Boiler / builder dilemma - please help!

[filigree2015]

Hello, I'm a long time lurker, but this is my first post. I would be very grateful for any thoughts!

So, husband and I planning a new kitchen. We want to do it nicely because we expect to be in the house for at least ten years. We don't have any children but hope this will change in the next couple of years. We currently have three / four bedrooms and two bathrooms plus an extra shower running on the electric, with the potential to extend into the loft in the future.

We were just approaching the point where we felt we had saved enough to get on with quotes for the kitchen, which needs some bits of building work as well. And then... the combi boiler started breaking down (it's 12 years old). The boiler man has suggested replacing it with a top spec combi. But, the builder came round at the weekend and said for the size of our house we should really be looking at a mega flow type system with a cylinder.

We take the builder's point, but to get the cylinder in we'll need to move our airing cupboard and loo in the bathroom, as that's the only place it can realistically go. We put down new bathroom flooring only last year. So, we'll be looking at rather more hassle and money compared with just doing the top spec combi boiler. This will eat into the kitchen budget. We managed ok with the current combi whilst it was working properly - the main issue was when we had guests and two bathrooms were in use. This probably happens about once a month, so not a huge deal.

So, do we take the hit and get the mega flow type system, or do we go with the combi boiler (something like a Vaillant 937) and worry about the usage issues if and when this becomes a problem? My gut feeling says the combi, but I don't want to kick myself in two to three years...

[Fingeronthebutton]

Why don't you put the cylinder in the loft?

[filigree2015]

Thanks fingeronthebutton. I understand the mega flow type cylinders aren't generally suited to lofts, possibly even less so in our house because it's tall and thin. Also, it seems this would definitely cause a problem if we do the loft conversion. I think the only place it can really go is the main bathroom, unfortunately.