I have received a lot of emails over the last year from property owners who want information on what’s involved in replacing a central heating system so they know if they’re being riped off. In other words, what has to happen in what order, and by who, in order to get the job done as effectively and inexpensively as possible.

Cash can be saved by doing things in the right order and at the right time. Doing things twice or in the wrong order costs money. Actually it costs you money. The installer gets more of it! Labour is always a big deal. All like-for-like heating systems come in at roughly the same price. Labour however is where you can save some real cash by getting the work done effectively and by making sure whoever you hire is doing the job right and on time. Your time!

So how does getting things done in the right order and at the right time save you cash. A good example would be replacing a boiler, moving it a metre away from where the old one was located and having the system flushed. By following the list below the system should take about a day and a half providing for a few small snags.

Old non-condensing room sealed combination boiler to room sealed condensing combination boiler and relocate two metres away:

1. arrive on site
2. put down protective covers
3. isolate gas, water and electrics to boiler
4. drain the central heating system (and hot water storage tanks if required)
5. remove the old boiler, storage tanks
6. complete any other demolition work required (in other words get everything messy completed in first few hours)
7. get the power flusher hooked up, filled up and ready
8. undertake any modification to the central heating system such as pipe work or radiator additions or removals
9. flush the system and while the system is flushing (usually between 3 to 6 hours or more)
10. start preparing for the installation of the new boiler flue, condensate drain if running outside, hole for pressure relief pipe work
11. hang new boiler or the mounting jig
12. do as much pipe work as you can before having to disconnect the flusher
13. old boiler connections layout don’t always match new connections so if required make modifications and then re-connect boiler or jig to the new pipe work
14. hang boiler to bracket if necessary and test all pipe work for leaks
15. connect flue and any external connections
16. connect power source and test
17. refill heating system with water and add inhibitor
18. bleed all air out of system
19. commission new boiler as required by manufacturer.
20. clean up the mess, load skip and get on to next job

It would not be fair to say that a job like this should only ever take a day or so to sort out but on average however a day or two is all it should take. It should also be noted that a new residential boiler gets installed almost exactly the same in every home. The pipe work and radiator locations may differ but installing a boiler in a two bed semi is pretty much the same as installing a larger version boiler in a four bed detached. Your installer should know what he’s doing and be able to install in quick order.

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