How Much Does Moving a Boiler Cost?

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Last updated: October 31, 2023

No matter whether you own a combi boiler or a traditional boiler, moving it won’t be an easy task. Although moving a boiler is often necessary, to do so safely will require much consideration and the help of a Gas Safe registered professional plumber or heating engineer.

Therefore, if you’re only considering moving your boiler for aesthetic reasons, we encourage you to think again. On the other hand, if moving your boiler is essential, you’re going to have to brush up on the intricacies of boiler relocation. And that’s where we come in. Having thoroughly researched all there is to know about boiler relocation, we’ve compiled a helpful list of seven key questions that address everything there is to know about moving a boiler.

Why Move a Boiler?

Inconvenience is the principal rationale for people moving boilers. You may want some extra cupboard space in a storage space close to your room, for example. Alternatively, light sleepers move boilers from close to away from their sleeping space due to the strange noise they tend to make in the night. Finally, many homeowners wish to move their boiler for aesthetic reasons or free up a living space to make way for an extension. Whatever the reason, moving a boiler is a complicated task that cannot be achieved without the help of experts.

How Much Does It Cost To Move A Boiler?

Try to set aside around £500-£900 just to cover the cost of moving the boiler. As well as installation costs, moving a boiler somewhere in the same room will cost around £250 extra, whereas moving it to a separate room will cost £400-600 extra. Purchasing a new boiler and getting it moved may cost over £3000.

If you’re willing to estimate how much it will cost to move your boiler to your desired location, consider all the obstacles in the way for a reliable estimation. Will movers have to move your boiler to a different floor? It will certainly cost you more than relocating it along the same wall. To sum up, a bigger job constitutes a more expensive move.

That’s why it’s important to hunt around for quotes in order to pay a fair price for moving your boiler beforehand. Ensure you get a minimum of three quotes from different Gas Safe registered professionals containing a detailed breakdown of cost to keep your options open.

To give you a rough estimate of additional expenses, we’ve provided a handy list of estimations below:

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These little devices live close to the boiler and work to keep your heating system clean by filtering heating water around the radiators and back again. They’re likewise critical for removing the corroded iron and steel found within the sludge broken off the central heating system from the filtering process. Although it will cost to fit one, magnetic filters offer so many benefits that paying the price for installation is a no-brainer.

Remember; all installers you’re paying to carry out boiler installation must be fully insured. Therefore, ask to either see their Gas Safe ID card or look them up on the Gas Safe Register so you know you aren’t getting ripped off – and your family’s safety potentially compromised.

Where Can I Move a Boiler To?

You may have a place in mind to fit your boiler or simply know that you don’t want it to be anywhere near your living room. However far you are in deciding where to move your boiler to, we’ve listed a few popular locations for you to consider.

The loft

For those who are seeking a certain minimalistic style of home decor, the loft is the perfect place to stash away your boiler. As lofts are usually the quietest part of the property, no longer will quiet sleepers have to lie awake at night listening to it gurgle away! Homeowners will really notice the amount of floor space the boiler’s new location offers and may even consider getting an extension with all the extra cupboard space!

Nevertheless, there are inevitably downsides to moving your boiler up the loft. Firstly, the extreme temperatures boilers are known for may affect the efficiency of your heating and hot water supply. It’s in your best interests to keep your boiler protected against frost damage and overheating so the machine inevitably lasts for longer. Furthermore, if your boiler is quietly tucked away in your loft, it’s possible that some elements of the central heating system and hot water delivery may become less responsive.

The airing cupboard

Many homeowners who are looking to swap heat-only system boilers to combi boilers for greater efficiency choose the airing cupboard as its new location. However, if you’re a light sleeper easily affected by noise, moving an old or new boiler to the airing cupboard adjacent to bedrooms may not be such a good plan!

The garage

Tucked out of the way of your living space, a garage is the perfect place to stash away your clunky boiler. However, as discussed above with reference to the loft, you must initially consider kitting your garage out with frost protection and piping insulation first!

The bedroom

For working adults who spend most of their time at work or in other living spaces, the bedroom is a convenient private space to get a boiler installed in. However, having your boiler hidden away in your private space does have its downsides. Modern boiler designs such as combi boilers do emit a certain amount of noise – albeit less than the average gas boiler – that may bother light sleepers considerably.

The kitchen

Many homeowners choose to install their new boiler in the kitchen cupboard. This certainly is a convenient space, given how noisy a kitchen is with other appliances throughout the day. Unlike the loft, moving a boiler into the kitchen makes it much easier to work with if or when any problems arise with its thermostat, digital timer, etc. We recommend opting for a combi boiler in this space, as their compact size allows them to be stored away nicely.

The utility room

If you’re fortunate enough to have a utility room, this space is a fantastic spot to store your new boiler. As you potter around your home, you’ll practically forget that your boiler even exists! However, if you’re going to keep your boiler in this living space, you must keep the space around the wires free from clutter so they aren’t obstructed or knocked.

The bathroom

Although many homeowners may fret at the prospect of installing a boiler in the bathroom, advocates of fitting a boiler into this room recommend it. After all, combi boilers are responsible for delivering hot water, so it makes perfect sense to fit them into a bathroom – a room filled with other unseemly appliances.

However, it’s extremely important that if you do decide to fit your boiler in the bathroom, it must be safely out of the way of any water. Plus, the system’s electrical spur must run outside the bathroom for obvious reasons.

Related Read: Is Your Boiler Making Noise? Here’s What It Means

How Long Does it Take to Move a Boiler?

Not only will it be expensive to move your boiler, it takes a considerable amount of time, too. Removing and installing a boiler predominantly takes between one and a half to two days. Within this time period, professionals will have to move the pipework – a time-consuming task that makes up most of the labour costs. Additionally, safely moving the boiler is a hard task that requires many bodies.

This is yet again another consideration as to whether you really need to move your boiler. As professionals tasked with moving a boiler will have to have easy access to your home, it may be necessary to take holidays from work – yet another additional cost that requires consideration.

Factors That Affect Cost Of Moving A Boiler To A New Location

There are numerous factors that affect the overall cost of moving a boiler to a new location. Such determinants include:

Boiler flue

Although this piece of duct that moves gases and hot air from the boiler’s combustion chamber of the boiler to outside may look self-explanatory, the flue is an incredibly important part of the heating system. As guidance dictates that the flue should be as short and straight as possible, installing a vertical flue is a popular choice for homeowners installing new boilers.

Boiler controls

As discussed above, moving a new boiler to your loft or garage will require constant temperature controls to guarantee it works safely. The price of a digital thermostat, ranging from anything between £150-250, will only increase your cost.

Pipework

Professionals tasked with moving a boiler will have to install the necessary pipework to ensure your boiler is functioning properly. Although carpet is easy to take up for workers to lay down the pipework for your new boiler, tiled and concrete flooring is much more difficult to work with. As this type of flooring is so complicated to remove, workers may have to install pipes in the wall and ceilings that will evidently cost more.

On a similar note, workers also have to fill in the old pipework. It would certainly look bad if the hole where your boiler’s pipework wasn’t filled in, wouldn’t it? Decorating costs to tidy up the carpet that was removed to make way for the old pipework should also be considered.

Will I Need a New Boiler or Can I Move My Existing Boiler?

Purchasing a new boiler is often advisable instead of moving an existing boiler. On one hand, if you’ve recently installed a boiler in the last few years that is covered by a warranty, it’s probably not advisable to replace in terms of cost. If anything, what you should be considering is whether you really need to move this new boiler in the first place!

On the other hand, if your trusty boiler has been with you for around seven years or more, installing a new boiler in your new location is preferable. Let’s explore why below:

You’ll need to replace it soon anyway: Given that the average combi boiler lasts for around fifteen years, boilers approaching this benchmark are likely to start suffering from problems. Spending money to move your old boiler only to have to replace it a few years after would be, in this case, a colossal waste of your hard-earned cash.

Availability of flue parts: If your boiler is an older model, flue parts to suit its model type may be few and far between. Especially if your boiler is no longer in production, it will cost more money (and patience!) to obtain these parts.

New boilers are energy-efficient: If you’ve been living with a traditional/conventional boiler, you may be unaware of just how much you’re missing out on in terms of energy efficiency. Buying a combi boiler (or even a new traditional boiler) will see the cost of your bills drastically reduce.

Do You Need Planning Permission to Move a Boiler?

Although needing to obtain planning permission to move a boiler to a new location is rare, in some cases it is required. If you live in a listed building, for example, you are at much greater risk of requiring planning permission to move the boiler than those in unlisted buildings.

On a similar note, boilers that require an external flue must be installed with caution. The rules are as follows:

  • The external flue must not measure more than one metre above the highest part of the roof
  • Must be fitted on the back elevation of a property if it fronts a highway/is on designated land. Conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beaty all comprise designated land.

If your ideas aren’t compatible with the rules, planning permission must be sought after. Thankfully, contacting your local planning authority and applying for planning permission should be a fairly simple process. Firstly, find out who your local council is with the help of the government’s postcode finder. Now that you know what council your home comes under, simply apply for planning permission through their local website.

Although researching planning permission for a new boiler is a pain, it’s unfortunately a necessary evil. Boiler relocation costs are notoriously expensive, so imagine paying those costs only to discover that planning permission dictates you must move it back!

Our Final Thoughts

As we’re sure you’ve gathered by now, the hassle and cost of moving a boiler isn’t worth it if not really necessary. However, if in a few months or years’ time you reckon your current boiler will bite the dust, the cost of moving a boiler is justifiable.

Not only will moving your boiler be a time-consuming process, but you’re also not off the hook after installation either. Your next step is fitting a carbon monoxide detector to prevent this colourless, odourless gas from harming the members of your household. Even after fitting you should continue to keep an eye on your boiler’s pressure. With the passing of time, however, the cost of moving your boiler to a new space will be worth it.

Related Posts: Best Bathroom Heaters, Instant Water Heater and Electric Showers

Sources:

  1. How difficult is it to move a boiler? – Viessmann