Worth moving boiler?

ChasingtheWelshdream

Just a sanity check really.

I would like to move our boiler from the bathroom which would free up enough space to reconfigure the layout and have a shower cubicle.

 It’s a combi boiler, 8 years old and has never gone wrong. It would be just dropped to the utility room below. The quote to move is £1300.

That’s a significant chunk of of our budget and I’m just wondering if it is a wise spend, especially with the age of the boiler. I would love it moved but…

Its a 5 bed house and the combi is fine for how we live,  but I do wonder if we would go for a different system if it were to die, and which would then waste the money spent moving it now. As I gather a combi wouldn’t usually be fitted in a house this size?

Any thoughts?

Eldi_Dos

Would the higher humidity and possibly larger temperature swings that you can get in bathrooms lessen the lifespan of a boiler,is something to consider if getting new boiler.

FreeBear

With the death knell being sounded for gas boilers, looking ahead to heat pumps is sensible in my opinion. The £1300 would be better spent on bigger radiators and improving the insulation levels. Also have a look at the pipework - Heat pumps need 22/28mm feed & return pipes (15mm is OK for the short runs to the radiators).

Even with the existing combi, bigger radiators & pipework would mean you could run at lower flow temperatures now - This means slightly better efficiency with the boiler and marginally lower fuel bills.

ChasingtheWelshdream

It’s  currently in a huge cupboard so sheltered somewhat from humidity.

The insulation and upgrades to this house are slowly happening as best we can but will unlikely ever be enough to make a heat source pump properly effective so that will be interesting in future when we have no option.

FreeBear

ChasingtheWelshdream said: The insulation and upgrades to this house are slowly happening as best we can but will unlikely ever be enough to make a heat source pump properly effective so that will be interesting in future when we have no option.

Depending on the size of the property, even small improvements to insulation can have a dramatic effect. Had the last tranche of windows replaced here last summer. Have yet to insulate the walls in a couple of those rooms, but even so, it is proving to be a lot easier to heat those spaces. That there were always nasty cold draughts coming in around the frames was a major part of the heat loss. No more cold draughts \o/ - Still going to insulate the walls & boost the loft insulation if only to score better on the EPC.

goldfinches

I had my boiler moved from the kitchen five years ago and have never regretted it.
The move freed up a lot of space in my small kitchen which has made a big difference to how I live day to day so I think it was really worth the mess and disruption. I had new radiators at the same time so had to do quite a bit of quick redecoration because they weren't the same size and there were some holes that needed filling too but overall it has been worth every penny. 
I say, if it's going to affect a room you use several times a day go ahead and do it, you only pass this way once so make sure you enjoy the trip.

ThisIsWeird

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

Just a sanity check really.

I would like to move our boiler from the bathroom which would free up enough space to reconfigure the layout and have a shower cubicle.

 It’s a combi boiler, 8 years old and has never gone wrong. It would be just dropped to the utility room below. The quote to move is £1300.

That’s a significant chunk of of our budget and I’m just wondering if it is a wise spend, especially with the age of the boiler. I would love it moved but…

Its a 5 bed house and the combi is fine for how we live,  but I do wonder if we would go for a different system if it were to die, and which would then waste the money spent moving it now. As I gather a combi wouldn’t usually be fitted in a house this size?

Any thoughts?

Hi CtWD.

Is it worth doing? Only you can decide. But if you really want to remodel your bathroom, then it seems a necessity?

On the 'house size' issue, if you are happy with a combi - ie happy to have only one hot outlet running at a time - then a combi is fine for you. End of.

Future energy sources will almost certainly require a hot cylinder (Thermal Store) to be fitted, but you can put this off for many years (a different level of cost again!)

So, a wise move? Yes if you need to remodel your bathroom. No if you don't. That's it.

If it goes faulty in a few years, there's a good chance you'll still be able to replace it with another combi - not sure when the cut-off date is?

£1300 might appear a bit high at first glance, but is probably not. Gas pipe, cond pipe, flue pipe, wiring, controls - and then the simple water pipes - all need shifting.

cerebus

You don't mention what size house you have nor how many bathrooms nor how many appliances use the combi...

If you have an electric shower, one bath, sink in utility, kitchen, downstairs toilet and bathroom then a combi is fine but I'm assuming you only have one bathroom...

Forget heat pumps , gas boilers will be around for a long time yet , I would bet they will still be going strong when I start pushing up the daises in around 50 years time. Your home needs to be heavily insulated to fit them and the very high cost of install means that you will probably never see a return on the outlay let alone start to make savings and don't get me started on electric boilers!

Oh an eight year old boiler is not old! 

ChasingtheWelshdream

Putting any gas boiler bans to one side for the time being,

Is it worth doing? Only you can decide. But if you really want to remodel your bathroom, then it seems a necessity?

This is the thing see. The bathroom is in desperate need of replacement (leaks like a sieve and the culprit areas have been tiled over so needs ripping out to reach, it is now top of the priority list). I have always said when we re-do it, I want it to do it properly and change the layout. Hence the boiler being moved and a little bit pinched from the adjacent bedroom.  I've wanted to change it for 6 years.....

However, it doesn't need a new layout. In as much as we could simply replace what is there and have a functional place for ablutions. 

cerebus said:

You don't mention what size house you have nor how many bathrooms nor how many appliances use the combi...

If you have an electric shower, one bath, sink in utility, kitchen, downstairs toilet and bathroom then a combi is fine but I'm assuming you only have one bathroom...

Oh an eight year old boiler is not old! 

5 bedrooms, 3 floors, 1 bathroom, 1 wc, 1 utility. In future will be adding 2 x extra bathrooms but we are looking 4+ years. 

Which is where the dilemma is. A combi wouldn't suit that set up. The best place for a water cylinder would either be in the existing boiler cupboard, or on the opposite side of the house. Which I know will be a much larger outlay when it comes to it.

For context, the boiler is bottom left. I would square off the room from next door (which doesn't go through that window and has been confirmed OK by a structural enginner.....)

TELLIT01

Say the death knell for gas boilers has been sounded is a little inaccurate.  The date was 2025 but that has been changed to 2035.  By that time the OP, or next occupant of the property, would probably be looking to replace the boiler again.  By that time heat pumps will have been developed much further and all the pro's and con's of the system much more apparent. 

ThisIsWeird

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

Putting any gas boiler bans to one side for the time being,

Is it worth doing? Only you can decide. But if you really want to remodel your bathroom, then it seems a necessity?

This is the thing see. The bathroom is in desperate need of replacement (leaks like a sieve and the culprit areas have been tiled over so needs ripping out to reach, it is now top of the priority list). I have always said when we re-do it, I want it to do it properly and change the layout. Hence the boiler being moved and a little bit pinched from the adjacent bedroom.  I've wanted to change it for 6 years.....

However, it doesn't need a new layout. In as much as we could simply replace what is there and have a functional place for ablutions. 

cerebus said:

You don't mention what size house you have nor how many bathrooms nor how many appliances use the combi...

If you have an electric shower, one bath, sink in utility, kitchen, downstairs toilet and bathroom then a combi is fine but I'm assuming you only have one bathroom...

Oh an eight year old boiler is not old! 

5 bedrooms, 3 floors, 1 bathroom, 1 wc, 1 utility. In future will be adding 2 x extra bathrooms but we are looking 4+ years. 

Which is where the dilemma is. A combi wouldn't suit that set up. The best place for a water cylinder would either be in the existing boiler cupboard, or on the opposite side of the house. Which I know will be a much larger outlay when it comes to it.

For context, the boiler is bottom left. I would square off the room from next door (which doesn't go through that window and has been confirmed OK by a structural enginner.....)

Ah! That is completely different! The answer is...

Only you can decide. I hope that helps :-)

Your added info does, tho', change things a bit. As you surmise, when you add two more bathrooms, a combi might not be ideal. But that's not to say it won't work - we have 3-5 bedrooms (3 'bedrooms', and two others that have successfully been used as bedrooms with no issues), and 3 bathrooms (2 en-suite), and we cope; just one shower in use at a time...
Q's
1) When you move that end bedroom corner, the bathroom space should be transformed. Do you still intend to fit a bath in there, or a shower cubicle?
2) The two proposed bathrooms, can you plan one of these to contain a hot cylinder? And/or a gas boiler?