Pricing a boiler change

[Christopher buzzard]

Hey. 1st post so sorry if it's been asked/answered before.
Gas safe engineer for 13 years but through my firm which I still work for. 3 months ago I applied for my own registration number so I can do minor gas works outside of my normal working hours. Now out of my probation period. The advice I'm seeking is that I've had a friend who asked to have a new boiler fitted. Change from a non condensing system to a condensing boiler system. Boiler going in the same place. Use the same flue hole. Run condensation, upgrade 15m of gas pipe to 28mm, full power flush and fit A magnaclean filter. He will buy everything so I only charge labour. That's what I'm struggling with. I haven't a clue how to charge for something like this. Do I charge hourly? Is there a rough guide as to what to charge that someone could help me with.
Any advice appreciated

 

[ShaunCorbs]

day rate i would allow 3-5 days depending on what needs to be done

 

[Scott_D]

Change to a combi?

 

[Christopher buzzard]

No sorry Scott. . Keep a system boiler but condensening. Minimum pipework alterations to boiler. Apart from gas pipe upgrade.

 

[Last Plumber]

No sorry Scott. . Keep a system boiler but condensening. Minimum pipework alterations to boiler. Apart from gas pipe upgrade.

28mm?

Why such an increase?

 

[Christopher buzzard]

Hey. MI require 20 mbar working pressure. Comes out of the floor in 15 mm copper to the original boiler and disappears. 22 mm comes out of the meter which is the other side of the house. Airing on the side of caution and experienced I wanna upgrade it.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

What size boiler ?

 

[Christopher buzzard]

25kw

 

[ShaunCorbs]

25kw

Yea I would do it in 28mm

 

[London Gas]

What area do you live in?

In London I would price this by the day but you need to weigh up what you need to cover your time and what you want a friend to pay, most companies I have subbed to would charge anywhere from 4-600 a day for this type of work.

 

[Christopher buzzard]

Cheers London gas. On the east coast. Suffolk. Nothing like those day rate prices here!

 

[Gasmk1]

£250.00 upwards for a day rate

 

[Last Plumber]

What size boiler ?

Regardless of route and distance ?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Regardless of route and distance ?

25kw any more than 4 elbows and you need 28mm due to the distance

 

[king of pipes]

£600 is a fair price i am on the east coast maybe £500 For a mate time hmrc has had their bit it not over the top . cheers kop

 

[London Gas]

If you want to be really cheeky, phone up some local guys and ask them for a rough price on what they would charge for the job and knock what you feel is reasonable off for you friend, but thats if you want to be cheeky... Its hard for someone to answer that as the price of the job in London will be a lot more than the price of a job elsewhere etc. 🙄

 

[Christopher buzzard]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Last Plumber]

25kw any more than 4 elbows and you need 28mm due to the distance

I don’t agree with that one Shaun.
Bit too generalised for me.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

I don’t agree with that one Shaun.
Bit too generalised for me.

25kw, 15m and 6 elbows gives you a pressure loss of around 0.90

Putting two lengths of 28 in would drop this to around 0.50

 

[Last Plumber]

25kw, 15m and 6 elbows gives you a pressure loss of around 0.90

Putting two lengths of 28 in would drop this to around 0.50

It would be 0.7 but the point is? Why aim for 0.5mb?


I've been installing industrial Gas installations of all sizes and Commercial and Domestic Heating installations for 30 years.

To say any more than 4 elbows on an installation to a 25 kw boiler needs 28mm pipe is wrong.

I don't agree with giving advice like that Shaun. It benefits no-one. Installing 28mm pipe on that installation is a waste of money and advertises that the installer didn't understand what he/she was doing.

In my opinion.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Because I slightly over spec, op doesn't say if there's a gas cooker / fire on site / planning one in the future etc

If the customer would want one your going to have to change/ up the line as it will be over spec

 

[Last Plumber]

op doesn't say if there's a gas cooker / fire on site / planning one in the future etc

The OP doesn't say much about the installation, as in distance, route, other appliances etc. That's why I queried the 28mm decision.

As far as over spec, If the customer said they were thinking of additional appliances in the near future, I would size accordingly. If they were not, I would look at it that any increase in pipe size in the future is up to the Engineer who is dealing with it. Every situation should be taken on its own merits !

I suppose we all do things different.

 

[Christopher buzzard]

To be fair. The length of the run is 15M, gonna have 10 elbows on the run. Also there is an existing range cooker on the run. I will have to get books and and do some pipesizing exercise to determine how much 28mm to run.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Cooker size
how far from the meter
Elbows on that run

?

 

[London Gas]

If its close then I would say better to be over than under, either way it needs to be calculated.

 

[firemant]

Who specced the boiler? Does he need 25Kw?.

 

[masons]

what size is the house with the need of 25kw system boiler ????

 

[Dom Perkins]

My 2 cents. Any boiler change, for a standard customer I charge at least £750 up to a £1000...Labour... for friends I've don't £500 for a few days work, but luckily i don't have many friends.. for close family £150 or something so they don't cost me money... I charge half what British gas would, so i don't loose sleep at night over my prices. They get a years no fuss guarantee on my work and obviously anything that comes with the appliance installed.
I like when this subject comes up, always interesting to hear how people charge... especially the guys that tend to be up north doing new boiler installs for a few hundred quid