New boiler/central heating

[hugoboss]

Do they go hand in hand? Anyone able to give me a round about idea of cost of new system in a 3 bedroom 1950s house? Just a rough idea

[buildersmate]

No they don't go in hand and if you have copper pipes already installed around the house, there would be no reason to rip them out. They last the ligetime of the house unless leaky because badly installed.

You can change your boiler as a single unit, just running the old pipes into the new boiler. Many folks who do that also are able to change the fluing arrangements because old boilers were usually installed into an existing chimney flue, nowadays many boilers are balanced flue which means they don't need a vertical stack - just access to the outside walls. New boilers are more efficient than old ones so will save you fuel costs.

Other parts of your system that you might need to change are the hot water cylinder - they corrode through eventually dependent on the quality of the original, and the hardness of the water. The pump - easily changed and often regarded as a DIY item these days. Any other old controls like thermostats, CH controllers and diverter valves. These all have a life of perhaps 15 years average.

Guessing a cost is really different because it depends so much on what you already have. A guess for a plumber to install a new boiler could be �1200-�1500. (The raw boiler itself costs about �500.). You could probably revamp your system as outlined above for between �2500-�3000. Try and get three quotes - hard with plumbers in short supply, I know.

[stanleyman]

Depending on the age, condition and quality of the existing system it can be beneficial to install a completely new system. Just changing a boiler can work if the existing is newish but you can also easily end up with a mess of different and inefficient added on bits and pieces all in the wrong places with old imperial fittings and clogged up old radiators etc. and costing just as much as a new system. It will always be a compromise.

Modern systems have to have TRV's, other controls and compliant cylinders fitted which can be difficult to fit on old outdated systems. You also have the opportunity to install modern unvented hotwater cylinder, sealed systems and plastic pipework that reduces the number of pipes and installation time. If the house insulation has been improved then new radiators are not only more compact but can have a much smaller output, also sometimes allowing a smaller boiler.