Free central heating installation

[AJRose]

I’ve just found out I qualify for central heating to be installed as part of warm homes funding which I am so relieved about as I went through last winter with no boiler. The engineer came today though and has really worried me by saying that the house will look a mess afterwards because the pipes are all wall mounted coming down from the boiler which will be in the loft. I know I should just be grateful and I am but at the moment I am going through a divorce. I am fighting for me and the children to stay here but I’m now worried that if I have to sell the house in the future, I am going to lose value because of unsightly pipes. Has anyone had any experience of this free heating installation who can put my mind at rest? Thank you.

Free heating

The radiators will be in front of the pipes won’t they? So you won’t be able to see the pipes.

Our radiators have wall mounted pipes you can’t see them unless you look behind the radiator.

Good luck with your divorce.

Ok I’m not an expert on central heating but I have a few questions .

What kind of property do you have - flat, terraced house, semi and what are your floors made of ?

Is this gas central heating ? If so, where does the gas come into your property and why is the boiler not there instead of in the loft?

Have you had three quotes ? Sometimes you need this to qualify for the funding.

The fact that it’s free ( to you ) shouldn’t make any difference to how it’s installed and how the pipes run .

Do you already have adequate insulation, because that’s often a condition of the grant and has to be done first? Is you qualify for free heating you can probably get this done free too, but you need to know so it doesn’t hold up your heating installation.

OP, when I had mine done they covered most of the exposed pipes with a white plastic covering. Our boiler is in the kitchen. After they'd finished fitting it I had the boiler and pipes beneath boxed in with doors on that matched the Kitchen units. At least you won't have to think about covering the actual boiler up with it being in the loft.

Wouldn't your house lose more value by not having heating than by having some visible pipes?

We qualified for a new heating system grant a few years ago. They did a great job, really tidy all over the house (put rads in every room). Yes there is pipework around the boiler but we eventually got around to boxing it in. They did have to install the smallest size boiler for the house so it does take a while to run the bath but I’m thrilled with it generally. So much better than the single night storage heater we had before!

Do you know why the boiler needs to be in the attic? Sounds pretty unusual.

We have just had our boiler installed in the loft by BG. Quite usual and a preferred place, as we have an old house and no gas at the back of the house, so it couldn’t go in the kitchen area.
The pipes do run down through what was the old airing cupboard, and one in the bathroom, to be boxed in.
The ground floor was more tricky as we have solid floors, but they came down under the stairs. We do have a couple of exposed pipes in the dining room alcove, to be boxed in.
I’m sure the heating engineer will look for the least intrusive way to the radiators, especially if you have a suspended wooden floor.
Try not to be concerned and enjoy a warm winter.

We already had radiators but got a new boiler to replace a 30 year old back boiler. They were originally going to put it in the airing cupboard to avoid wall mounted pipes between gas supply and external wall, but where happy to put it in the kitchen when we asked.

We were planning to do some work in the kitchen anyway, so chiseled out a channel before they came. They lay the pipes they needed and we plastered over once they left.

Maybe ask exactly where the pipes will be, and if they will be obvious or difficult to box you could look into getting a handyman to come before and after.

Are you in a house or a flat? In a house the pipes can go under the floor. Any company that is telling you that the pipes have to be wall mounted are being lazy.

In a flat they do have to be wall mounted but the pipes can run low along your skirting so you don't have boxing in running along the top of your walls.

I would google the company for reviews.

Radiator covers can cover up and bits of piping you can see.

Thank you everyone. We live in a dormer bungalow with different floor levels which is why the installation is difficult. We are going to have pipes coming down the walls in most rooms and at one point across a wall at eye level. This is the one I’m most worried about. The engineer who came out did say he would cover these pipes but it still wouldn’t look good! He said the loft would be the most manageable place to put the boiler because of where the pipes need to go. There are two sides to the house with stairs and two separate landings in the middle where the stairs branch left and right. The lounge is at ground level and you go up to a middle level to the kitchen.The house has warm air heating at the moment but it doesn’t work. I paid over £200 for it to be fixed last winter but it still won’t stay on and I can’t afford to keep spending money on it so I’ve no choice really. I was so happy I couldn’t believe it when I heard I’d been accepted for this scheme to put modern gas central heating in. The boiler they use is a good one as it is Worcester Bosch. All I’m worried about is if I have to sell the house in the future, buyers will be put off by pipes on show instead of coming up through floors.

if it's a bungalow I can't think why there should be any difficulty in putting the new boiler on, say, a kitchen wall and taking the pipes up through the kitchen ceiling then running them round the loft.

Anything in a loft is of course out of sight and harder to get at, and more prone to freezing. You are less likely to notice any strange noises or slight leaks until they get much worse. As you become aged, or if you have an injury, you will find it more difficult to clamber up a ladder. Some maintenance companies won't do it unless there are permanent steps, a safety rail, fixed flooring and lighting.

Taking up wooden floors, including carpets, laminate and heavy furniture, is extra work. The Scheme payments are cut to the bone so it is difficult for an installer to do a thorough job and to make a living. Some do one or the other.

If the floors are concrete it is impractical to take them up.

Do you have a crawl space under your floors? You can install central heating with poly pipe these days which means running it through a crawl space is much easier than it used to be trying to solder a pipe right above you and trying to avoid flux droplets...

My CH system is all polypipe below the floor that links to chrome coated copper for above the floor and my builder drilled holes right where it came through so it’s the minimum that can be seen.

If there is no crawl space and the only option is ripping up floor boards you could always ask how much extra it would cost for him to rip them up and perhaps pay the difference?

I agree pipes and trunking look unsightly. If it must be done it must be done and whatever it detracts from the value of your home will be more than offset by the fact that your home has central heating with a modern gas boiler (and a Worcester Bosch at that is an excellent brand).

Thank you everyone x

I live in a flat and have just had gas central heating installed. The pipes from the boiler run under the timber floor . I don’t understand why you can’t have this too.

Have you had three quotes?

What about loft insulation.

I’m wondering if your installer is being lazy so he doesn’t have to lift the floorboards and drill the joists . You would be able to check this out if you got more quotes .

if this is a free or subsidised scheme, I believe they're offered on a "take it or leave it" basis, and the scheme funder will have taken out a contract to instill many heating packages. They are likely to have pared the price down to the bone.

I hear that recipients seldom complain, as they feel they've been given a free gift. Other people say that they should complain if the work is substandard, because the taxpayer has paid for it and should be getting what they pay for.

The scheme provider (not the installer) should be able to say what standard they are paying for.