Replace a boiler????

luke78

Hi,

I am having a bit of a mare at the moment. Basically, are old combi boiler started to leak last weekend. I finally managed to get a plumber out to look at it, and he said that it needs replacing. He quoted me £1500 - £1600 for a new one, including fitting. The problem I have is, that our flat roof also needs replacing, and this is going to cost around £1000. We are also trying to sell our flat, but at the moment, there are more water catching contraptions in the kitchen than viewers!!!

I was looking at cheap combi boilers on the b&q website, and they are about £500 - so my question is, "How easy is it to replace a combi boiler myself?". I was also wondering if it would be worth claiming on the home insurance for the roof, as I have a bad feeling that the beams are going to be wet as well!!

Any advice will be most appreciated!

Cheers,
Luke

MyUserNamesTaken

You think that's bad??!!! My combi's been condemned. I'm sitting here with no hot water and no central heating. The sloping roof on my extension is leaking, too, so needs work. The water supply to my house is crap, so I need a complete new water supply laid on. Total cost for the plumbing (including the new water pipe) = £3119. Still waiting on roof quotes, but that's looking to be around the £2000 mark. Luckily, the local council has award me a grant (because we get working tax credit), which will cover £5000 of the work.


In answer to your question, you're not legally allowed to replace the boiler yourself. You can get a non-Corgi registered plumber to stick it in, but any gas work has to be done by a Corgi registered plumber. The quote you have isn't really that bad, by the way, as the system has to be flushed when a new boiler is fitted and everything has to be brought up to standard (TRVs, room stat, etc). As for the flat roof, unless it's storm damage, you can't claim on the insurance. It sounds like a maintenance issue to me.

Browntoa

I go with that...paid the same for a new combi boiler including fitting + additional provision of 15mm gas pipe from meter to boiler

luke78

Thanks for the reply's. I had a very bad feeling those may be the answers!! Looks like I may need to apply to the bank of Mum and Dad for a small loan then!!

Good luck with your boiler/roof problems. I love the way these things all happen at the same time, also just had to shell out for new brakes on the car!!!

Browntoa

just ask them to specify the boiler they are fitting....make sure it's a decent brand !!

paul_h

luke78 wrote:

I was looking at cheap combi boilers on the b&q website, and they are about £500 - so my question is, "How easy is it to replace a combi boiler myself?". I was also wondering if it would be worth claiming on the home insurance for the roof, as I have a bad feeling that the beams are going to be wet as well!!

Depends how confident you are with the plumbing and replacing the flue and the associated masonery work, unless you can get hold of an identical boiler. Don't forget that you cannot do the disconnection, final connection or testing of the gas pipework legally unless you are CORGI registered, assuming it is a gas boiler.

You could try another plumber, or better still a boiler servicer - most parts for boilers, including the heat exchangers, are available and it will undoubtedly be cheaper than a new boiler...

As for your roof, normally insurers will only pay for damage caused to roofs, e.g. weather damage, not for normal wear and tear - e.g. an old flat roof which has simply reached the end of it's life.