How Long Does It Take to Install a Boiler?

If you need to replace your boiler because your current one has been there for a while, you’ll likely have a lot of questions. 

One of those questions is likely to be, how long will it take for your new boiler to be installed? And just as with the answers to a lot of questions, the answer is, “it depends.”

The truth is that installing a boiler can take anywhere from several hours to several days. A lot of it depends on the type of boiler you’re having installed and the age of your current boiler.

To learn the costs of installing a boiler, you have to first know what type of boiler is being installed. If you have a combi boiler, for example, and you’re merely swapping it out for another combi boiler, the job will likely take around four to six hours.

This is a general estimate, however, because if you need extras such as the installation of a smart thermometer or power or chemical flush, it could take longer.

Nevertheless, gas engineers consider a like-for-like boiler installation to be very simple and fast.

On the other hand, if you’re going to go from a regular (system) boiler to a combi boiler, the job is likely to take around two days. This time frame also applies if you’re upgrading from a system boiler with an external water tank to a brand-new combi boiler.

One of the things that can affect how long the installation takes is the removal of your old boiler.

Sometimes the technician may have to bring in extra pipes, lift up the floorboards, and conduct other such jobs to prepare for the new boiler.

The more that they have to do to get your home ready for your new boiler, the more time-consuming the installation job will be.

And if you’re wanting to place your new boiler in a completely different section of the house, you can add an extra half-day to the time frame.

This depends on the size of your home, the type of property you own, and of course, the exact location of the new boiler.

Sometimes it takes extra pipework and other supplies to fit the new boiler, and this always takes time.

So, if you want your boiler installed in a completely different location, it could take an extra half-day or even an extra day, depending on the situation.

The good news is that if you contact the right boiler installation company, they’ll be able to give you at least an estimate of how long the job will take and what your costs will be.

This can help you budget for the job a little better.

When you wish to estimate how much time it’s going to take your installer to complete the job, consider many different things.

One of the most important aspects is how many pipes the installer will have to move or supply to get the job done.

Let’s say that your old boiler is downstairs, you want your new one to go upstairs, and your house is fairly large.

This is naturally going to take much longer than placing your new boiler somewhere close to where the old one is.

One of the reasons why this is so is because you won’t necessarily know where all of your gas pipes are located, so you won’t have any idea how much trouble it will be for the technician to remove or relocate the pipes.

What seems to be a simple job, in other words, can actually be a very complex one.

You won’t know that, but the technician will, which is why the company can give you an estimate of their time there.

Estimating how much time it will take to install your new boiler doesn’t have to be complicated, especially if you first learn what the technician will be doing to accomplish this feat.

Let’s take a look at some other variables that can affect how long the installation might take.

• Chemical flushing or power flushing. Flushing is done to remove deposits of rust, limescale, and sludge that can cause your system to run a lot less efficiently. If you decide that your technician should conduct one of these flushes, count on the job taking another two to four hours to complete.
• Installation of a smart thermometer. Most gas engineers will recommend a smart thermometer, but it is not a necessity. Fortunately, it usually takes less than one hour for this type of thermometer to be installed, so it’s not a lot of extra time.
• Installation of a boiler filter. Magnetic boiler filters prolong the life of your heating system and even catch a lot of unwanted deposits in the meantime. To add one of these filters to the job, you’ll have to plan on the job taking an extra two hours.
• Haunted house. This is not a joke because there are many homes in the U.K. whose owners consider haunted. Gas engineers are known for not dealing with the paranormal well, which means that you can count on adding roughly one week to the installation job.
• Legal requirements. If you have a boiler that’s more than 15 years old, your gas supply pipe might need to be switched from one that is 15mm to one that is 22mm thick, which is the current regulation. When this happens, you might have to add half a day onto your installation time. Another legal problem involves the flue of the boiler. By law, they have to be a certain distance from the doors and windows in the room. If they’re not, the technician will have to move them to make sure that they satisfy this requirement.

As you can see, there are numerous things that can affect the length of time it takes for your gas boiler to be installed. While some of these things are predictable, others are not.

This is where a good company can be a huge help in helping you understand what will and will not add time to the job. And it’s always good to know how long you’ll have to wait to start enjoying your new gas boiler.