New Boiler Needed or Replace Part

Boohoo

As it's a leasehold would the OP needany kind of permission for any work to be done to the exterior flue or roof access?

debitcardmayhem

A friend had a new boiler from boxt and they were pleased, their quote was lower than the cost of mine done by my regular gas fitter, but only by a £150, but I have had good service from him over the 20+ years I have used him. The annual cost for service has risen over those years from £50 to now £112, but the boiler has a 10 year warranty if it is serviced by an approved engineer, him of course.

Paying £500 pa for Homecare is a very expensive mistake IMHO, they do have lots of get out clauses, I would put aside £42 in an interest bearing account . We live near Colchester so the cost of a good gas fitter should be similar to Ipswich.

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82129229#Comment_82129229

Have a good look at the ends of the radiators. Can you see rust around the joints? Is there a furry crust of limescale? If there is, then the radiators are starting to rust through. If not, they should be good for a few more years.

A bit of rust on a radiator in the bathroom is normal. That's just caused by condensation.

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82129298#Comment_82129298

Or just quietly replace it, because the landlord will probably never notice. Every time you ask for permission to do anything, they will charge a fee.

Boohoo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82129478#Comment_82129478

That's an option.

I thinking more of a person doing the installation who would need access to the flue from the downstairs flat roof having the ok to do the work

Also the notification to the council that a new boiler was installed or is that not needed?

Ectophile

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82129501#Comment_82129501

The building regulations notification will be needed. But if you use a Gas Safe registered plumber, then they notify through Gas Safe.

You only need to get the council involved if you are doing a DIY install. That is actually legal, but probably not a good idea.

eddddy

lknights1987said

The property I am in is also leasehold!

Is it a flat or a house? If it's a flat, typically (but not always) the roof will belong to the freeholder.

So if it's a flat and the roof belongs to the freeholder…

If installing a new flue involves cutting a bigger hole in the roof, or cutting a hole in a slightly different place - you should really get the freeholder's consent for cutting their roof.

If you are simply reusing the same hole in the roof for the new flue, you shouldn't need new consent.

As others say, the freeholder might never find out - unless for example, the installer does a botch job and rain water leaks in, and it gets reported to the freeholder.

And/or when you eventually sell the flat, the buyer might ask you about freeholder consent associated with installing the new boiler. If it comes to light that you cut the roof without freeholder consent, that might be an issue for the buyer.

FreeBear

Would the radiators need replacing aswell ?

Not generally, no.

But… With just four radiators, replacing them would get rid of the bulk of sludge and you wouldn't need a power flush (£800 buys a lot of radiators). Also use the opportunity to fit higher output radiators (perhaps as much as 50%). This will mean that you can run at a much lower flow temperature and get an increase in fuel efficiency.

One thing to look at when deciding on a particular make/model of combi boiler is the modulation range and minimum output. The better ones will do 10:1 modulation range with a minimum output of ~3.2kW. Cheaper boilers might only do a 7:1 modulation and 5-6kW min output. With 4 radiators, even at ~3.2kW, the boiler will short cycle (bad for efficiency and long term reliability), so you need a smarter thermostat/control that will (try to) put a stop to that.

My boiler, a Viessmann 050, will go down to 3.2kW, but even with 9 radiators, it will still short cycle at times. Leaving all the TRVs set to max reduces the problem a little, but I still needed to tweak the control system.