How much will it cost for heating work in my home?

 Heating engineers install, repair and service boilers, pipework, controls that are all used to heat your home.  Having a warm home can make the difference from enjoying time in your home to wanting to put your house on the market. To make it less daunting when deciding on your project, HaMuch has put together information including questions to ask to keep thinks running smoothly during the project to how much to budget as well as how to find the right heating engineer for you.

Managing money and getting off on the right foot with your gas heating engineer

When choosing a Heating Engineer first and foremost make sure you are only speaking with engineers who are Gas Safe Registered and have a certificate to prove this to you. It is a legal requirement, put in place for the safety of homeowners. Try to get 3 comparison quotes from the Gas Safe engineers so you have a feel for the value of service and what is being offered and at what price. Check if your Heating Engineer is vat registered and ask if the prices quoted have included or excluded vat. Insist on being given a ‘written quote’ to avoid disputes over payment and job expectations at the end of the project. Discuss payment terms as well as remembering to ask if smaller ‘man in van’ companies have facilities to accept card payments or if they are strictly cash only. Many tradespeople nowadays shy away from accepting cheques and if you do want to pay with a cheque, arrange for it to be cleared into their account by a date that suits them for heating engineers to be willing to accept the cheque payment.

When receiving a quote that involves materials being installed or replaced, scan the quote to see if it has included the cost of the materials. If it has, have a look yourself online to see if you may be able to save money by purchasing materials cheaper. Websites like Screwfix or Direct Heating Supplies sell to the public and you can choose brands based on your budget as well as avoiding paying a mark-up on collection costs. If you are buying your own products for the engineer to fit the prices can vary, so ask the heating engineer which product they prefer to fit and why, e.g. a magna clean filter varies from £50 to £200 for different brands (when fitting magnet filters, Adey Magnaclean is often a preferred brand and happens to be a middle of the range price).

If you are paying for labour and materials, it is not unusual to be asked to pay for the materials upfront or at least a deposit towards the materials before the heating engineer outlays their own money in preparation for the works. If you do pay a deposit or any money upfront, insist on an invoice clearly showing money paid.

Try Google the engineers and their companies to see if they have any reviews online regarding their quality of work. The benefit of almost everyone owning a smart phone, is it makes it easier to ask to see ‘before and after’ photos of boiler installations. When looking at the photos take note of how they have tidied the area in the photo around the boiler install and if replacing an old system boiler to a modern combi boiler taking up less space, ask how they intend to cap off the unused water pipes and area that is no longer needed.  

Check if the heating engineer has any public liability insurance while working in your home and if you are having a new boiler or expensive parts installed, find out about what guarantee you have on the workmanship as well as what guarantee you will have on the products. Some Vaillant boilers are issued with a 12-year warranty and Worcester Bosch boilers have a 7-year warranty. The different warrantees are only valid if the boilers are fitted by an accredited installer who is Gas Safe registered.

Defining the quality and detail of the job

Before you call your chosen heating engineer out to your home, be prepared with what it is you are wanting fixed or installed. Make sure they will have adequate access and organise a pathway to the part and sufficient lighting in the space where the parts are to be repaired or installed. If the heating engineer needs to inspect a header tank in the loft or your boiler is located in the loft, before they arrive let them know if you don’t have a loft ladder or loft light so they can arrive equipped. If the heating engineer is to repair or replace an item, speak to the tradesperson, giving us much detail as possible about when you first noticed the issue, how the system was behaving prior to the fault and how it behaves now. If you have noticed a drop in your system’s pressure or any water leaks, be sure to point them out. If you are aware of any rusty valves or radiators that might possibly leak in the near future, point these out as well. If a part has broken off (a dial on the timer or a boiler cover) hold on to the broken part to give them on arrival, as it will be easier to match the part when they can see it for themselves.

While the heating engineer is with you and you are discussing an install or products to be fitted, (whether they will source the items or you will at a later stage), ask for advice. Find out which brands they prefer and why. Discuss any upgrades that might help you to save money in the long run with a more economical central heating system. If you enjoy the idea of a smart house, ask that rather than just fitting a standard good brand heating controller (e.g a Danfoss wireless programmable room stat) they fit you with a Smart Hive Active heating thermostat.

If you are replacing your boiler, before just replacing it with a newer version of what you currently have, chat with the heating engineer about what style boiler (a combi, system or conventional boiler) would best suit your family’s needs for hot water and heating and size of your home (what capacity sized boiler to supply enough hot water to the floors and amount of bathrooms and family members) as well as keeping your home economical. Discuss whether you have the space for a storage tank or if you prefer a modern combi boiler with no need for water tanks and if you prefer your boiler being fitted in same location or a new location – remember to always avoid having a boiler installed in a bedroom as this can be dangerous if there was a gas leak while you were sleeping.

Rough guide for how much basic heating work in your home costs;