Help Needed on Where to Site a New Boiler

[arran197]

This summer I am planning on replacing the heating in my in-laws house. I'll bullet point it for easy reference.

• Current system is an Ideal Mexico 2 OF floor standing boiler located in the kitchen.
• Gas pipe is 15mm and runs under concrete floor.
• System is a C plan, pumped, one pipe CH and a non-pumped DHW Cylinder.
• Cylinder is located in the loft, so there is no a/c.
• Rads are all in poor condition.
• Electric shower, no bath, so not a large consumption of hot water.
• Gas meter located in cupboard under stairs

Now I want to put a combi in, most likely will be a Baxi Duo-Tec 33 HEa. They're offering a 7 year parts and labour warranty and I work on them day in day out anyway, so know them inside out.

The house has a suspended floor downstairs, apart from the back room and kitchen which is concrete. There's no room for a wall hung boiler and the flue will not be suitable to be located where the current boiler is.

I have 3 options in my opinion.

Option 1 is to fit the boiler in the back room, which is single skin and currently has no heating in there. It's used as a utility and storage room. I can put the boiler in here, but the walls have the next door neighbours garden, the garage and a large window, so a horizontal flue is out the question, meaning it would have to be vertical out the flat roof. I haven't had any experience of fitting a vertical flue through a flat roof, how easy is it to do? It'll also look rubbish because all the pipework is going to have to run around the wall and it won't be easy to get it in to the ceiling space. Meaning lots if boxing in. I'm also concerned about the fixing of the boiler to the wall, the gap between the plasterboard and external wall is about 5".

Option 2 is to site the boiler in the loft. This would probably be the easiest, but may still require some boxing in of the gas, condense and flow and return. The thing I'm concerned about with this is that I'll have to build a hand rail, fit a loft ladder and board out the loft, which I'm not sure I will be able to fit a ladder in the gap above the hatch.

Option 3 is to fit the boiler in a bedroom and make a airing cupboard around it. My in-laws don't really want me to do this. But it is the easiest option in my opinion, apart from the condense pipe, which will also be an issue is the boiler goes in the loft, the soil stack is external.

Any opinions or help? I don't do any install work, I'm purely a repair engineer, so when it comes to stuff like this I feel a little lost.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Alpha man]

As its for the in laws, don't fit it in the loft, IMO

 

[arran197]

As its for the in laws, don't fit it in the loft, IMO

Why do you say that?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

As its for the in laws, don't fit it in the loft, IMO

any reason why?

 

[Destroyer2813]

Plus i can coint on one hand the number of boilers in lofts that have a handrail, what you could do if you put it in a loft is put the f loop an secondaty gauge somewhere more visible

 

[Destroyer2813]

* count

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Plus i can coint on one hand the number of boilers in lofts that have a handrail, what you could do if you put it in a loft is put the f loop an secondary gauge somewhere more visible

we always fit a handrail and a permanent walkway,loop remote with a gauge downstairs,external controls downstairs and all pipework lagged also a frost stat if req nothing wrong with going in the loft if its fitted right

 

[Alpha man]

Why do you say that?

I made the mistake off fitting one in the loft for the old dears, every time it needed repressurising or resetting they couldn't get into the loft to do it!, so guess who got that job?

So after that, I try my hardest not to fit a boiler in a loft for the elderly!

 

[Destroyer2813]

Some of the ones you see in lofts are shocking though Gasman

 

[stevetheplumber]

ive never seen a hand rail on a domestic loft but a light flooring and a ladder are a must

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Some of the ones you see in lofts are shocking though Gasman

true,but it can be fitted well its like everything i suppose,i once got called in to fix a heatline in a loft that had frozen and flooded the place just a crap fit really

 

[arran197]

Are there any other reasons why I should not fit in the loft?

Has anyone fitted a flue on a flat roof? I'm wondering if they're prone to leaking or are a pain to fit?

 

[AWheating]

the only really factor about the loft is do you think the customer/inlaws will like or be able to get to the appliance now and in the future?

i would go for bedroom cupboard or utility room tbh.

 

[arran197]

They're only in their 50s & they're planning on selling up in the not too distant.

The problem with the utility room is there isn't any good way of getting the pipework round. Condense, prv, hot & cold will be OK, but flow, return & gas will be a pain. There's 3 different levels, a kitchen, a garage & a bog in the way! Unless I mount them on the ceiling & box them in? I can't really see any other way of doing it, it'll also need a vertical flue on the flat room.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

i would put it in the loft really cant see the issue if its done right at the end of the day they can control it and put water in it from downstairs anything else you will be sorting if your happy enough going up the loft then whats the issue?????