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I need a flue replaced. Quotes are coming in at eye watering numbers. Is it usual for an engineer to be charging £100 an hour? Appreciate its a profession but that seems a lot. I thought they'd be ball park sparky sort of rates are £250 a day.
(Plus do I need a gas engineer to replace a flue?)
Anyone replacing a flue will not be an Engineer.
That would be a Technician job at best - not a professional 8)
Gas engineer is that not just a posh name for a plumber with a corgi
£200 a day round here
They are going to make it worth their while to do the job, not worth going to pick up new flue from merchants, driving to your house, get kit out, fit new part, test if necessary, put kit back on van and drive to next job to only charge you £50 is it really...
I am a sparky so unsure about needing a gas engineer, but i would as it's a gas appliance they would be working on...
NO you don't need one to replace a flue. Depends on the flue but its usually pretty easy. done a couple myself
I'm being quoted £500 in materials and £600 in labour....not pocket change
As far as I can tell its several pieces of tube bolted together and then clamped. It does not look like something particularly difficult....
It is a long flue...6m horizontal with a 90 then 1m vertical and 2 x45 (valiant) all easily accessible in the loft.
I am very tempted to buy the bits myself and have a crack. Wife wants it done properly, carbon monoxide etc...
Wow... I just paid £265 for the following: Initial call out to fix a leak from the boiler. Faulty flue replaced, and boiler also serviced. Service is £80 on it's own, and I think the cost of the actual flue was about £40 from the merchant.
Have you had multiple quotes? Are they all similar? Seems very steep both for materials and labour but maybe you have some rare appliance or something. I am thinking about a bog standard combi boiler flue.
One proper quote so far, job out on rated people, and a guy has said he'd do it for £850 via email description as likely he knows I've been given a stupidly expensive quote. 2m of flue does appear to be £80 so the materials cost isn't massively off, think I'm pricing it up On various sites. Main thing for me seems to be labour taking the piss.
We are on a super tight budget, as in the process of renovating and just in the run up to Xmas.
Oh I've already paid £75 plus annual insurance of £200 to get it fixed in the first place. Might phone valiant themselves and ask on monday
Way OTT pricing. to me thats a " I don't want the job" price. If youdon't take them up on it its no skin of their nose, if you do they are quids in.
You can certainly do all the prep work yourself. BUy all the bits, fit them loosely then leave the final connection to them if the gas fitter will play ball
You can buy a ****ing boiler and new flue kit for 800 quid!
On reflection this boiler probably won't do the job.
Might I also ask why was the boiler originally put in the worst place possible?
Previous owner, no idea. All I can think is the other directions would involve scaffolding or being on next doors land. I'm told it would be even more to reroute straight up.
Basically it is like there is some sort of price fixing / mark up going on. Over. £600 a day to fit some sections of flue?
Most likely its a two man job but for a day up my way £400 but i know some other trades think nothing of charging £40/ hr per man so that would easily hit the £600
The days of struggling with just one guy off a ladder should be in the past
Where are you based? Anywhere near derby or Sheffield?
no sorry down in southampton, and they are quoting £90 an hour!
I'd go down the new boiler route as from the description it sounds like an older open flue type boiler. Around 40% of your heat generated is going up that flue. Chucking money at an older inefficient boiler might not be the best option.
Lots of regs around flue installations these days by the way.
Sounds expensive for replacing a flue.
Those rates must be from a big firm, find a local person, rates should be much better.
But yes you do need to be Gas Safe registered to change a flue.
(not that being gas safe means that from a lot of the stuff I see)
No the boiler is a 5 years old valiant. Yes quote is from a big firm, had one local guy who blatantly knows the big firm rate and undercut, but really not by much he,d still be taking £350 for half a days work I'm going to do phoning around on Monday. No problem paying a fair day rate for a fair days work don't like being held to ransom. Possibly I'll offer to be the second set of hands to make it cheaper.
[quote=DT78 ] Possibly I'll offer to be the second set of hands to make it cheaper.
Many of my trade friends up the price when the customer offers to get in the way. 😉