed.

[MACCA]

Macca, many thanks. Just what I needed.

If they are too busy or you want more options, let me know I've quite a few more numbers

[Herts Clarets]

Ian Spedding 07597 709898

Ex British Gas, one man band. Known him for approaching 40 years, trained as apprentice to my step father.

[UnderSeige]

The 'Main' boiler installation was in Rossendale (7 miles from Burnley). There is a facility on the 'Main Heating' website to find an engineer in your locality. http://www.mainheating.co.uk/findaninstaller/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;