Posted 19 October 2023

Installing Central Heating

Hi, I need to install Gas Central Heating in my flat (2 levels, 2 bedroom, kitchen, bathroom).

I read approximate cost would be £4-5K. I know a workman who could probably do the work. I need to try and reduce the cost as much as possible. Do you think I could offer him some help with some of the manual work to get the price down a bit? Holes will have to be drilled to root the piping...that kind of thing, which I could do if he tells me where to drill. Clean up work too perhaps.
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  1. cis_groupie's avatar
    Ask the guy, and don't feel guilty about haggling over the price. Just tell him that money's tight & you want to get the bill down as much as possible.
    Gollywood's avatar
    But I doubt any tradesman wants anyone other than a colleague working with them
  2. Knill's avatar
    I am a gas engineer, I would not want my customer to be my apprentice for the day.

    I’d be happy for customer to hang all their own radiators (prior to my arrival) if they are supplying them. Although that would hardly reduce cost. Anything else would just cause issues in my opinion
  3. mutley1's avatar
    Unless you know the guy personally, he will not want you to help as he will either be able to do the job himself or he will already have a helper with him. But you could certainly ask.

    You need someone who is gas safe registered. You want to ask that they will send notification to gas safe of the work on completion as not all will want to do this as it costs them money to notify and they may not to report a job if it is paid cash.

    Get 3 quotes to give you a comparison of costs.
  4. Mr.Plow's avatar
    Probably best to put that question to the heating engineer, jobs like hanging the radiators would be easy enough for you to do and save some time but also on the other hand some workmen prefer to be left alone to get on with it themselves.
  5. tek-monkey's avatar
    I assume not a ground floor flat? So heat pump no chance?
    EndlessWaves's avatar
    Even if a gas boiler is the right choice for you now then It is worth planning a system that'll work well with a heat pump as the pipes and radiator positions will far outlive the initial heat source.

    That will likely mean either fitting or allowing space for larger radiators but discuss it with the expert you get in to do it.
  6. Mark_Hickman's avatar
    No one is going to want you helping them unless its your best mate, but even then im sure hed just find you a hindrance as you dont know the trade ( no offence ) you could buy and hang your own radiators ready and let them then run all the pipework to them but you wouldn't save much, unfortunately you'll just have to get a few quotes and pay up (edited)
  7. cainer1's avatar
    Do you already have gas hooked up to the property?

    If your flat is electric only at present it could cost you quite a bit more than expected
    lookatmywadd's avatar
    Author
    Gas already here with meter. Use it for cooking.
  8. King65's avatar
    Have you had quotes from other plumbers as they might be cheaper and the workman you know may then lower his price too. I also agree with Mr.Plow that workmen prefer to be left alone to get on with it themselves.
  9. AndyRoyd's avatar
    Would need to factor the cost of Gas-Safe reg tech for gas connection and associated signoff / warranty eligibility,
    where some GS techs will reasonably wish to install the gas-related items rather than simply check/signoff some other random non-GS-tech's work.
  10. u664541's avatar
    £5k sounds cheap to me
    lookatmywadd's avatar
    Author
    Estimate. It's a small property and so would be on the lower end price wise.
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