When you need a boiler repair in Croydon it can be quite a daunting task trying to sieve through all the ads, listings, and social media pages with each claiming to be better than the last or cheaper than the next. Below we’ll run through what to expect when you’re having your boiler repaired, what to look for in a boiler repair company and what you can expect to pay for an emergency boiler repair in Croydon.
A boiler repair is a bit of a generic term which relates to your entire heating and hot water system, often if either the heating, hot water or both stop working you’ll quite rightly go straight to the boiler as it’s the source of heat which provides us with the wonderful luxuries of a hot shower and warm home.
After having a look, you might see a boiler error code or a fault code and realise you’re not quite sure what's going on and you need a boiler repair expert.
You’ll call your local boiler repair company, and they’ll arrive, take a quick look at the boiler, and then go upstairs.
Don’t worry they’re not trying to make themselves busy to drag out the time it’s because although we all refer to any heating and water issues as a boiler repair, it’s not always the boiler that needs repairing. The boiler is one part of a heating and water comfort system which can include the hot water cylinder, thermostats, radiator valves, pumps, valves, radiators, and the water which goes around it all.
Therefore, we always advise our customers that your annual maintenance checks must be more than just a boiler service, you need to have the whole system checked and maintained properly because if one part is neglected, it’s all neglected.
The very first thing to note here is Plumbers are not Heating Engineers, your local Heating Engineer may well do plumbing work but if they’re repairing your boiler or unblocking your toilet, they’ll be wearing very different hats.
It’s also worth considering that installing a gas boiler and repairing a gas boiler are two very different jobs. Although legally any GasSafe registered heating engineer can work on your boiler, being able to skilfully hang and pipe up a heating system doesn’t necessarily mean you have a deep and thorough understanding of how a boiler works and how to repair one when it breaks down.
So how do you know? Well first and foremost is to ensure they are GasSafe registered, and they have the correct qualifications, CCN1 (core GasSafety) & CENWAT (gas boilers and water heaters) are the minimum requirements to work on or repair gas boilers. If you have a gas fire or an old back boiler the engineer will also need HTR1 (gas fires) to work on the appliance and if you have a newer condensing boiler then CPA1 (combustion analysis) will also be needed to repair or service any condensing boiler. Cookers and hobs are identified as CKR1, and this is needed for any work on a gas cooking appliance, including a GasSafety certificate which includes a cooker or hob.
Once you know they’re registered and appropriately qualified it’s a case of reading reviews and checking their website, they should have individual pages dedicated to each service they offer i.e., Boiler Repairs, Boiler Installations, etc. from here you’ll be able to make a judgment call, you’ll generally get a feel if a company is professional or not.
See if they use generic photos on their website or if they show pictures of them and their team working, you could also look to see if they have any videos on YouTube or informative blog posts, like this.
The cost of a boiler repair will vary depending on many things, different areas within London will have different rates, small independent sole traders with low overheads and no VAT obligations will often charge less than larger companies with employees and the requirement to charge VAT. Some larger companies may offer a 12-month guarantee on all their work while others offer just 3 and in many cases no guarantee at all.
As with everything in life from the cars we drive to the mobile phone you’re probably reading this on now, expect to get what you pay for. If you want a top service with a swift appointment from a reputable company sending a skilled and experienced engineer offering a boiler repair service that includes a long and enforceable guarantee expect to be shopping at the top end of the market and paying £80-130 +vat p/h during normal business hours and up to £150-200+vat p/h for emergency call outs and weekends. If on the other hand, you’re happy to wait for an appointment, maybe take a chance on a shorter or possibly no guarantee at all and run the risk of having no main point of contact if things go wrong then you should expect to be at the lower end of the market and pay £50 - 70 p/h.
Boiler parts and where they’re sourced will also play a part in the overall cost, cheaper parts sourced on the internet from home shopping sites will often come from abroad and have a guarantee which isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Reputable merchants like Williams or Wolseley will have a relationship with the manufactures and offer an iron-backed guarantee which the boiler repair engineer can enforce on your behalf should something go wrong but, they’ll often charge a premium price for a premium service.
Boiler parts can cost anything from £20 for a simple switch or sensor up to £250 for a PCB, fan, or gas valve. If the main heat exchanger or heat engine needs replacing you could be looking at up to £600 just for the part and another half a day in labour costs
Just like the price of a boiler repair, the time it takes to repair a boiler will also vary dramatically depending on what type of boiler you have, the age of the boiler, and the abilities of the engineer repairing your boiler.
Most faults should take an experienced engineer no more than an hour to diagnose and then another hour to fit the parts if needed.
Again, as you move to the lower end of the market with perhaps less experienced engineers expect the time to diagnose and repair the issue to increase, especially if your boiler is more than 10 years old and they may have never seen it before.
All Heatsy boiler repair engineers have at least 5 years of experience in the heating industry.
Most of our boiler repairs come with an iron-clad 12-month guarantee.
We charge an initial diagnostics fee from £80+VAT and if any parts are needed, we’ll often be able to save you money by offering you the option of using reconditioned parts with a 12-month guarantee from the network of suppliers we’ve built up over time.
We offer a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week emergency boiler repair service to London and the home counties.
If you need your boiler or heating system repaired contact us now on:
0207 0999 035 or hello@heatsy.co.uk.
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