Replace Boiler

audreyireland

I currently work at a Builders and Plumbers Merchants in Sales. I am a forty something married woman with grown up children.
I owned and ran a manufacturing business for over 6 years. I had outgoings which included rental premises, electric, gas, Liability Insurance for my Employee's, Business rates to name a few.
I get the feeling your "Daddy" is the one who runs a business and you work for him. Are you Corgi resistered or do you get "Daddy" to sign off your work? I have problems with my boiler at the moment but would never consider someone who cant be bothered to get off their !!!! and give an honest opinion in person. How you can quote by phone for a boiler breakdown is beyond me.
Not all people that own homes have £2000 under their mattress for a new boiler. Also, many of the people who call you out have boilers that are less than ten years old. When purchased they were supposed to have a much longer life expentancy.
I think you should give up on the Business Classes and Siminars you have been attending or speak to your Tutor. With an attitude like yours, I would be surprised if anyone but "Daddy" would employ you.

nwph wrote: »

Hello i'm new here but i am a gas enegineer /plumber with 20yrs experience ,my old man is also in the trade he is a resident corgi inspector for a large local installer who employ over 200 plumbers/gas engineers.

May i just say to the op top perhaps maybe get one more quote ,i myself tend to quote over the phone for certain jobs saves wasting fuel and time .

If the other quote comes in around the same price you know that is the going rate for that particular job ,if it is vastly under i would suggest there maybe something amiss ,some unscrupulous tradesmen do actually use someone qualified to sign off there work.

And to wii man 1 may suggest you are not suitably qualified to give an opinion on any or facet of the plumbing and heating trade .

Just another point if for instance your boiler swap costs you £2000 and lasts you ten yrs the cost of having instant hot water and heat for your house has cost you around £3.80 a week ,which actually sounds quiet cheap .

And there also seems to be a myth that a device that gives heating and hot water is supposed to somehow last forever ,its not ,businesses would go bust if they manufactured a boiler that lasted forever.

May i just say aswell that the profit on a business has to be worked out over the 12 month period ,running any business comtains lots of work that actually goes unseen by the customer.

Any business class ,seminar ,advisor will tell you that any work actually undertaked both unseen and seen is chargeable ,hrs spent on receipts ,books ,paperwork ,travelling ,training ,fuel ,qualifications ,tools ,stock etc.

Many customers do not appreciate this normally due to ingnorance on how a business is run .

May i remind some that the actual profit is whats left over at the end after all running costs and overheads have been deducted.Its not about bills to pay its about making a living ,god forbid anyone is allowed to do this in this country .


Just remember gettting 5 or 6 different quotes also means you have wasted a business mans time in doing this and overall costs will go up to cover this .

audreyireland

I just read your post again and some of the replies you got. It's even funnier second time round. Also reinforced my opinion that English or Maths could be a course for you. Sometimes it is not always wise to follow in fathers footsteps as the mould is not always of the the same quality.

nwph wrote: »

Hello i'm new here but i am a gas enegineer /plumber with 20yrs experience ,my old man is also in the trade he is a resident corgi inspector for a large local installer who employ over 200 plumbers/gas engineers.

May i just say to the op top perhaps maybe get one more quote ,i myself tend to quote over the phone for certain jobs saves wasting fuel and time .

If the other quote comes in around the same price you know that is the going rate for that particular job ,if it is vastly under i would suggest there maybe something amiss ,some unscrupulous tradesmen do actually use someone qualified to sign off there work.

And to wii man 1 may suggest you are not suitably qualified to give an opinion on any or facet of the plumbing and heating trade .

Just another point if for instance your boiler swap costs you £2000 and lasts you ten yrs the cost of having instant hot water and heat for your house has cost you around £3.80 a week ,which actually sounds quiet cheap .

And there also seems to be a myth that a device that gives heating and hot water is supposed to somehow last forever ,its not ,businesses would go bust if they manufactured a boiler that lasted forever.

May i just say aswell that the profit on a business has to be worked out over the 12 month period ,running any business comtains lots of work that actually goes unseen by the customer.

Any business class ,seminar ,advisor will tell you that any work actually undertaked both unseen and seen is chargeable ,hrs spent on receipts ,books ,paperwork ,travelling ,training ,fuel ,qualifications ,tools ,stock etc.

Many customers do not appreciate this normally due to ingnorance on how a business is run .

May i remind some that the actual profit is whats left over at the end after all running costs and overheads have been deducted.Its not about bills to pay its about making a living ,god forbid anyone is allowed to do this in this country .


Just remember gettting 5 or 6 different quotes also means you have wasted a business mans time in doing this and overall costs will go up to cover this .

misskool

nwph wrote: »

Just remember gettting 5 or 6 different quotes also means you have wasted a business mans time in doing this and overall costs will go up to cover this .

I don't want to waste people's time but tradesmen should specify when/if they want to quote when they come round.

I've had 4 gas people round, all of them were told of the job specifics over the phone and 2 weeks later, not a single quote. Why can't they just say they are too busy/not interested/can't do it?

EliteHeat

misskool wrote: »

I don't want to waste people's time but tradesmen should specify when/if they want to quote when they come round.

I've had 4 gas people round, all of them were told of the job specifics over the phone and 2 weeks later, not a single quote. Why can't they just say they are too busy/not interested/can't do it?

If they came around at all then they obviously were not too busy. Something has put them off, so, it must be something about you, the job, the environment etc etc.

I'll give you a few examples, if a prospective customer said something along the lines of any of the following I would be unlikely to quote:-

• Be careful of the carpets - they are irreplaceable and priceless
• Under no circumstances can you use the toilet
• I know things are tight, so I expect your price to be keen
• I hope I don't have to sue you like the last bloke I had doing work for me
• I hope you don't make a mess
• I want a free lifetime guarantee with that boiler
• Whilst you're here, can you just fix this little problem ....
• Can you quote for some painting and decorating as well, or is it included

The list goes on and on

Tradesmen do not operate as a cartel, so something is not right, in their opinion.

misskool

EliteHeat wrote: »

If they came around at all then they obviously were not too busy. Something has put them off, so, it must be something about you, the job, the environment etc etc.

I'll give you a few examples, if a prospective customer said something along the lines of any of the following I would be unlikely to quote:-

• Be careful of the carpets - they are irreplaceable and priceless
• Under no circumstances can you use the toilet
• I know things are tight, so I expect your price to be keen
• I hope I don't have to sue you like the last bloke I had doing work for me
• I hope you don't make a mess
• I want a free lifetime guarantee with that boiler
• Whilst you're here, can you just fix this little problem ....
• Can you quote for some painting and decorating as well, or is it included

The list goes on and on

Tradesmen do not operate as a cartel, so something is not right, in their opinion.

Nothing of that sort was said. We just moved in and planning to redecorate so not at all precious about the house. Happy to listen to advice and change as required.

The work required is in this post
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=17803013&postcount=8

I just think a bit of courtesy wouldn't go amiss.

EliteHeat

misskool wrote: »

Nothing of that sort was said. We just moved in and planning to redecorate so not at all precious about the house. Happy to listen to advice and change as required.

The work required is in this post
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=17803013&postcount=8

I just think a bit of courtesy wouldn't go amiss.

I have just read your boiler specs and my initial thoughts are:-

• Loft must be boarded to boiler location
• Loft must have a permanent light installed
• Loft must have a hatch rail / guard
• Loft must have a permanent ladder installed
• Loft will ideally have a gable end
• Loft will ideally have internal access to the S&V pipe
• An external gas line will almost certainly be required

Other than that I would not try and confuse the issue by asking for 1st fix pipe work to be included for your shower.

It is vital that your system is power flushed and it is preferable that a Magnaclean be fitted to the return pipe work to the new boiler.

Much of the price will depend on the make and power of the new boiler. Lofts are ideal places to put high power monster boilers such as the Vaillant 937. However, this is expensive and a hefty gas supply will be required (run in 28mm copper) and this won’t be cheap either.

You should budget for an RF programmable room thermostat.

I would estimate between £3.5 - £4.5 (ish) excluding new radiators assuming that you do not need a vertical flue.

Back boiler to combi loft conversions are a lot of work and are never, ever cheap. A properly done job will take at least 5 man days.

nwph

audreyireland wrote: »

I currently work at a Builders and Plumbers Merchants in Sales. I am a forty something married woman with grown up children.
I owned and ran a manufacturing business for over 6 years. I had outgoings which included rental premises, electric, gas, Liability Insurance for my Employee's, Business rates to name a few.
I get the feeling your "Daddy" is the one who runs a business and you work for him. Are you Corgi resistered or do you get "Daddy" to sign off your work? I have problems with my boiler at the moment but would never consider someone who cant be bothered to get off their !!!! and give an honest opinion in person. How you can quote by phone for a boiler breakdown is beyond me.
Not all people that own homes have £2000 under their mattress for a new boiler. Also, many of the people who call you out have boilers that are less than ten years old. When purchased they were supposed to have a much longer life expentancy.
I think you should give up on the Business Classes and Siminars you have been attending or speak to your Tutor. With an attitude like yours, I would be surprised if anyone but "Daddy" would employ you.

I admit the spelling on reading back the post is quite poor .
I cannot understand your the tone or the point of your post to be honest ,but nevermind .

Why should i go out and look at every job ,i know how long it takes me to install a central heating system and i know the price i can do it for ,i give an estimate over the phone if the estimate is within the customers budget i go price the job and send the quote the next day .

Anyway wind your neck in and less of the personal attacks .

john_stirling

I'm also about to get a new boiler fitted and share your problems.
What model would you recommend (anyone) for a 1 bedroom flat with 4 radiators ? The choice is huge !

nwph

john_stirling wrote: »

I'm also about to get a new boiler fitted and share your problems.
What model would you recommend (anyone) for a 1 bedroom flat with 4 radiators ? The choice is huge !

I fit these for the smaller system like yours .
http://www.avantaplus.com/index.php?content=28c

john_stirling

nwph wrote: »

I fit these for the smaller system like yours .
http://www.avantaplus.com/index.php?content=28c

thanks for your last reply.
i have a quote to replace my combi boiler and would like some advice on the cost etc, thanks in advance.

1. drain down central heating system.
2. strip out and remove existing combi boiler.
3. supply and install Vokera Compact 29HE condensing combi boiler, complete with internal programmer and flue.
4. upgrade gas supply across attic to boiler.
5. working from scaffold, install condensate waste as required.
6. refill system and test.

£1,805 + VAT

it sounds ok to me, but would like to know if the Vokera combi is ok ,or should i ask for another model instead.

thank for any help available.