Desperate for advice re. new kitchen and boiler

[RubbishMantra]

I would be so grateful if somebody could help me out with this.

I'm looking to have a new kitchen fitted in the new year. The ancient boiler also keeps packing up. This is positioned in the kitchen, and there's nowhere else to place it. Is it possible for kitchen planner/fitters to contract in a gas heating engineer to replace old boiler whilst putting in the new kitchen, to keep faff and disruption to a minimum?

TIA

They may be able to do it but unless you've got a big budget I would avoid getting the kitchen fitter to include replacing the boiler. They will probably add in their mark up on whatever the actual cost of the work.

You should be able to get the boiler that you want/need at a much better price if you shop around. It will take about a day to fit if going in the same place. So you should be able to liaise with the fitter as to what day it wil be fitted so as to schedule all the work.

Then the money saved can be spent elsewhere in the kitchen!

Thank you squidgems. My kitchen is teeny tiny, but I would like the kitchen planner/fitter to cupboard around the boiler. I just don't know how I would be able to get the 2 parties to liase, IYKWIM.

I was quoted £2000-VAT, (so about £2400) for a new combi boiler only, by a plumber. Does that seem a tad steep?

why do you want a combi? Is it a single-person home?

You can now get some boilers that will fit in a 30cm deep, 40cm wide wall cupboard, but IMO it is best to choose the boiler first, and get it installed, bearing in mind that you want it to have a door over the front afterwards (it does not need a full cupboard, and there is no need for a top and bottom). If bigger, just have a bigger door over it. It will need to be close to a drain, such as the sink waste pipe, and preferably not below or beside a window where the winter steam plume will be irritating. As well as the boiler case, there will be a flue, possibly coming out of the top, and some pipes and cables, probably going into the bottom. You might hide them by boxing in with splashback, that is hinged or clipped into place so it can easily be removed for maintenance, or a small unit door.

p.s.

hiding the boiler will be easier if you have taller wall cabs. They are often available in 600mm and 900mm. I think 900mm looks better, though you won't be able to reach the top shelf, so put your unfavourite china, your sandwich toaster and your Christmas pudding bowls on the top shelf, where you will forget about them until you move house.

At that height, you won't even notice if there are a few pipes coming out of the top.

In many modern houses, a 900mm wall cab will just about reach the ceiling.

Aah, Piglet, thank you for your reply!

Old conking out/patched up (at stupid expense) boiler is a combi, and new one will go in its' place. There's already a flue in place, and lots of pipes leading to the boiler.

So you think it's best to have boiler put in first, then ask kitchen planner and fitter to work around it? Will that mean I will need a bespoke kitchen, or will Magnet for eg. be able to work around it, (fitting/planning etc.)

Sorry to ask even more questions, but do you have any recommendations of decent nationwide kitchen designers/fitters, or am I best off using one local to me?

*...yes, single person home. Existing boiler is combi.

Will depend on size of boiler you end up with about what will fit round it.

But agree with Piglet (of course - expert) get it put in then kitchen around. Should be fine to have standard cupboards around it, probably no need for bespoke.

On the subject of kitchens - Magnet v pricey, have a look though some previous threads on here for just as nice good value options!

Thank you!

Trains, would it be a PITA to link to any of them, or should I just pop "Fitted Kitchens" or suchlike in the search box?

Ooh Alors, didn't think about the attic option! Didn't know it was possible!

Please don't put it in the loft.

As an unheated space insulated from the house, it will be prone to freezing. You will not see and hear it every day and notice any developing faults or leaks

When you become old, frail, fat, pregnant or have a bad knee you will find it increasingly difficult to clamber up the ladder

Maintenance companies are getting reluctant to work in lofts unless they have good lighting, floors, handrails round the hatch and a permanent fixed ladder.

Just had a look through for useful threads, but if you search lots come up and you can see quite quickly which ones would be useful so I think you'd be better off doing that and having a browse through.

From my own experience, I've found Ikea very good quality and significantly better priced than others.

Will that mean I will need a bespoke kitchen, or will Magnet for eg. be able to work around it, (fitting/planning etc.)

Nah, it is dead easy and super common. 100% go for the 900cm tall cupboards and 100% take them up to the cealing. When I see new kitchens with that stupid gap at the top I just think "why, why ruin your nice new kitchen"

Thanks all!

Trains, do Ikea send out a kitchen planner, and fit the kitchen themselves? The reason I ask is because it's a teeny space, without square corners. (old Victorian property), so I really do need somebody to have a look and tell me what's the best way of making use of the peculiar little space. Would you suggest I put something like "kitchen recommendations" in the search box?

Thanks for the advice piglet re. the attic. The hatch is situated above my very heavy bed, with no pull down ladder or anything. So access would be tricky. Haven't even been up there myself in the 4 years I've lived here.

I always wonder about the stupid, pointless gap too, Yello. Wasted space.

Just Placemarking OP, hope you don't mind!

If I was working for you as your designer - I'd want to be able to place the boiler in space where it could be hidden with a furniture door, yes!
but if I could show you moving it 25mm to the left ( as a random example ) would mean that you could have an extra cabinet to the right, or placing it X height up would mean you could use a less expensive sized door to cover it, for another example, using a properly designed set of plans and elevations etc - you could then get the boiler put in the right place - rather than just a random place that then had to be accommodated to suit .

So I would advocate designing the kitchen with the new boiler details at hand and a rough guide as to where it would roughly need to go - and the parameters allowed on your situation - so the designer could design something that worked to suit you and your budget and that allowed the boiler to be situated safely and as hidden as possible ...

Rubbish, I believe Ikea do both those things. We started a plan with them, tweaked it a bit ourselves using Sketch Up (free internet programme that helps you draw the room) and fitted it ourselves.

But I believe they have the option to do the whole planning advice fitting for a reasonable amount.

For searching on here I'd try a google of "kitchen" and various other words and Mumsnet which will link you back the the threads here.

Ah, thanks for your help. I couldn't find this thread, so started this one.

I had no idea Ikea did a design and fit, it's not shown up on google searches for design and fit kitchens. So most useful, thank you Trains!

Also I'll ask the heating engineer to provide me with the specifications of the boiler he's suggested, thanks to your advice OnePlan. He suggested I get the boiler installed first, then ask the kitchen designer to work around it.

What ever is easiest for him in other words !! Nice chap - needs to be what works best for you, living with it long term !!! Grrrr !! ( rant over ! Sorry !! )

Thanks for pointing that out, OnePlan! I'd have gone ahead with it otherwise.

Also, a couple more questions. Does £2000+VAT seem the right price for boiler + fitting? It will go roughly in the same place as before.

And can anybody recommend a heating engineer in the Norfolk/Suffolk area please?

• Should've said combi boiler and fitting, to replace the old one.

That's similar to what I was quoted in South East.

Just wow that's shot up in price, I paid £2000 for a whole central heating system in 2009

Had a bit of a search, and it appears I can get a Vaillant combi fitted from £1400 (inc VAT) upwards, from a local fitter.

The heating engineer who gave me the original quote of £2000+VAT will only use a certain obscure type of boiler. Which would presumably make finding parts difficult. I'm sure he would be able to service/find parts for the new boiler, but at great expense, and I'd be kind of bound to him, because I expect he has a contract with the supplier.