The vast majority of homes across the UK have central heating, but you will still find some that don’t. Electric radiators are expensive, as are other old fashioned oil filled heaters. If you live in an older property or perhaps a period property, then you may not have central heating. Although the Aga will keep the kitchen warm and the open fire in the lounge, living in an old home with no heating is not really any fun in winter. So, one important home renovation plan you may have in mind could be adding a central heating system.
Home Renovation : Quotes for Your Central Heating
Nowadays there are many different types of central heating. From traditional radiators to warm air and underfloor heating, you will be spoiled for choice. Whichever type of heating you are thinking about installing, make sure you get at least three quotes. BBN can put you in touch with hand-picked tradesmen, so all you need to do is choose which team you want to employ. If your home is a period property, you may need a survey to be carried out first. This will reveal hidden pipework and may reveal an existing flue.
Gas Safety
Gas central heating is almost certainly the cheapest and most practical method for your home renovation. But remember that a boiler can only be commissioned by a Gas Safe Heating engineer. So, don’t think about trying to save money by fitting the boiler yourself. If your boiler of choice is oil, it should be installed by an approved installer from the Competent Persons Scheme. Modern boilers must also be energy-efficient, reusing heating that before would be list from the flue.
If you home does not have gas at the moment, then this is another consideration to take into mind. You may need to be connected to the mains gas, something that can take some time, or cost money, depending on where the nearest gas pipes end. If this is the case, then you may consider an oil-fired boiler instead. Electric heating should be your last choice, as it will turn out being the most expensive.
Cost
Once you have figured out which is the best method for your home renovation heating job, it’s time to work out how much it will cost. If you are installing radiators, these are relatively cheap and cost around 30 pounds each. So, for a nine-room home, the cost would be 450 pounds. If you want replica Victorian radiators for your period home, these start at just over 100 pounds.
Most likely you will need to replace your boiler, and the cost of this will depend on how large your home is and how many radiators you have. Budget for between 1.5 and 3K. Lastly you will need to price up labour charges and other materials. This amount varies depending on the size of your home, but averaging around 3.5K. One way to save money would be to invest in reconditioned radiators, although this will only save you a small amount of money when compared to the overall cost of your central heating home renovation.