Reasonable cost for a boiler swap (labour only)

[Sothy]

Hi guys

I have the pleasure of being the owner of a Range Powermax 155x. Its on its way out, I have to reset it every other day and as I sometimes work away I don't want to leave my wife and kids to rely on this thing.

I am looking to get it exchanged - having read these forums (and spoken to my brother in law who works at a plumbers merchant) I can get a boiler from him, looking at an Ideal Vogue 30kw but I have had a few plumbers in to cost the replacement. Both have said it should take a day (or a little over) but I have been priced £800-900 for this... for 1 day!

Now is that reasonable? The boiler is in a cupboard upstairs, gravity fed by another tank. From what I can tell all the pipework is in the right area along with power, so it should be a pretty standard swap with perhaps some boarding out to strengthen the supporting wall (the current one sits on the floor) and running a few flue extensions through the loft to the exterior wall (loft is boarded with power and light so easy access).

I understand people need to make a living and there will be various sundries used in the swap but what would you guys think is a fair price?

Cheers

oh and by the way I live in Yorkshire so not London rates...

 

[gassafe]

Price seems reasonable / on the cheap side to me...

Does this price include a powerflush of your existing system? The last powermax I took out was proper filthy water, I think the powermax thermal store acts as a sludge bucket!

theres more too it than just a boiler... You will have flue extensions, bends, scale inhibitor, magnet filter, cleaning & inhibitor chemicals, room thermostat & programmers?.... Fittings, board to secure wall..... I could go on ; p

 

[Sothy]

Thanks for the reply - I can get all the physical things from the brother in law, so im really thinking its the copper pipe, fixings and time that i'm paying the plumber for, as I know all those extra's can soon add up to hundreds...

 

[Ermintrude]

£900 labour only

 

[Meady]

It's alrite you saying you will supply the boiler but there is more than just that to supply and are you going to get all of the right parts. Where abouts are you located as you may get someone off here.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Hi Sothy.

It depends on what you want to buy.

If you provide absolutely everything (I mean down to the last clip) then you should expect to pay between £40 and £75 per hour for a gas registered engineer, truly labour only, depending on where you are in the country.

However, what you need to understand is that you are only paying for those hours. If something goes wrong later, don't expect him to come back unless you are paying for more hours. Don't expect him to come to look at the job in advance, unless you are paying for those hours too. Don't expect him to advise on anything other than safety. If you want consultancy - guess what? You can pay for that separately.

If what you want to buy is a) the opinion of an expert up front, then b) the job to be done professionally, and then c) the installer to stand by his installation later, if there are any problems (which may or may not be caused by his work) - if THAT is what you want to buy, then with respect, I think you are getting a bargain.

 

[Killy Bing]

Please remember we are a different breed to most people, we constantly train, re train and have to attend more courses to retain competency.
we are also running businesses.

as such we are also taking responsibility of the install and your safety to boot.

I would bite their hand off.
i quoted for a similar replacement and priced 900 feeling generous!

Fair bit of work involved too.

remember pay peanuts and you get monkeys.

also to note, if anything goes wring with the boiler then thats down to you, if the installer doesn't supply it then its not his responsibility, its yours.

Happy hunting

 

[Sothy]

Ok thanks for the replies - I understand that you get what you pay for, and also that you need to make a living and run a business and don't have a problem with that in the slightest.

It does raise a point though, if the boiler is installed safety (GSR etc) and everything is sourced from the plumber, at what point does a boiler failure stop being the responsibility of the plumber and move over to the manufacturer warranty?

 

[gassafe]

The price quoted ain't london rates...

Might even be a 2 man job with that heavy beast coming out...

Is there somewhere for condense & safety relief discharge?

 

[Sothy]

The price quoted ain't london rates...

Might even be a 2 man job with that heavy beast coming out...

Is there somewhere for condense & safety relief discharge?

I believe there was, one of the people quoted did mention that but it went a little over my head as he was really confirming to himself when looking it over.