Central heating boiler exchange costs - what's your quote and why so expensive?

Doc_N

I'm curious - what are people being quoted for gas boiler replacements, and how much of that is the labour cost? 

Seems extraordinarily lucrative when some quotes seem to be including a thousand or two (or three!) for just a few hours work.

FreeBear

Paid £2500 last year for a ~£1200 (RRP £2385) boiler to be installed. The quote included the cost of the boiler, flue, copper pipe, mag filter, and ancillaries, plus obligatory Building Control paperwork. So probably £500-800 of extra costs that I never saw. Took the guy 3 days due to various delays (wrong part delivered, wasp nest, etc).

If I were to do a replacement today, I'd probably go for a heat pump from Octopus (had a quote earlier in the year for £2700).

Albermarle

Doc_N said:

I'm curious - what are people being quoted for gas boiler replacements, and how much of that is the labour cost? 

Seems extraordinarily lucrative when some quotes seem to be including a thousand or two (or three!) for just a few hours work.

Yes it does seem a lot . Over a grand for one days work, with a simple boiler replacement. I think one point to remember though is that they have do quite a lot of training to begin with, and then regular refresher courses, which I presume they have to pay for and obviously can not work those days.

jefaz07

I’m not sure who can exchange a boiler in a ‘few hours’ if it’s done correctly. 

But as mentioned above, ongoing mandatory training to pay for. Annual gas safe registration, insurances, taxes, overheads, actually planning the job from quoting to fetching the materials. Any issues with the installed items so that has to be taken into account. 

FreeBear

jefaz07 said:

I’m not sure who can exchange a boiler in a ‘few hours’ if it’s done correctly. 

But as mentioned above, ongoing mandatory training to pay for. Annual gas safe registration, insurances, taxes, overheads, actually planning the job from quoting to fetching the materials. Any issues with the installed items so that has to be taken into account. 

Don't forget Building Regulation sign-off - That alone is worth £300 or so. But the installer will (should) do all the paperwork as part of the Gas Safe self certification scheme.

jefaz07

FreeBear said:

jefaz07 said:

I’m not sure who can exchange a boiler in a ‘few hours’ if it’s done correctly. 

But as mentioned above, ongoing mandatory training to pay for. Annual gas safe registration, insurances, taxes, overheads, actually planning the job from quoting to fetching the materials. Any issues with the installed items so that has to be taken into account. 

Don't forget Building Regulation sign-off - That alone is worth £300 or so. But the installer will (should) do all the paperwork as part of the Gas Safe self certification scheme.

Yeah. It’s done for you when you register the boiler warranty on the manufacturer App. 

Doc_N

FreeBear said:

jefaz07 said:

I’m not sure who can exchange a boiler in a ‘few hours’ if it’s done correctly. 

But as mentioned above, ongoing mandatory training to pay for. Annual gas safe registration, insurances, taxes, overheads, actually planning the job from quoting to fetching the materials. Any issues with the installed items so that has to be taken into account. 

Don't forget Building Regulation sign-off - That alone is worth £300 or so. But the installer will (should) do all the paperwork as part of the Gas Safe self certification scheme.

‘Worth’ £300? Really?

FreeBear

Doc_N said:

FreeBear said:

jefaz07 said:

I’m not sure who can exchange a boiler in a ‘few hours’ if it’s done correctly. 

But as mentioned above, ongoing mandatory training to pay for. Annual gas safe registration, insurances, taxes, overheads, actually planning the job from quoting to fetching the materials. Any issues with the installed items so that has to be taken into account. 

Don't forget Building Regulation sign-off - That alone is worth £300 or so. But the installer will (should) do all the paperwork as part of the Gas Safe self certification scheme.

‘Worth’ £300? Really?

Look at the scale of fees your local Building Control office charge. e.g. - https://www.bcsolutions.org.uk/_img/pics/pdf_1712681575.pdf

"Worth" is indeed debatable, but having certificates in place when selling reduces headaches. Solicitors (and some buyers) like to see paperwork for everything.

Murmansk

One good way to avoid paying too much for a boiler is to not use British Gas!

RavingMad

£1.8k for a WB regular boiler that's booked in for Wednesday and Thursday.  Another person that my sister uses quoted £300 more.

He's also going to replace a radiator and only charge for the cost of the radiator.

Ibrahim5

It has lots of secondary effects as well. If you want a new boiler your plumber will be available immediately. If you want a repair they are too busy. Parts are not available to repair your boiler, you normally need a new one. If your having a new bathroom suddenly your plumber is off sick and you find them round the corner fitting a new boiler. They will drop anything, say anything to fit new boilers, all because it's SO lucrative.