Not happy with installation of Central heating-ADVISE

paulsad

Thats why upstairs boilers are best placed in the old tank cupboard or another less on show location - I think the best/cheapest fix advice so far is to rip out the loo and put in a stud wall to cover (some of) the pipework. It is a nightmare location though - who's advice did you take on there? You couldn't even box it off with a cupboard as you'd smash your head when using the loo.
Someone should have raised alarm in the initial stages.
Good luck though!

cddc

Technically he has done nothing wrong but the siting of the boiler is not sensible and hard to conceal effectively. You should have been better advised in siting the boiler.

Most boilers go in corners for a reason. It s then easier to cover them and the mess of pipework that goes with them. The siting of that one makes it look like a feature. Not a nice feature though!

It is a cheap basic but perfectly fine install otherwise. Not the prettiest but there is nothing wrong technically with it, judging from the pictures.

Just a dreadful siting of the boiler.

phill99

Unless you specify pipes to be chased into walls, this is what you will get.

TBH pipes buried in walls are an absolute nightmare. If they leak, tjey cause havoc, and when ('when' not 'if') someone puts a screw or nail through one of them, then you flood your house.

Boxing them in is the better option.

muckybutt

Boiler looks a tad messy but nowt wrong with the rest of the pipework .... standard install really, can't see why folks moan about something so trivial.

If you didn't mention to the installer that you didn't want any pipes showing then tough luck, you got what you ordered a new system end of.

System

muckybutt wrote: »

can't see why folks moan about something so trivial.

I think it's probably down to the fact that it looks absolutely awful!
Can't understand how running pipes under a suspended floor isn't a "standard install"
Does sound like the op should have said, but if you don't know you don't know - I would have also expected a plumber to ask if they were happy with surface run pipes to the rads or whether they wanted pipes in the floor space tbh

Seronera

Doozergirl wrote: »

This is moneysavingexpert - it helps us save money on everything, including the best things. It's about getting what you want for the best price, not cheap rubbish at all costs.

You even asked what the installer could have done to make it better, so you're backtracking. You didn't even appreciate that better quality is available.

And now you're calling it a budget installation. So what is it? A standard install, or a budget install? I think most people don't expect to see pipes crawling everywhere - that isn't wanting the very best, it's wanting what pretty much everyone has.

I commented that I would reflect on what I had paid, as I also suspect (and hope) that the OP may not have paid for a good quality job. But they haven't got what they wanted. It may not have been about cost - they clearly weren't even given the option.

The point is, when you provide a service, is that you talk and agree on what they are getting. If a customer wants invisible pipes, it's up to a tradesperson to provide it, or explain why it can't be done at a particular price point.

You listen, then you find the right level, not just do what you want, or allow yourself to be 'dictated' by a customer like this one who clearly doesn't understand the implications. Some positions would be downright dangerous!

A lot of people don't know what they want until they see something that looks wrong. It doesn't make it the client's fault. It's up to tradespeople to recommend the best course of action. I'd cry if my boiler were in the middle of a wall like that. That isn't even budget, it's plain stupidity.

Then there are customers who claim to know what they want and complain when they get it. My son works in an optician and you would not believe the number of women who spend ages trying on glasses, choose them and order them, pay for them and when they arrive demand a refund as they've changed their minds....and yes it is nearly all women according to him. (its known as a remorse purchase by the way.....in case you were unaware of the phenomenon)

Presumably all the radiator locations were discussed and that dictates the pipework. I'm still not sure given the pictures I can see where else he was supposed to run the pipes. There is obviously no lightswitch inside that door so thats a non issue, so why raise it at all. Now if there were any solid floors downstairs...what next...best part of a day hacking out a conduit? Who pays?......The boiler location we can all agree looks like a nonsense and is not well executed at all. Who chose that? The upstairs rads seems to come up out of the floor quite nicely. Can't see anything wrong there.

Come on where would you put the pipes? In any event I have had my fill of dealing with pipes set in concrete that have corroded or pipes in floors with nails through them, or pipes in walls which electricians have drilled through. You don't address any of those issues at all that occur quite commonly in maintaining these installations you are promoting, and sometimes they are a nightmare or even impossible to fix.....without doing an external repipe with lots of disruption...ah yes, how sad never mind. And as for tracing minor leaks....well good luck to you with concealed pipework. I had one call out recently with an obvious stain on a kitchen wall from concealed pipework leaking "But I don't want my wall hacking to pieces". I managed to stay polite. We ended up using leak sealant, but thats all she was prepared to countenance, even though she wanted it repaired 'properly'.

Doozergirl

^^^ The walls don't need hacking and we've been told the floors are suspended. You're just waffling now and inventing circumstances to justify a lack of common sense.

For the third or fourth time. Put all the pipes down in the same place out of the way or box them in, then run under the suspended floors.

Seronera

Doozergirl wrote: »

^^^ The walls don't need hacking. We've been told the floors are suspended. You're just waffling now. You're now justifying surface mounting all pipes by saying it's hard to trace a leak and you might drill into one.

It shouldn't leak either!

I don't think you have worked in many properties have you. Of course it shouldn't leak. I've spent enough years dealing with heating installations to know what actually happens when you mix human beings, carpet fitters, electricians, DIY 'experts', Sky installers, kitchen fitters, and anybody else you can think of with a wet heating system, not to mention the fact that pipes can corrode and corrode far worse if they are in walls.

There is a strong case for using drops you fail to acknowledge and that shows your inexperience. It avoids disrupting the floor downstairs whether its suspended or not. If the floor is in good condition then lifting floorboards can only create problems as you have to damage the tongue and groove doing it or cut little access hatches that are difficult to replace neatly. Its not as clear cut as you would have us believe. Where appropriate its nice to get things underfloor, but whether you like it or not it is perfectly acceptable practice to do as he has done and run the Flow and Returns under the landing upstairs and into each bedroom underfloor and then use drops from the landing F&R to downstairs.

The company I used to work for was a big installer who worked to high standards with independent inspection regimes and this was never questioned as it minimises disruption to the downstairs. We were often working in houses that were being lived in, were fully furnished with fitted carpets, sometimes with built in bookshelves and other furniture where it was simply not an option to go ripping up the floors.

I can see we will never agree so I'm not going to comment further. I just hope the OP gets it sorted to their satisfaction. If necessary they should perhaps pay another installer to give an opinion as to whether its satisfactory or not and what the practical alternatives are.

southcoastrgi

I don't reconise that boiler whats the make/model ?
I wouldn't have put it in that position
There might have been a reason why the rads are on drops
Pipework under the boiler is un-sightly but a combi needs alot of pipework so whatever is done isn't gonna look very pretty.
The gas pipe on the outside is the neatest bit of pipework in that pic
I would never chase heating pipes in a solid wall, the constant heating & cooling will crack the plaster all the time

carefullycautious

Seronera wrote: »

I don't think you have worked in many properties have you. Of course it shouldn't leak. I've spent enough years dealing with heating installations to know what actually happens when you mix human beings, carpet fitters, electricians, DIY 'experts', Sky installers, kitchen fitters, and anybody else you can think of with a wet heating system, not to mention the fact that pipes can corrode and corrode far worse if they are in walls.

There is a strong case for using drops you fail to acknowledge and that shows your inexperience. It avoids disrupting the floor downstairs whether its suspended or not. If the floor is in good condition then lifting floorboards can only create problems as you have to damage the tongue and groove doing it or cut little access hatches that are difficult to replace neatly. Its not as clear cut as you would have us believe. Where appropriate its nice to get things underfloor, but whether you like it or not it is perfectly acceptable practice to do as he has done and run the Flow and Returns under the landing upstairs and into each bedroom underfloor and then use drops from the landing F&R to downstairs.

The company I used to work for was a big installer who worked to high standards with independent inspection regimes and this was never questioned as it minimises disruption to the downstairs. We were often working in houses that were being lived in, were fully furnished with fitted carpets, sometimes with built in bookshelves and other furniture where it was simply not an option to go ripping up the floors.

I can see we will never agree so I'm not going to comment further. I just hope the OP gets it sorted to their satisfaction. If necessary they should perhaps pay another installer to give an opinion as to whether its satisfactory or not and what the practical alternatives are.

Whoops you couldn't be more wrong