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Original poster

Combi boiler located in the 1st floor bathroom, not in the kitchen - is that an issue?

21 replies

beaglesaresweet · 24/02/2014 22:03

I know that usually boilers are placed in the downstairs kitchens in houses, but whether this is just for convenience (no need to take space upstairs), or is this the most efficient way for the boiler to work, I've no idea.

It's a modern boiler, and the house is three storey (incl loft conversion) plus cellar (prob not relevant).

OP posts:
georgedawes · 24/02/2014 22:30

Ours is there too. Not a problem if it all looks /works ok.

Original poster
beaglesaresweet · 25/02/2014 00:22

thank you george! I wonder if it's usually done for bigger (taller houses) - something with reaching all areas?

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georgedawes · 25/02/2014 08:10

No idea! Ours is 3 storeys so who knows, to be honest I think they just put it where the old back boiler was.

blackteaplease · 25/02/2014 08:13

Ours is in the garage which is a massive pain if you want to boost the heating on for a bit.

1st floor should be ok

WoodBurnerBabe · 25/02/2014 08:15

Ours is in our bathroom. No issues, it was the most convenient place to put it when we refurbished the house. Plus our bathroom is bigger than the kitchen (at that time ) was. We are 3 storeys as well, but no hot water supply in loft other than the central heating.

PigletJohn · 25/02/2014 09:18

1st floor is OK.

The loft would be a real pain

BTW btp, the control/timer/programmer is connected with a cable, so need not be adjacent to the boiler. In your position, a programmable wall stat (which incorporates the timer and override) might be convenient.

MummytoMog · 25/02/2014 10:53

Ours is in our loft conversion. Hasn't been a problem so far, and the thermostat is wireless and controls the boiler perfectly well. Before that it was in the garage, which was a total PITA.

WoodBurnerBabe · 25/02/2014 22:17

Our last house had the boiler in the loft, it was indeed a complete pain. And I did feel sorry for the boiler guy who spent about 4 hours perched on a ladder trying to fix it when it broke.

RuddyDuck · 25/02/2014 23:52

blacktea in our last house the boiler was in the garage but the timer was in the kitchen so we could give it a boost or rest the timings whilst in the kitchen. Why don't you move your control panel to inside your house ( assuming your garage is attached to your house, not sure it would work otherwise).

blackteaplease · 26/02/2014 06:44

We live in rented property ruddy duck and the ll take ages to sort anything. They used to live here for years so not sure they would do it but I will ask and see what they say.

The garage is adjacent to the house.

Original poster
beaglesaresweet · 28/02/2014 00:31

thank you for replies!
Yes, boiler in the garage is quite ridiculous (though an attached one not as bad).
Is it also a pain to move the boiler? The point is, it's in the bathroom which isn't large, and where the boiler is there should could be a very nice walk in shower, or at least shower over bath attached to the wall. I'd much rather it was in the kitchen, but I assume it's a really major job to move?
So there is no advantage for a tall house for it being on 1st floor (heat distribution to upper floors)?

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PigletJohn · 28/02/2014 04:42

Heat distribution is not affected. The boiler needs to be close to gas and water pipes, and there is a strong preference to connecting its condensate drain to an internal waste pipe such as sink or bath, not running it outside the house where it can freeze.

There is a strong preference to having it inside the heated envelope of the house and not in a cold loft or garage

There is a strong preference to having it in a place with a normal floor and lighting where you don't need a ladder to get to it. Some companies refuse to service boilers where there is a ladder, or no floor, or an open hatch with no guard rail.

hiccupgirl · 28/02/2014 09:33

Our boiler is in the airing cupboard in the bathroom upstairs. We had it moved from being a back boiler in the lounge fireplace and the plumber advised against putting it in the loft due to ease of access. We couldn't have it in the kitchen because there was no outside wall suitable for the flue.

OttersPocket · 28/02/2014 11:03

That's really interesting PigletJohnn, our boiler is in the undercroft below the house accessible through a hatch from the outside. There is lighting in there but it's a bit of a pain to get into.

Original poster
beaglesaresweet · 28/02/2014 13:42

thank you.

hiccupgirl - so was it easy to move, and how much did it cost?

I would have no intention (if I got this house) moving it into the loft - but to the kitchen, as it takes up valuable space in the bathroom. Just wondering whether it's a major job with changing all the pipework or is it easy?

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mabelbabel · 28/02/2014 15:40

We had a boiler moved (from the kitchen to an upstairs bedroom!). We had three plumbers come round to give us some idea of where would be a good place to locate the boiler and how they would go about it, and a price.
In fact we had a new boiler installed in the new location since the old boiler was extremely inefficient, and also the plumbers did advise that boilers do not always take well to being moved (I don't know how true this is - we were planning to replace the boiler anyway).
The work to relocate and install a new boiler took longer than expected, but was not too disruptive since we were able to keep the old boiler operational right up until the new boiler was ready to be connected up.
The price was a few £hundred more than when we have previously had a boiler replaced but left in the same location.

hiccupgirl · 28/02/2014 19:02

Ours was a big job cos the previous boiler was a 30yr old back boiler behind a gas fire in the lounge. Everything had to be moved to the opposite side of the house and then upstairs, we had the hot water tank taken out, a new shower fitted, a house thermostat put in, all the radiators replaced and 1 extra one added in the kitchen. It came to just under £6k which sounds a lot but it took 4 days pretty solid work for it all to be done. Rerouting the gas supply pipe was a particular problem due to the house layout.

It was well worth it though...our heating bills dropped dramatically.

Original poster
beaglesaresweet · 01/03/2014 00:05

mabel so how much was that, approx? I really have no idea.

hiccupgirl, of well that's hte whole system replacement, not surprised it was 6K! re routing gas sounds a horrendous job, and possibly a risk that something goes wrong if plumbers are not the best professionals. I'm amazed 30yr old boiler was still working even!

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mabelbabel · 01/03/2014 07:34

It was around £2500 I think, including the boiler. Much longer than 4 days though! I think it was trickier then they thought it would be, but they didn't charge any extra.

hiccupgirl · 01/03/2014 08:43

The old boiler did sound like a jet engine going off every time it fired up - it was in the lounge and we had to turn the TV up, it was that loud! We put up with it for 2 years after buying the house and it was still going strong but no-one would touch it with a barge pole for maintanence etc.

£6k (with VAT) wasn't the cheapest quote we had but the plumber was very well recommended and they did an fantastic job. The house was left spotless and they worked really hard to hide the pipe work etc. Also the shower we had put in was expensive (£600!) but was worth it - even hotel showers aren't up to it.

Original poster
beaglesaresweet · 01/03/2014 21:00

quite steep, mabel! Not sure how much was the boiler, but sounds like just to move it to a diff floor would be around 1500! Hmm

hiccupgirl Grin. Loud but still working well though, almost a comedy value!

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