Central heating system upgrade.

[GSDog]

Hello all.

My brother and I very recently inherited a 2 bedroom bungalow from our grandfather and the central heating is in need of upgrading. The current system is probably about 25 years old and the pipes have suffered from several leaks over the last couple of years. For those reasons we'd like to upgrade the entire system, including most of the pipework and all of the radiators.

Initially we were considering a Combi boiler. However, we are seriously considering extending the property and making it into a 4 bed/2 or 3 bathroom chalet style bungalow. Most of the neighbours have already done this so we believe that even if we don't do this the next owner will. For those reasons we are starting to think that an unvented sealed system boiler would be more suitable. Am I right in thinking that a Combi could struggle with a 2 or 3 bathroom family house?

What brand boiler would you recommend? I've heard good thing about WB, Vailant and Baxi.
Also, what size hot water cylinder would you suggest?

We would like to do as much of the work as possible to save on labour costs because we probably won't be staying in the property long term and we are on a tight budget. What could we realistically do ourselves? My brother is a very experienced engineer in the oil and gas industry and has assured me that he can do most of the pipework and installation himself.
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has DIY'd parts of their own central heating system by choosing and ordering their own cylinder and boiler, etc. I'd also like to hear the pros and cons of doing this. Obviously we would have it all checked over and have the boiler installed by a professional. We would really like to choose/customise our own system.

Any tips or advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[ChrisR]

Am I right in thinking that a Combi could struggle with a 2 or 3 bathroom family house?

Yes.
Unvented, or a thermal store, as long as the mains pressure and flow are good enough for all purposes at once. If you need a new mains pipe, it's mostly labour you can do.

We get asked about part-diy systems from time to tim and it often gets an argument. Some will refuse point blank.
I'd say call someone you know of in first, to advise, and pay for his time. Nobody particularly enjoys putting pipes below floors so you should be able to find someone you can work with.
I've done it several times though. There's often a problem somewhere if something's assumed or..., but its not hard to avoid major trauma.

TBH if you avoid the cheapest boilers, most including the ones you mention are good enough for normal mortals.

 

[GSDog]

Am I right in thinking that a Combi could struggle with a 2 or 3 bathroom family house?

Yes.
Unvented, or a thermal store, as long as the mains pressure and flow are good enough for all purposes at once. If you need a new mains pipe, it's mostly labour you can do.

We get asked about part-diy systems from time to tim and it often gets an argument. Some will refuse point blank.
I'd say call someone you know of in first, to advise, and pay for his time. Nobody particularly enjoys putting pipes below floors so you should be able to find someone you can work with.
I've done it several times though. There's often a problem somewhere if something's assumed or..., but its not hard to avoid major trauma.

TBH if you avoid the cheapest boilers, most including the ones you mention are good enough for normal mortals.

Thanks. We've been working on the house today and have completely removed the tanks, hot water cylinder and most of the pipework in the loft in just a couple of hours. That's probably saved us quite a lot already.
It's tempting to do most of the pipework ourselves then possibly get someone to supply and fit the boiler and hot water cylinder - at least then the boiler and cylinder should be covered should something go wrong.

We will definitely take your advice and get a plumber in to advise us before we start with the pipework.