Cost of new gas fire installation

Richie(UK)

Hi all,

We are looking to have a new gas fire fitted - a Paragon Slimline 3 to be precise. We were told in the showroom that the price was £467 including VAT, that there was a 10% sale discount to be deducted, and that fitting would be extra. Have today received the written quotation and all-in it is £713 including VAT.

Now, working on VAT at 20%, the fire alone is £389. Less 10% gives £350. Add the VAT on again that's £420. So, the fitting part is £293 including VAT.

That seems pretty damn steep to me. I'm going to query the quote on Monday but I'd like a rough idea of what a reasonable fitting charge actually is. What do you reckon?

FOX_HOUND

I had a gas fire put in about 2 years ago. Fire cost £180 off the internet. It is a cheap one mind.

Gas fitter tested the chimney with a smoke bomb. It didn't need sweeping.

He charged £180 for fitting which when looking back was probably too much. He did have to build a course of bricks on each side to make the fire fit and plaster over the top. I made good.

The gas pipework was already there.

So all in all less than £400. I now wish I'd gone for a wood burning stove.

rustyboy21

Richie(UK) wrote: »

Hi all, We are looking to have a new gas fire fitted - a Paragon Slimline 3 to be precise. We were told in the showroom that the price was £467 including VAT, that there was a 10% sale discount to be deducted, and that fitting would be extra. Have today received the written quotation and all-in it is £713 including VAT. Now, working on VAT at 20%, the fire alone is £389. Less 10% gives £350. Add the VAT on again that's £420. So, the fitting part is £293 including VAT. That seems pretty damn steep to me. I'm going to query the quote on Monday but I'd like a rough idea of what a reasonable fitting charge actually is. What do you reckon?

It depends on what you have there already and what needs to be done.

That fire is a slimline fire made to fit into a pre cast or Prefab flue. It works fine on class 1 too. If the fireplace is there, the opening is correct ( 16.5'' w x 22.5'' high) and there is no chairbrick for a coal fire in there, also if the gas point is inside the chamber, the fitting charge is way too expensive. If it was me , I would charge approx £145, maybe down to £100 for doing it. I never quote VAT to a customer , unless asked for , as it muddies the quote for a lot of people. You want to know what you have to pay.

I would seriously ask for a requote, It would be handy if you could take a pic of what you have there now, as we do not have the whole story and picture of what we are playing with.

BTW You don't live London way by chance? I would get laughed at quoting those prices. I fit whole fireplaces in Limestone for that price.

Richie(UK)

rustyboy21 wrote: »

It depends on what you have there already and what needs to be done.

That fire is a slimline fire made to fit into a pre cast or Prefab flue. It works fine on class 1 too. If the fireplace is there, the opening is correct ( 16.5'' w x 22.5'' high) and there is no chairbrick for a coal fire in there, also if the gas point is inside the chamber, the fitting charge is way too expensive. If it was me , I would charge approx £145, maybe down to £100 for doing it. I never quote VAT to a customer , unless asked for , as it muddies the quote for a lot of people. You want to know what you have to pay.

I would seriously ask for a requote, It would be handy if you could take a pic of what you have there now, as we do not have the whole story and picture of what we are playing with.

BTW You don't live London way by chance? I would get laughed at quoting those prices. I fit whole fireplaces in Limestone for that price.

Thanks for the feedback.

The fireplace is already there, as is the gas point, as we have an old Valor fire there at the moment (which this particular company service for us annually).

I know from watching previous work undertaken by the engineers that it takes 5 minutes (10 max) to actually fully remove the existing fire and the same to replace it again.

And no, we don't live in London

I'll ask for a re-quote and see what happens.

rustyboy21

Richie(UK) wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback.

The fireplace is already there, as is the gas point, as we have an old Valor fire there at the moment (which this particular company service for us annually).

I know from watching previous work undertaken by the engineers that it takes 5 minutes (10 max) to actually fully remove the existing fire and the same to replace it again.

And no, we don't live in London

I'll ask for a re-quote and see what happens.

If your fire is a valor inset fire and the gas pipe is inside the flue, they are taking the proverbial with you.

If the valor fire is an outset model ( sits on top of the hearth ) and the gas pipe runs along the hearth to the fire, then granted, there is more work involved, but not double the price ! and I am quite dear in my quote to you, some fitters do it for £75 I know of.

Richie(UK)

OK, have spoken with the fitter again and the breakdown is as follows:

Paragon Slimline inset gas fire £399 (*)
Fitting £150
Notification fee £5
Spacer £20
Materials £20
Total £594
VAT £118.80
Grand total £712.80

* Discount indicated by salesperson in the showroom has not been applied (in fact, £10 higher). He will look into this.

The guy indicated that total fitting time (including tests) would be around 3 hours. Sounds a long time given how quickly I 've seen fires stripped out and re-fitted when being serviced. What do you think?

rustyboy21

Richie(UK) wrote: »

OK, have spoken with the fitter again and the breakdown is as follows:

Paragon Slimline inset gas fire £399 (*)
Fitting £150
Notification fee £5
Spacer £20
Materials £20
Total £594
VAT £118.80
Grand total £712.80

* Discount indicated by salesperson in the showroom has not been applied (in fact, £10 higher). He will look into this.

The guy indicated that total fitting time (including tests) would be around 3 hours. Sounds a long time given how quickly I 've seen fires stripped out and re-fitted when being serviced. What do you think?

OK, The fire works out to around £478 inc vat. Seems a bit high for a slimline precast flue fire, Is it remote control/HE? ( I dont sell paragon,but just seems bit dear to me.

Do you have a precast/prefab flue? or do you have a proper chimney stack and pots? if the latter, you will no need the spacer.

Materials. If you are having the valor inset fire taken out, the opening should be correct for the fire, so what materials is he talking about? Any fittings come with the fire, including the isolator elbow for the pipe and even the closure plate tape if needed as well as screws, rawlplugs etc. Shouldn't really need anything else TBH.

Registration fee. Most engineers incorporate this into the fitting charge and is he charging VAT on that? Shouldn't do.

Fitting = £180 inc vat, bit steep.

He wont be there 3 hours, unless he is doing extra work on the flue, or fire chamber, which you haven't spoken about. I would expect my fitters to fit 3-4 fires in a day, if they were just fitting fires. Will take approx 1.5 hours tops, thats with a tea break.

Is your heart set on the paragon fire? have you tried shopping around other shops for better prices with different products? To me, it just seems that he has the exclusive rights to paragon for your area and is making money on his exclusive brand, as well as his fitting charge.

If you don't mind me asking, where do u live in the country? I know a lot of dealers nationwide, who I meet up with at functions and exhibitions. Might be able to find out of an alternative good retailer, before you jump in with this quote.

Richie(UK)

rustyboy21 wrote: »

OK, The fire works out to around £478 inc vat. Seems a bit high for a slimline precast flue fire, Is it remote control/HE? ( I dont sell paragon,but just seems bit dear to me.

Do you have a precast/prefab flue? or do you have a proper chimney stack and pots? if the latter, you will no need the spacer.

Materials. If you are having the valor inset fire taken out, the opening should be correct for the fire, so what materials is he talking about? Any fittings come with the fire, including the isolator elbow for the pipe and even the closure plate tape if needed as well as screws, rawlplugs etc. Shouldn't really need anything else TBH.

Registration fee. Most engineers incorporate this into the fitting charge and is he charging VAT on that? Shouldn't do.

Fitting = £180 inc vat, bit steep.

He wont be there 3 hours, unless he is doing extra work on the flue, or fire chamber, which you haven't spoken about. I would expect my fitters to fit 3-4 fires in a day, if they were just fitting fires. Will take approx 1.5 hours tops, thats with a tea break.

Is your heart set on the paragon fire? have you tried shopping around other shops for better prices with different products? To me, it just seems that he has the exclusive rights to paragon for your area and is making money on his exclusive brand, as well as his fitting charge.

If you don't mind me asking, where do u live in the country? I know a lot of dealers nationwide, who I meet up with at functions and exhibitions. Might be able to find out of an alternative good retailer, before you jump in with this quote.

Thanks again for the feedback.

The fire cost is for the standard version - no remote control or glass front. We don't have a proper chimney - I believe it is a precast flue.

He didn't elaborate on materials. Funny how its a round £20 (as opposed to £18.95 or something) isn't it?

And yes, VAT is being applied to the whole amount including the Notification Fee.

My heart isn't set on a Paragon fire at all (its just a matter of getting one that is appropriate for the flue). And, frankly, my faith in the firm providing the quote is rapidly diminishing (despite the fact that they have serviced the old fire and gas boiler for a number of years).

We live in Worcester and I'd be happy to hear of any recommendations that you may have in the area. (Feel free to PM if the mods frown upon posting of recommendations for such things).

rustyboy21

Hi Richie

I wont give you any direct retailers, as it may cause me a bit of grief.

However if you go on a few of the websites listed below and search for a retailer for your postcode, it may give you a better idea. The reason why I am suggesting the following websites is because these manufacurers have been around for years, some of them only sell to showrooms, not the internet. They also deal direct with the retailer listed, so have some affinity with them and most of the time have a good working relationship with them. They wouldn't normally recommend someone who would give them grief later on.

www.wonderfire.co.uk
www.gazco.co.uk
www.valor.co.uk
www.magiglo.co.uk

What model Valor fire do you have fitted at the moment. It would give me a better idea of how deep your flue is. Precast flues can vary in depth from 3'' deep to 9'' deep in certain houses, depending on builder and cost of house, i.e dearer house, deeper flue. weird but true in most cases.

I have never met a fireplace retailer who adds VAT on to the sale, people want to know the total cost with everything added in. Don't see why he has done it that way, to me it is a barrier to gaining a sale. The consumer doesn't need to know really of what the VAT is, just how much it will cost them. Sounds more used to central heating than fires.

Richie(UK)

Hi rusty,

Just wanted to say 'Thanks' again for your feedback on this.

For the fire we went with one of the suppliers that came up through the links that you provided and they recommended a fitter that they have used for many years.

Cost of fire £295
Cost of fitting £85 (*)

* Took around an hour and the guy (ex British Gas) seemed very professional. He did laugh when I told him of the original quote but, frankly, it was laughable wasn't it? He said that the sad thing is there are people who will pay silly prices and so these places effectively get away with it.