How Long Does It Take to Fit a Boiler?
When it comes to replacing your existing boiler, the question that will undoubtedly be on your mind is how long does it take to fit a boiler? We recognise that your time is valuable and we pride ourselves on helping you to save time and money. By breaking down the main stages, from getting an online boiler quote to the completion of your boiler fitting, you can see just how little time it will take.
Save Time & Money – Starting with an Online Boiler Quote
You can get a free, no-obligation, quick and fairly accurate online boiler quote through the intelligent quoting system on our website. Within minutes, you will receive an online price estimate, and with some help and advice from an in-house expert, we will finalise the online boiler quote without the need for a survey, saving you time and money.
Our online forms have been adapted and developed to be as easy and quick to use as possible. The only information we require is:
- The type of fuel used in your property,
- The type of property you live in: detached, semi-detached etc.
- The number of radiators in your property. (Make sure to slide the circular slider)
- Your current boiler type and location of the flue.
- Basic contact information.
Once one of our experienced surveyors have spoken to you over the phone, we will be able to finalise the quote within the hour after your call. So how long does it take to fit a boiler? The boiler will be installed within 1-3 days. The installation can take anywhere between 8 hours to a full day, to a couple of days, to a week, depending on the project scale.
Phone Survey over Home Survey
We are an online company and aim to give you the best boiler installation and service possible at the best prices. So, while we do offer a home survey for more complex installations, but for simpler installations, where possible we’d prefer to do a phone survey with some help from your side. This is the best part of getting your boiler installed by Boilerhut. You can even talk to us over the weekend if need be, send some photos, and finalize your quote and agree to an install date. Our engineers will give you an approximate time frame for how long does it take to fit a boiler.
Physical home surveys add considerable time and money to the overall process, which also means your final quote will be higher. This process will also take longer than Boilerhut’s online way, as we will need to schedule your home survey. Depending on the direction you want to go in, once your quote has been finalised, we can get your new boiler installed at your home within 2-3 days.
Straight Replacement or Swap, Same Location
If you’ve got a broken boiler, and want to swap it for a similar capacity new boiler, usually with combis, that’s called a combi to combi swap. If you’re asking ‘how long does it take to fit a boiler’, then you’ll be pleased to know that a combi to combi swap is actually the fastest route, because the location is the same and the set-up should be virtually the same. Our team of installers can use the existing pipework (if it’s in good condition) and this can take as little as one day to complete. It may take a little longer if we are unable to connect the existing pipework to your new boiler. Or if as per the updated building regulations, your gas run needs to be upgraded. Even with this minor setback, it is realistic to expect that we could install your new boiler within a day.
Similar Boiler, New Boiler Location for Installation
When asking ‘how long does it take to install a boiler?’, you’ll need to consider the boiler’s location and if it needs to be moved. If this is case and you plan on moving it – for example from the kitchen to the airing cupboard/garage/basement or elsewhere – the installation will take a little longer. That’s because our engineer will need to cap off your current gas pipework and run additional pipework to the new location. They may also need to make adjustments to sections along the pipework to ensure radiators heat up.
This will add probably an extra day or half a day. Long story short, the further the new location of your new boiler is from your older one, the longer it will take and the more expensive it will be.
System Upgrade
For system boilers, the question of how long does it take to fit a boiler becomes a bit more complicated. So, it does add considerable time. If, for instance, you are installing a new boiler that is different to the old type of boiler you have, that’s a system upgrade. An example of this could be switching a back boiler for a combi, or a system boiler for a combi and so on. So then how long does it take to fit a system boiler? Why does a system upgrade take longer than other installations? To explain, take switching a system boiler for a combi boiler. Now, because a system boiler uses a cylinder, and a combi boiler doesn’t, the engineer needs to first take away the cylinder and then re-pipe your central heating system.
If you are doing things the other way round, i.e. switching a combi boiler for a system boiler, then additional time is required for installation of the cylinder and new pipework.
With all of this in mind, a system upgrade could take anything between 2.5 to 3.5 days to complete, depending on accessibility and the complexity of your installation.
Which boiler is best to install?
Combi Boilers
Short for Combination Boiler, these don’t need extra storage tanks and provide heating and hot water on-demand, as and when you need them.
Flat/1-2 bedroom house – 1 bathroom
A property with 1-2 bedrooms and no more than 1 bathroom won’t require a high capacity boiler. Whilst you may have a system boiler, and do not want to change your overall system, we would still recommend conversion to a combi (only if your cold water pressure is good). Below are the best boilers in this category:
| Brand | Model | Output (kW) | PRICE | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viessmann | Vitodens 100-W Combi | 26 | £915.78 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Worcester Bosch | Greenstar 24i System | 24 | £1,209.78 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Vaillant | ecoTEC pro | 24 | £870.45 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Grant UK | Vortex Eco External System 21-26 | 26 | £2,465.31 inc VAT | Oil |
| Viessmann | Vitodens 050-W | 29 | £821.07 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
Please note: The prices above are from an online plumbing wholesaler for the boiler only, and do not cover installation costs or other extras.
The boilers listed above are mainly gas boilers but can be used for LPG as well with an LPG conversion kit. Because combi boilers provide heating and hot water “on-demand” and don’t require additional water tanks they are not suitable for larger properties with more bathrooms where there is a chance of 2 or more people using the shower at the same time.
Having said that, Viessmann has a larger capacity combi boiler with a thermal store:
More information here: Viessmann Vitodens 111-W
The 111-W can power even the house types shown below with multiple bedrooms and multiple bathrooms. You just have to make sure that your incoming water pressure is high enough. Ideally, if you have 20 litres per minute coming in from your mains supply, this boiler will take care of the rest. To measure if you have adequate water pressure, just go to your mains water supply point with a 5-litre bucket and time it. If it fills the 5-litre bucket in 15 seconds, you’re good to go. And because regular and system boilers will take longer to install, this will save you crucial time, money and space.
Conventional/Standard/Regular and System Boilers:
When trying to figure out ‘How long does it take to replace a boiler?’, Conventional or standard boilers require a cold-water tank in the loft and a hot water cylinder elsewhere in the house. If your house has more than 2 bathrooms, this type of boiler may be for you.
System Boilers have the heating and hot water components built-in, but they still require a cylinder for storing hot water. Unlike a standard boiler, you don’t need a cold-water tank in our loft.
Bigger capacity boilers suit the following house types:
Semi-Detached, Mid or End Terraced House – 3 Bedrooms – 2 Bathrooms
On average a 3-4 bedroom house will usually have two bathrooms – one being an en suite, and maybe a toilet. A higher capacity (28KW to 35KW) powerful combi boiler will work well for a property of this size. An alternative option is a new energy-efficient conventional boiler (18kW-24kW) with a water tank. We would always suggest speaking to a qualified installer to receive the best advice for your situation.
These are our recommendations of the best boilers for an average 3 bedroom house in 2021:
| Brand | Model | Output (kW) | Price | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viessmann | Vitodens 200-W Combi with Weather Compensation | 30 | £1,522.70 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Worcester Bosch | Greenstar 30Si Compact | 24 | £1,143.90 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Vaillant | ecoTEC exclusive | 32 | £1,378.72 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Grant | Vortex Eco External System 26-35 | 26 | £2,169.17 inc VAT | Oil |
Please note: The prices above are from an online plumbing wholesaler for boiler only, and do not cover the installation costs or any extras.
Again, all boiler models shown above (except Grant) can be used for Gas or LPG (with an LPG conversion kit).
Detached House/Bungalow – 4+ Bedrooms – Multiple bathrooms
As your house size goes up so will your heating and hot water demands. This means you will require a more powerful boiler to heat and provide hot water to your larger property. These are our recommendations of the best boilers for a larger detached house, bungalow with more than 4 bedrooms and more than 3 bathrooms:
| Brand | Model | Output (kW) | Price | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viessmann | Vitodens 100-W Open Vent | 35 | £1,358 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Worcester Bosch | Greenstar 32CDi Regular | 32 | £1,532.27 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Vaillant | EcoTEC Plus 438 | 41 | £1,613.07 inc VAT | Gas/LPG |
| Grant | VortexBlue Internal Sealed System 26 | 36 | £2,370.34 inc VAT | Oil |
Please note: The prices above are from an online plumbing wholesaler for boiler only, and do not cover the installation costs or any extras.
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