New boiler

PawelK

Hello.
Just wanted to check with other who recently had new boiler installed in their property. I am in 2 bed flat in a block of flats so 24k combi would be enough. Having currently Ideal boiler and asked for several quotes with ideal but also other brands to see the difference. They quote me with everything included which is a boiler, dispose of an old one, chemical flush of radiators, magnetic filter and limescale reducer. I was not surprised that the cheapest quotes are not even under £2k! Perhaps it because it's been a while since I looked into that market but was convinced I can get something for around £1.5k. Can anyone confirm that the quotes I'm getting are normal and what's expected nowadays?

Thank you.

tacpot12

A quote around £2.6K is normal in the Midlands at the moment. The boiler and flue are usually around £1200, with labour and other services being around £1400. There really isn't a lot of price different between an Ideal boiler and other boiler makes such as Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Viessman and Intergas. 

Boiler replacement usually takes about three man days, often requiring two engineers on the first day, and one for half a day on the second day + an electrician for half a day. Services such as disposal and sundry materials such as cleaning fluid, pipes, fittings certainly add to the cost, but you are also paying for the warranty that you get on their work, and for back office staff to prepare the bill and check that it has been paid, insurance, the cost of running vans, websites, etc. 

macman

Should be a powerflush, not just a chemical flush. £2k is not out of line, but it should include TRV's and a digital programmer, or weather compensation?
As tacpot12 states, you'd be better off with a decent brand such as the four he mentions.

PawelK

Thanks both. What's TRV? The difference between these four and Ideal is that most come only with five years warranty and Ideal plus one more (I think glowworm) come with ten years.
Also, every engineer that was around stated this shouldn't take more than a day to complete the job. It's quite straight forward. I will ensure they will do power flush. Thanks again!

fred246

Boiler installation is a massive rip off. British Gas started charging £3k so the plumbers joined in charging silly amounts. Price up the materials. Then you can work out how much labour they are charging. Then ask them how long it will take them. They get a bit embarrassed when it works out at £2k a day. Then they agree to do it for less. I got quotes down from £2500 to £1300 using the technique.

fred246

TRV is thermostatic radiator valve.

PawelK

fred246 said:

Boiler installation is a massive rip off. British Gas started charging £3k so the plumbers joined in charging silly amounts. Price up the materials. Then you can work out how much labour they are charging. Then ask them how long it will take them. They get a bit embarrassed when it works out at £2k a day. Then they agree to do it for less. I got quotes down from £2500 to £1300 using the technique.

BG quoted me over £3.5k and it was still after my apparent saving of nearly £400. Laughable.

macman

A powerflush, boiler change and commissioning in one day is unrealistic, though not impossible if two RGI's are working.
BG typically quote 40% more than an independent RGI.

RelievedSheff

macman said:

As tacpot12 states, you'd be better off with a decent brand such as the four he mentions.

I have heard a lot of people say this when an Ideal boiler is mentioned. Having lived with ours for going on a couple of years now we are really quite impressed with it. It runs on fresh air, our gas bill is really very small and is very quiet. Servicing costs are very reasonable as well.

The chap we use from a local gas services company said that they are one of the boilers that he has the least bother with.

We would happily have another one installed and the ten year warranty is just another bonus.

PawelK

RelievedSheff said:

macman said:

As tacpot12 states, you'd be better off with a decent brand such as the four he mentions.

I have heard a lot of people say this when an Ideal boiler is mentioned. Having lived with ours for going on a couple of years now we are really quite impressed with it. It runs on fresh air, our gas bill is really very small and is very quiet. Servicing costs are very reasonable as well.

The chap we use from a local gas services company said that they are one of the boilers that he has the least bother with.

We would happily have another one installed and the ten year warranty is just another bonus.

I can agree on that. Although I bought my flat just over three years ago, of the sticker underneath the boiler is the boilers date, it is now 15 years old so decent age and working well except of having some leak when running on high power hence keeping it low but still keeps my flat warm. However, GSE refused to issue annual service certificate as the boiler built up some rust and limescale inside and advised me it would cost me to open it fully and investigate the issue and then cost again to fix it. Two years ago that leak was fixed but only lasted one winter and next year or started leaking again so I'd rather buy new and like you said, ideal boilers with ten years warranty are still cheaper yet efficient to the big makes.

fred246

How long does it take to fit a boiler? 4-6 hours. Can easily be done by one engineer in less than a day.
https://idealboilers.com/tips-and-advice/how-long-does-it-take-to-fit-a-boiler