Combi Boilers - how much to install?

[jugglingwoman]

We're buying a house that has a back boiler behind the gas fire and a hot water cylinder tank in a kitchen cupboard. Does anybody know how much it will cost to have these taken out and replaced with a combi boiler? If you do, do you also know how long it takes?

Thanks

Hiya

It's a bit hard to say - dependent on what has to be done. But we had a Baxi one put in five years ago by British Gas, and it cost us about £3500. PLus, it is a piece of junk that has cost us many hundreds of pounds to keep it limping along. So don't go there!

We have been quoted £2000 plus a bit more, maybe, for a new Vaillant one, which is the best make - and this quote is by an independent installer who we trust. We are ptting it off, but it won't be long before we have to get the bloody Baxi replaced.

So prices vary hugely, But my advice would be to avoid both British Gas (who were expensive and did a very, very messy installation) and Baxi, whose Combi boilers we have now heard numerous other bad reports of.

Hope that helps, and I don't get sued - but that is our experience.

Sorry - in terms of the time it takes. It took one full day to do: then about two days to clear up after the messy toads, and about four weeks (plus many additional visits) to get it working properly.

Given that you will choose a decent product and get someone competent to do the work - give it a full day.

Thank you for that!

My Dad is a plumber but doesn't touch gas. TBH, I'm inclined to use someone he knows even if it makes it more expensive as we'll be having a new kitchen put in which Dad's doing so it'll be helpful for him to be used to working with them (and doing a little 'prompting' if possible).

My Dad reckoned the most expensive combi boiler he could see in the local heating shop was £750 plus VAT so I'm just wondering how much the heating engineer will cost....

Had mine put in 4 1/2 years ago (I'm in Yorkshire)

for 3 bed detached house £2300, worcester bosch 28i junior combi-condensor boiler. I chose bosch because it comes with 2 yr guarentee and also gives the engineer a code if it breaks down so no fannying around trying to find out what is wrong (mine has never given me any trouble)

The £2300 was for the boiler to go in, new hole drilled in exterior wall for venting pipe, bricking up old vent hole, plumbing as combi condensors produce liquid that needs to be drained outside.

Removal of hot water tank from cupboard and sealing off the pipes to loft. Removal of cold water tank and pipes in the loft. He also fitted me a new radiator and put thermostatic valves on all 10 radiators. I have remote room thermostat and control panel in one, I can move it anywhere I like, it isn't attached to the wall so at night I can take it upstairs and if it gets a bit nippy I can press a button and the heating comes on

Took 3 days, just him. He worked like a demon as I was here to nosey watch

£1600 - Valiant combi. Used local plumber. Was 4 yrs ago mind you.

Well I'd say getting your Dad and one of his contacts involved is most definitely the way to go, even if it does cost more at the start - better in the longrun, as the way it is installed is every bit as important as the quality of the product. What a godsend. My Dad was a plastics engineer, which was naff all use to me......

Apart from supporting me through my formative years, of course!

I reckon two guys, one full day each. £400? (Unless you are in London, in which case, God knows.)Perhaps a bit more, as they would usually be hoping to make a bit of a markup on the boiler and other bits and bobs, so might try to make it up somewhere else.

But at risk of sounding like a parrot - every service engineer I speak to, and there have been many now, owing to my crappy experience with the Baxi - they all say to get a Vaillant. Cost a lot more, but don't go wrong. Good luck!

Fizzy lemonade - crossed posts with you. Did not mean to diss the Worcester Bosch - never heard of it, the moveable controls sound great! No such high tec stuff here!

Sorry to thread crash - but I'm trying to figure out boiler issues too.

Does anyone know, is it a no-no to put the combi upstairs?

At the moment regular boiler downstairs, and hot water immersion thing is in upstairs landing cupboard. It would work better for space to not have a boiler downstairs, but someone suggested that it was a bad idea because of possible carbon monoxide leaking into bedrooms.

Does anyone have their boiler not downstairs?

We had ours done last year. We paid £2,800. That involved replacing the very old boiler with a Worcester Bosch and moving it from the kitchen to the bathroom, with all the associated new pipework, plus a new room thermostat and new radiator valves. We're in SW London if that helps.

Kif, we do. I hadn't heard that about carbon monoxide. A new boiler shouldn't leak carbon monoxide anyway. Our heating engineer didn't say anything about that. We moved our from the kitchen to the back of the airing cupboard in the bathroom, where the old hot water cylinder used to be.

Ours took two guys four days, but there was a lot of work to do. Plus they knocked off by 3pm every day.

Kif

Ours is also upstairs. Carbon monoxide should not be an issue with the boiler, but they always give you a carbon monoxide detector - keep it near the boiler if you are worried. But regular servicing (which most people do with their boilers, I think) should mean it is not a problem. It is usually dodgy old fires that pose this kind of risk.

Cakesandale its a Bosch boiler ie a very good make and they are made in Worcester (the town) so hence Worcester Bosch.

I like bosch, I have a bosch dishwasher and a bosch iron

Kif You can get a carbon monoxide detector that is like a smoke alarm ie it sounds an alarm if it detects carbon monoxide meaning if anything leaked carbon monoxodide in the middle of the night it would wake you unlike the ones that just change colour.

Lots of people in flats would have them on the same level as the bedrooms.

As you will be gaining a cupboard because of the hot water tank going, surely it could go in there?

we had a vaillant combi boiler put in our two bed flat a couple of years ago and it was about £2500 plus vat, but we did have some pipework redone too... all done in a day.

My DH has got quotes of £1,800-£2,000 today. He's arranged to meet 'boiler men' at the new house next week to get a proper quote. I feel calmer and more able now!

Thank you!

Oooh - thank you, lovely people.

The answer I wanted to hear!

The builder was a general builder looking at the other work we needed doing - didn't have corgi or anything - so no real reason to think that his comments were based on experience.

Good luck juggling woman!

My Boiler which is about 20 years old has just gone wrong. I am now having a combi boiler A rating with 5 year gurantee fitted & having my immersion tank taken out. this is costing me £2,300. Suffolk

My boiler is about 20+ years old i am now having a combi boiler fitted & having my immersion tank taken out it should be 1-2 days. It is costing £2,300 it`s an A rated boiler with a 5year guarantee. (Suffolk)

had someone round on friday, london, £2000 to install, 1-2 days at most. but that is not including ripping out your existing system, which will obviously add on. I would allow 3k and would hope you have some change back!

would think twice about a combi in a house with more than one bathroom.

dh thinks you cant have combi upstairs because of pressure. but he's a management consultant so wtf does he know tbh!!!!!! (he'll probably charge me for the advice though).

We have a Baxi combi in the attic and the bathrooms are all absolutely fine, why wouldn't they be???