New Boiler quotes - large range!?!

hap

Hi

I am looking to replace my whole central heating system. I currently have an open vented system (tanks in the loft, boiler and water cylinder). Most of the people who came to quote suggested going for a combi boiler. I have a three bedroom end of terrace house with one bathroom. The job involves replacing the boiler, as well as all radiators (8), and installing a radiator in the loft room (which currently has no heating). I have had a number of companies come round to quote and the prices i have been given range from £3,324 all the way up to £10,122!!!! British Gas was one of the companies, and suprisingly they werent the most expensive - they came out at £5,055 and thats with 2 years free homecare cover (which i currently do have), and also a 10 year guarantee. I know that everyone always says that British Gas is a rip off, but in this case they seem to be looking quite reasonable. Has anybody had any experience with British Gas installations. Also, i am a bit indecisive with regards to which company to go for, as to this day, i havent come accross a plumber who has done work for me, whom i would be happy to call again and to recommend to others. Ive come accross a few cowboys as well! Any help is much appreciated.

loulou41

I went with BG before, they are not the cheapest but at least you will have the guarantee that the work has been done safely. I just had a combi and paid 3k for it, I nearly went with BG but I was not happy with the surveyor as he did not know what he was tallking about & I cancelled my contract. I went instead with a local company not much cheaper than BG but the service was excellent. Be sure to check they are registered on the gas safe register.

gas4you

You don't say where you are, so on average your BG quote doesn't seem that far out. For my area I would say BG is approx £1000-£1200 too much including a quality boiler.

Forget the dangling of 2 years BG homecare for free. You won't need this whilst the boiler is under warranty.

hap

Loulou41 - the guy that came round from British Gas seemed to know what he was talking about (in my non-expert opinion!). So was it just the surveyor that put you off going with BG - was their price reasonable for what you were going to have done?

Gas4you - im in London, and most of the quotes i have received were for the Valiant ecotech 831 - is this a good boiler, and would you say that combi boiler is suitable for a house?

gas4you

Nothing wrong with the Ecotec Plus 831. It will certainly be ok for for a 3-4 bed house (average size) with only 1 bath and a shower.

No combi is really designed for 2 hot outlets to be used at once.

loulou41

With BG it was £500 more expensive, I was going to get a WB junior 25, the cheapest of the range and the boiler relocated at the back of the airing cupboard. When I said he did not know what he was talking about I meant I was advised to change all the TRV's valves at a cost of £400, I am told you should leave one unchanged, and he did not tell me I could have the boiler installed side way for better access in the airing cupboard. I was being quoted for asbestos bag and my house was built in in October 1975 just to name a few things I did not like. I did sign a contract as I was promised £100 rebate. I would have gone with BG if it were not for the £400 for TRV's, I thought that cannot be right. With the local chap, he was an heating engineer who did the survey and he explained everything to me. I have got 5 yrs guarantee and 5 yrs service, with magnaclean installed and a line scaler as standard. A worcester bosh cdi top of the range. Like you I did not know anybody that's why I relied on BG and I would have paid £500 - £800 more for my peace of mind. Hope this helps you to make your decision as it was a big job, loads of pipes and it toook two men three days.

hap

Thanks for the replies. I have had someone else in this morning to give a quote on the work and he seemed quite good, so i'll just wait and see what his quote comes out at. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll have to make my decision soon as winter will soon be upon us
One thing that the guy said to me today was that he thought that the magnacleans were a waste of tiem because if the job is done properly, there shouldnt be aby problems, not sure what everyone thinks about this though?

gas4you

You cannot do a 100% cleaning job of an old heating system. Period.

At best you will get it about 80% clean. The magnaclean or whatever device is used is there to try to catch the remaining 20% or so of crud that you couldn't get out.

noodlepie

If you are replacing the whole central heating system it reduces the need for a magnaclean or equivelent but I would still recommend one. The vaillant 831 is a great boiler but not too much better thatn the Vaillant Pro 28 and the 831 is much more expensive.
Get a quote from an installer recommended from the Vaillant website. Those guys can offer longer warranties than BG would offer. Make sure to fix the price of servicing for 5 years and make sure you get a 5 year warranty. I'm quite sure if you use a recommended installer, Vaillant will extend the exisiting 2 year warranty to 5 years (parts and labour, as long as you have it serviced yearly) for around £100. I would ask for this for free, after I get my quote.
Good luck.

ormus

vaillant has just sent me a warranty renewal in the post. just 6.99 per month, without an annual service.
a bit better than BG warranty costs.

hap

Right, i have an update!

Got two quotes and i'm going to go with one of them, so would be grateful if anyone could share their view.

Work to be done is:

New Wocester CDi 37 (in case of British gas it is their branded equivalent – British Gas 537) with digital wireless programmable room thermostat
Install 6 new radiators (three of which I am changing the size so pipework will need to be adjusted)
Install a 7th radiator in the loft where there isn’t one at the moment
Install an 8th radiator under a bay window (pipes not there at the moment so will have to be adjusted), and I will supply the angled radiator.
Install magnaclean/magnabooster2
Flush the system (question – is it necessary to have a powerflush if you are having all the radiators changed as well as the boiler)

British Gas have quoted £5,055 to change boiler to their British Gas Boiler 537 (which is the Wocester 37CdI) – this price includes a powerflush which he says might not be necessary, and that the engineer will confirm if needed when he does the work.
Northern Gas Heating have quoted £4,800 – includes a chemical flush

For both companies, I am arranging for a chippy to come and take up and put down the laminate flooring in two of the rooms (going to cost about £200 - £300 I think), but that’s only because I would rather have it done properly.

Now, here is the problem, for an extra £600, Northern Gas will replace all the pipework in the house with hep2O – which they say is guaranteed for 25 years! Is this something that I should consider doing? Is it really necessary to change all the pipework?

The guarantees offered by the two companies seem to be quite different.

British Gas:

10 year guarantee on the boiler…. as long as the correct level of cover is maintained throughout this period (i.e. the minimum homecare cover)
If I have the homecare, this would include annual servicing (not sure what servicing level this actually is though)

Northern Gas:

5 year manufacture guarantee on the boiler (no cover necessary for this)
25 year guarantee on the pipework (if I go for that option)
They also offer a servicing agreement for £300-odd for 5 years


With regards to the radiator under the bay window – I have found a few companies, and its going to cost about £500! But it will make a difference to the room in that it will free up space, so something I’m willing to pay for. The guy from Northern Gas suggested putting 2 separate radiators on 2 parts of the bay (which has 4 angles). Has anybody seen this done, and does it look any good?

I have already given a deposit to British Gas, but I have 7 days to cancel (so this Friday)!

Many thanks in advance for your replies.