Conversion to gas central heating

jack24

Hi,

Bit of info/guidance needed lads. Am still getting my extension plans ready (20sqm to rear, no PP required) and one of the things I'll be doing is converting from oil to gas. The old boiler house will be knocked down and the new boiler located inside the house (making a utility room out of a portion of the old kitchen). I wouldnt need a fancy combi boiler as one of the bathrooms has a power shower which uses a pump located in the hot press. There is side access (partly badly cobblelocked) and gas is available in the street and the house is approx 35 yrs old and located in north Dublin. I spoke briefly to the local gas installers who said a rough guide price (he had done some before in the estate) was €4,000. This included digging for the pipe to be laid, new boiler and flushing the system. He also said that some people who were changing over got their pipework replaced at the same time. He didnt however give any price for this. I'd like to ask if anyone has recently had the same done and if so what was the general price, 4k seems slightly on the high side, I have seen people give €2.5k-€4k as a ballpark price. Secondly is there generally a need to replace the old pipework if getting a new system in (we would be replacing a number of the rads downstairs)? I know noone can give a definitive yes or know without seeing the place, but any idea would be great. I dont want to get the conversion done and then find a year later that I should have done it at the time, but I also dont have an endless supply of money to throw at this, at this rate I could end up with an empty shell of an extension with microwave sitting on a chair. Thirdly, has anyone got an idea of the lad time to get the job done, I have heard it can take 2-3 months. Lastly (phew), any recommendations for good tradesmen/companies who do this kind of stuff. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

Jack

Lex Luthor

Jack, I got a quote a few years back before the euro changeover and they quoted me £1800.

This was to remove my oil boiler and fit a new gas one. Bear in mind, when my house was built, the pipe from the front of the house for the gas supply was run as far as the boiler. All it needs is the meter installed to connect the mains supply to the house supply....

I told them to get the fcuk outta me house or I'd shoot them for that quote.

I stayed with the oil.....

AT the time I was having problems with a bad smell of oil in the house....the guy who regularly serviced the boiler didn't say much about it, he introduced a small leak (I think) and the smell got worse and worse.

I got a quote from another person who converted my mother in laws house to gas and he asked why I wanted to change over to gas. Explained the situation to him and told him I was going thro oil like the clappers...he gave me the name of some guy in Kildare who came out, found the leak, fixed up the boiler and my oil consumption is halved since. I boxed over the boiler and have not looked back since.

So I suppose my question to you is, why do you want to convert from oil to gas?

jack24

Thanks for the reply,

Couple of reasons why I suppose. The boiler house takes up a chunk of the (quite small) back garden, as well as the oil tank. We are extending at the back and if we don't knock the boiler house we're left with a very small side access. So if I dont convert I'm left with an unsightly boiler house and a smaller garden. If I do convert I can knock the boiler house, get rid of the oil tank, put the boiler inside the new utility room and have the benefit of not worrying about running out of oil in in the middle of winter. I havent conducted any sort of cost analysis on how much oil is versus gas but the way both are going probably means there is no great difference in the 2. Hope that explains it a bit better,

Jack

Lex Luthor

I've sort of done the cost analysis between the 2 and they are both similar....

I suppose if you need the space in the garden, then the tank & boiler must go, but at a cost of €4k....that's a rip off.

What part of the country are you in?

jack24

I'm in North Co Dublin. The crowd I rang were local, the reason I called them 1st was they would more than likely have done some of the houses in the estate which have already been converted over so should be aware of any potential issues. Very aware if they are lookign to charge €4k I think. It does seem on the high side which I kind of knew, just wondered if anyone else had actually had it done and how much it was, also if there was a need for replacing the plumbing in the house (35yr old). We had to gut the bathroom and also created a new ensuite in one of the bedrooms and the plumber on that job never commented on the state of the pipes (he did complain about the electrics however) which would lead me to believe that they were fine. Had heard from another source (builder) that sometimes when the system is flushed and all the sediment on the pipes which is washed away can lead to smell leaks in the pipes. Any takers on that one???

Jack

The Rooster

A friend of mine in North County Dublin is converting from oil to gas - is costing €3,200. Dont think he's getting pipes replaced. He reckons gas is cheaper (though I doubt he's done any kind of scientific analysis) and he wont have the hassle of his oil running out!