Central heating maintenance contracts

[Sir Velo]

Maybe I'm just wary of 'a local man' from the fear that when I call him in an emergency it'll be 'Oh, 'e's not 'ere at the moment', or 'Yerrs, I'm a bit busy just now; I'll give you a call...'.


I'm sure there are good and reliable 'local men' ; I'm just not sure I could find one.

I tend to agree with you. Clearly life is good in my parish for those specialising in roofing or gutter repairs as they pick and choose which jobs to work on. When, after recent rains I needed someone to patch a small leak, it was practically impossible to get anyone to answer or respond to the messages I left. When I finally got through to a roofer, he clearly was expecting someone else to be calling and hurriedly informed me that he was working on a big insurance job and that it would be several weeks before he could come out.

[Pulcinella]

I tend to agree with you. Clearly life is good in my parish for those specialising in roofing or gutter repairs as they pick and choose which jobs to work on. When, after recent rains I needed someone to patch a small leak, it was practically impossible to get anyone to answer or respond to the messages I left. When I finally got through to a roofer, he clearly was expecting someone else to be calling and hurriedly informed me that he was working on a big insurance job and that it would be several weeks before he could come out.

If you have decent house insurance, you might find that there are local repair workers etc they can recommend; you have to be careful that they don't record your enquiry as a claim though, or it might affect your premium the next year!

[Sir Velo]

If you have decent house insurance, you might find that there are local repair workers etc they can recommend; you have to be careful that they don't record your enquiry as a claim though, or it might affect your premium the next year!

Thanks. I did indeed go down that route. However, the claim was rejected. Clearly my insurers are more canny or less sympathetic than yours as they rejected my claim on the grounds that the winds and rains in December/January were not strong enough to constitute "storm damage" and were not covered by the "accidental damage" section either. My case wasn't helped as the estimate I submitted made reference to some of the damage being due to "wear and tear".

[Pulcinella]

Thanks. I did indeed go down that route. However, the claim was rejected. Clearly my insurers are more canny or less sympathetic than yours as they rejected my claim on the grounds that the winds and rains in December/January were not strong enough to constitute "storm damage" and were not covered by the "accidental damage" section either. My case wasn't helped as the estimate I submitted made reference to some of the damage being due to "wear and tear".

Yes: not the brightest thing to include in the submission!

[Dave2002]

Maybe I'm just wary of 'a local man' from the fear that when I call him in an emergency it'll be 'Oh, 'e's not 'ere at the moment', or 'Yerrs, I'm a bit busy just now; I'll give you a call...'.


I'm sure there are good and reliable 'local men' ; I'm just not sure I could find one.

Round here there are people who keep track of good/reliable workmen - and some are more systematic than others. If you can find such a person, then you may get a link into a way forward. Also some of the better workmen may know of others - for example our plumber who is good was able to recommend someone who was able to significantly improve our central heating system where many others had not been able to. Mind you there was a significant cost - but now the system is much more manageable, with many new thermostats and new manifolds. A cheaper "solution" would have been to muddle on with the system as it was, but that was really getting too difficult for us, so we were really desperate to get something which works. I had already exlored many options, and tried to get the system working and many people didn't have a clue how to deal with our system which has underfloor heating, and previously had a temperature compensator which seemed to throw random noise data in to the controls.

[smittims]

Thanks; that's useful to know. Actually, now I recall, my local council does have a list of recommended local tradesmen.

I suppose it's like giving up your AA subscription You just know you'll break down next day!

[Dave2002]

Thanks; that's useful to know. Actually, now I recall, my local council does have a list of recommended local tradesmen.

I suppose it's like giving up your AA subscription You just know you'll break down next day!

Do be careful about "authorised" lists of local tradesmen. There are sites like Rated People, but often the people who are "rated" pay a small fee to gain a recommendation. Council employees are unlikely to do a very thorough and useful check [.. are they bothered?] - though council lists might be a starting point, then cross check with other people. If you can find a community group or some locals who do actually get work done occasionally, then take advice from them. One or two people in these parts are encyclopaedic in their enthusiasm for keeping track of good people.

[smittims]

Thanks; I'll bear that in mind.

[mikealdren]

Thanks; I'll bear that in mind.

The maintenance recommended by the manufacturer for my boiler involves nothing more than taking the front cover off and vacuuming it out. I don't pay a contract and it has gone wrong a few times in 40 years usually requiring a new circuit board that it so easy to fit that I now do it myself, it takes about 10 mins. They must be a well known weakness because reconditioned ones are now available for about £50.

[oddoneout]

This might be of interest. I had already taken this step, don't know what difference it has made to consumption but having the radiators slightly cooler is no bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

https://moneysavingboilerchallenge.com/walkthrough/

Comes from this article https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...rgy-efficiency Another person with a 40 year old boiler.

[alywin]

We'd always used the local boiler company, which offered a perfectly satisfactory service if you were basically at home all the time, which was our situation. Unfortunately, we changed to British Gas prior to selling the place, because we knew the new buyer wouldn't be at home much. (This was just pre-Covid). Then the sale fell through, and we've been stuck with BG ever since.

[french frank]

Then the sale fell through, and we've been stuck with BG ever since.

No good deed goes unpunished …