GCH From Scratch

pat1976

Hi, I'm buying a new house which is in need of modernisation. It currently has electric storage heaters in all of the rooms, a hot water tank/emersion in a cupboard upstairs and no gas supply. I've looked into getting gas and it looks like it'll cost in the region of £500.

We want GCH installing but want to know what we're talking about before we start getting quotes.

The house is a large 3 bed semi, I think it'll need 10 radiators.

What are my options? Lots of people are telling me to stick with storage heaters because I'd have to have a combi boiler and they break down all the time, is that true? I must admit my friends in new houses seem to have problems all the time while our current heating is the traditional boiler/header tank/hot-water tank type and seems to go on forever, is there such an option in a new installation?

Also I've been told that boilers are usually fitted in the space where the hot water tank used to be - but in this house it's a cupboard with no outside wall so I assume that isn't an option?

Any advice on this and the likely cost is much appreciated.

Thanks.

ormus

a combi boiler is usually fixed to an outside wall.
you dont require any more water tanks. they can be scrapped and the space used for other means.
a decent brand boiler installed properly is just as reliable as any old type boiler.

total budget? allow 3-6k.
depends where you live.

keystone

pat1976 wrote: »

The house is a large 3 bed semi, I think it'll need 10 radiators.

Too big for a combi then IMHO particularly if you have more than one bathroom.

Lots of people are telling me to stick with storage heaters because I'd have to have a combi boiler............

Lots of people clearly don't have the faintest idea what they are talking about.

and they break down all the time, is that true?............

Modern condensing boilers are more complex than old fashioned steam ones and some brands/models do have reliability issues. Don't buy a Lada and expect it to last very long when you drive it like it is an F1 car. Its the same principal. Too many people think "its only a boiler and they are all the same".

while our current heating is the traditional boiler/header tank/hot-water tank type and seems to go on forever, is there such an option in a new installation?

Of course there is - use a condensing system boiler. You might also like to consider an unvented cylinder or a thermal store (can't believe I actually said that) so that your hot water is at mains pressure.

Also I've been told that boilers are usually fitted in the space where the hot water tank used to be

Yup - you are listening far too much to people who don't have a clue frankly.

Any advice on this and the likely cost is much appreciated.

Take out your local directory and find yourself three local independent RGIs and invite them around to assess your project and specify / price a solution for you. You need 3 so that you have comparison material. Even better if you can get recommends from family / friends or neighbours. As for cost - get the quotes specific to your needs.

Cheers

pat1976

Thank you both for your replies.

Ormus - should I be specifying a particular boiler when I ask for a quote then? Or is it better to see what they intend to use and then pop back here for opinions?

Keystone - yes, I listen to everything I can, and everyone has an opinion. But in the end I DMOR. Thanks for the clarification, I will have 2 bathrooms, although one would have an electric shower, not sure that makes any difference. I'll look into the consensing boiler system you've mentioned. And I'd def like decent water pressure so thanks for mentioning that.

Can you tell me how long this sort of work would take?

Canucklehead

Hi,

It might help you if you were aware of the terminology and systems available, That way you might have an idea of what you are being sold when you get trades through the door, and compare it to advice from friends etc who don't seem to have much idea from the things you've mentioned.

Apply the same to other aspects of the refurb.


GSR

pat1976

Thanks for the link, Canucklehead.

Yes, that's my plan exactly, I'll use forums like this to get the details (or links to them) BEFORE I try to get quotes, otherwise I'm going to end up with 3 quotes with no basis for comparison.

Ta

Catatonia

I've just had exactly this sorted out.

We paid £738.72 for the gas people to connect us to the pipe in our road. I think we could have saved £300 by digging the hole ourselves, but didn't as we didn't want to risk the hole being not quite to their requirements and them refusing to install the pipes.

We've also got a 3 bed semi, and the total price (including boiler) was £3600 - I think that possibly excludes the bathroom towel rail and pipes as that was listed under the bathroom quote. We had 8 radiators installed, excluding the bathroom one. The boiler was a [FONT=&quot]VAILLANT ECOTEC PLUS combi one.

It's hard to say how long it took as we've had loads of work done, so it wasn't all done in one go. I think maybe a week or two, total, for the heating stuff though.

I am in Hampshire, by the way.
[/FONT]

Catatonia

Sorry, don't know what happened with the fonts there!

pat1976

Catatonia,

Thanks very much for your helpful reply. I'm budgeting £5k including the gas supply at the moment so it sounds like I'm in the right ballpark.

muskoka

I'm having central heating installed also (shortly I hope). Having Valiant 32 boiler......recommended by my gas engineer (whom I've used for over 10 yrs). Hes charging me £4,300 inc VAT - though that price is for the Valiant 28, but hes now said he thinks I'm going to need the 32 cos of size of house & solid wall & I DONT want to be cold. He said price won't be much more though. Think its about 10/11 rads (lots of double rads).. I'm on edge of London. Will likely have to wait for this guy for couple of months - hes always overloaded with work. Worth waiting for though.

Maybe you should speak to neighbours/friends & try to get personal recommendations also?

heating-eng

muskoka wrote: »

I'm having central heating installed also (shortly I hope). Having Valiant 32 boiler......recommended by my gas engineer (whom I've used for over 10 yrs). Hes charging me £4,300 inc VAT - though that price is for the Valiant 28, but hes now said he thinks I'm going to need the 32 cos of size of house & solid wall & I DONT want to be cold. He said price won't be much more though. Think its about 10/11 rads (lots of double rads).. I'm on edge of London. Will likely have to wait for this guy for couple of months - hes always overloaded with work. Worth waiting for though.

Maybe you should speak to neighbours/friends & try to get personal recommendations also?

The central heating output is the same for both boilers I believe, you would normally size the boiler by the hot water flow rate required, measure the in coming cold and take it from there, also the size of house and number of bathrooms