Everything You Need to Know Before Getting a New Boiler Fitted
We recently had a new boiler fitted (as you can see from the picture above), a couple of months ago now, and it was (kind of) what I was expecting. But at the same time, it was a bit of an eye opener and there are things that, having been through it ourselves, you should be made aware of being buying a new boiler for your home. Where some of these things might be obvious to you already, there are a couple of things that you might not have thought about regarding the process, so here we go!
Think about how many radiators you have already & if you're looking to add more in the future
When choosing a boiler, it's important that you choose one that's right for your lifestyle and it should also have the capability to cater for your entire household, regardless of how big your family is.
It will also depend on the size of your house. My advice is to make sure you've done your research. We went for a middle-of-the-range boiler, not small but not big either. It does us well to say we have three sinks and two bathrooms in the house.
Different boilers will also only have the capability to serve a certain number of radiators, so if you have over 20 radiators in your house then a small boiler won't be substantial enough. But then if you have less than that, usually, you can choose whichever boiler you like.
But then again, there are also different boiler types: combination, system and heat-only. Again, do your research because there are pros and cons with all of them and it really depends on your usage and what you need.
The other thing to think about is whether or not you'll be having an extension done to your home or whether you'll be installing additional radiators (bear in mind that you'll likely need permission from the Local Authority before adding radiators to your system, essentially, Planning Permission). Will your new boiler be able to handle those additional radiators or will you need a bigger one or one of a different type in preparation for future plans? It's all worth thinking about.
You need a substantial budget
It's no secret that having a new boiler fitted can be extremely expensive and so it's not a decision that should be taken lightly. Make sure you have the right budget together before calling someone out to install your new boiler. There might be some additional costs to take into consideration, such as TRVs.
If you have a very old system with radiators that only have valves on them and no TRVs then the gas engineer has to put them on in order to be in line with regulations. This can be expensive and so you'll need to factor some additional costs into the installation. The best thing to do here, when you enquire, is to be open and honest with them about your system and that includes whether radiators have TRVs or not, as simple as it sounds.
Once you've told them everything there is to know about your current system, they should be able to give you a very accurate quote, so save up for that amount and then add a bit more to it. If you don't need it, then you can save it or splurge on another aspect of your home and it's a win-win.
It will be messy
There will be a lot of drilling and a lot of dust. You might even have to chop out walls, like we have done, to hide pipes that come down the wall, for example, so that adds to the overall mess of the process. Where the gas engineer will put dust sheets down, or at least should do, you'll still find that dust and dirt gets absolutely everywhere.
Be prepared for this, take a deep breath for two or three days and deal with the aftermath once it's all in and working properly. It feels like it won't end or that you won't get to the other side, but it does, so keep the end in sight and look forward to it.
It might impact how the exterior of your house looks
Depending on where you want your new boiler, you might end up having pipes and flues running up the side of your house. We had ours downstairs in the kitchen and seeing as there was adequate space between us and the property next door, we were able to get away with having a neat little flue that sticks out of the wall, slightly, as opposed to a huge flue that scales the side of our property.
You also have to think about gas pipes going up the side of the house, especially if you're having the boiler relocated from one place to another. Ask the gas engineer if you have any concerns and whether or not they have any solutions to make sure as little piping as possible ends up on the side of your house. They should understand your concerns and be able to point you in the right direction.
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I hope you found this blog post useful? Let me know in the comments whether or not you're having a boiler changed soon or if you;re thinking about it and still aren't sure. Have you already had your boiler fitted and have some further advice to add? Let me know in the comments section below and I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post :)
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