Advice on estimate for boiler replacement.

Russ66

Hi folks, this is a bit long winded so bear with me as I don't want to miss anything out.
I've got a 1988 3x bedroom semi in The Vale of Glamorgan (Standard Wimpey type) and I'm thinking of replacing my Thorn Apollo boiler (with cylinder & header in the attic).
To be fair there is nothing wrong with the boiler and it's only ever had minor repairs (Thermocouple etc) but it's 22 years old and not very efficient, also most of my neighbours have had theirs replaced over the last couple of years so I figure I must be due.
I've got a bit of spare cash at the moment as my mortgage repayments have come down, so I fancy having a combi put up in the attic to save money & look after the planet etc.
I have 9 radiators in the house, I've had an estimate from a local Gas Safe plumber who came recommended and it reads like this:-

Estimate

To drain existing hot water and central heating systems.
Remove hot water cylinder and cold feed tanks.
Remove central heating boiler and controls.
Fit customers own boiler in roof space.
Extend supplies to same.
Run electrical supply to boiler.
Fit new clock in airing cupboard, wire same.
Run gas supply on outside of building to roof space.
Clean and flush radiators.
Fit new thermostatic and lock shield valves.
Add cleaner.
Refill and test.
Recall to flush system and add inhibitor.

£1690.00 :eek:

Am I missing something or does this seem expensive? I'm finding it hard to justify spending well over 2k to replace something that works fine just to be a bit greener.
He said it was about 3 days work, plus It does not include the price of the boiler as I've not decided which one to get yet, though the plumber did recommend a Ferroli Optimax HE 38c (£600 ish) as a good boiler for the money.

Any thoughts or recommendations for my area?

Cheers. :beer:

DevilsAdvocate1

I'm in the North East and have just had my boiler replaced - we paid about the same as your estimate except that our price included the boiler. However, the flushing of the system was paid for by our builder as the boiler was replaced at the same time as a large new extension. The flushing had to be done to pass building control.

HTH. D.

macman

Why do you want a combi in place of a conventional boiler?
Are you confusing combi with condensing?

Andy_WSM

Russ66 wrote: »

I'm finding it hard to justify spending well over 2k to replace something that works fine just to be a bit greener.

Don't do it then! You'd likely never recoup the costs of installing the boiler over the lifetime of the new one. Also, how is disposing of a perfectly working boiler "green"?

soolin

I've just had my boiler replaced as the old one, probably around 25 years old, died.

We had a full power flush of system and we had to have a plastic flue type vent fitted to side of house as boiler is downstairs. The cost including the boiler was £2400.

WE did have a much cheaper quote, but that quote was from someone who seemed a little unsure odf what he was doing and it worried us that we might have been dealing with someone who really only tinkered, rather than fitted new systems. About 4 years ago British Gas quoted us nearly 3k for the same work.

Russ66

Thanks to all for the replies so far.

I think it needs to be a bit cheaper for me to do it just for the sake of it.

Any gas fitters care to comment on the benefits / pitfalls? :think:

amtrakuk

My 8 year old Raven Heat Combi boiler failed about 3 or 4 years ago and was declared Beyond Economical Repair. After getting 3 quotes for supply and replacement of my boiler, the quotes ranged form 2.5K to 4K. I did my homework and after doing some googling and speaking to professionals everyone suggested spending at least 1K on a boiler which should give 10 years life. There are cheaper boilers on the market but they have a substantial lower expected life. The company I heard time after time was Worcester Bosch as one of the best gas boilers you can get.

PS. It has worked out cheaper for me to go all electric

Russ66

soolin wrote: »

We had a full power flush of system and we had to have a plastic flue type vent fitted to side of house as boiler is downstairs. The cost including the boiler was £2400.

Ooohhh, what is a "PowerFlush"? Don't think I was quoted for that.:(

Is it like a normal flush but more powerful?

Tom_Plum

:cool:Just wanted to jump in here – recently I have also had to replace my boiler – isn’t it always the way when the weather changes and in the run up to the festive period (yes only weeks away now!!) anyway unfortunately had to pay through the nose (which has now stopped running due to an increase in body temp)

I managed to run a little bit of research online and found that there are some companies that are offering trade discounts to Plumbers, this obviously means that you could potentially get a reduction as your plumber may be able to save some money on the trade discounts?

I think the company that I ended up finding online offering incentivised trade rates was called Energy Smart. They have additional information on their blog which is energy smartboilers.blogspot.com may be pass this on to your plumber and you could get warm soon! Good luck all the same, hope this helps.

CFC

Russ66 wrote: »

Thanks to all for the replies so far.

I think it needs to be a bit cheaper for me to do it just for the sake of it.

Any gas fitters care to comment on the benefits / pitfalls? :think:

Just don't. Don't do it till your old boiler is on its last legs. A new boiler will probably last you 5-8 years before it needs replacing again. Your old boiler is a godsend. The price of new boilers and the fact that they will not last long is down to the meddling of governments in domestic appliances.