Getting plumbing and heating quotes in the UK
Anything involving gas has a legal register behind it, and it is the one check in any trade that takes the least time and matters the most.
A boiler quote should name the model and output, the flue, controls and filter, whether the system is flushed, and the warranty conditions. Check the Gas Safe register for the business and the engineer's card for the specific qualification. Warranties are usually lost on paperwork rather than on the work.
What a real quote itemises
Ask for these in writing. Somebody who works properly will be glad to list them, because it is how their price gets justified against a cheaper one.
- The appliance itself. Make, model and output. A boiler quote without a model number cannot be compared with anything, and output should follow a heat loss calculation rather than a guess.
- What is being replaced around it. Flue, pipework, controls, thermostat, magnetic filter, and whether the system is being flushed. These are where two boiler quotes diverge by a thousand pounds.
- The flush. Chemical flush or power flush, and which. Many manufacturer warranties require a documented system clean.
- Warranty. Length, and what it is conditional on. Most require registration within a set period and an annual service.
- Making good. Boxing in, floorboards, tiles and plaster. Frequently excluded, reasonably, but it should be stated.
- Certification and notification. The Building Regulations compliance certificate for the appliance, and who registers it.
Gas Safe, checked properly
Anybody working on gas in the UK must be on the Gas Safe Register. It is free to search, and there are two checks rather than one: that the business is registered, and that the individual turning up holds the specific qualification for the work. Their card lists what they are qualified for, and boilers, cookers and commercial work are separate categories. The register is the whole check here. For unvented hot water cylinders there is a separate competency requirement, worth asking about if a cylinder is involved.
The warranty is usually lost on paperwork, not on the work
A ten year boiler warranty is normally conditional on being registered with the manufacturer within a short window after installation, and on an annual service being carried out and recorded. The most common way people lose it is never checking the installer registered it, then missing a service. Ask who registers it, get written confirmation once they have, and keep the service records somewhere you will find them in seven years.
Three quotes, and the general checks
Get three for anything beyond a small job. You are not looking for the cheapest, you are looking for the outlier. Then run the same three checks you would for any trade: the registration their trade requires, current public liability cover, and the company on Companies House. Those checks are here.
Can Tradelynx introduce you to one?
Not in this trade yet, and we would rather say so. We have nobody in this trade on the platform at the moment. We are still building our supply, and a page implying otherwise to catch a search would be worth nothing to you. We only route work in Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton, and only in the trades we have people for: right now that is builder, carpenter, electrician, handyman, landscaper and roofer / guttering. Everywhere else, and in every other trade, we are still building our supply and would rather say so than pretend.
What is worth keeping afterwards
The Gas Safe certificate, the Building Regulations compliance certificate, the boiler model and serial number, the warranty registration and every annual service. The warranty is worth nothing without them.
A HomeLynx Passport is free and covers every UK home, whether or not we route work near you. If you already have somebody you trust, they can run your job through Tradelynx wherever you both are.