arainbow
Hi all, We've recently bought a 5 bed house with high ceilings (sounds much grander than it is, trust me lolol) but the boiler, whilst it works fine, as do the radiators etc, looks like it's circa 1900....as does the rest of the house lol.
In reality it's maybe a 70's boiler??
Water pressure is rubbish though and hot water comes out like a 'half turned tap'!!
I was advised by british gas to get a new boiler as mine sounds like "KABOOM" when it fires and it's a monster lol.....plus our first quarterly bill for gas is £1,200!!
EEEeeeekkk, AAARRgghhh! Now you see my problem......
I've had 2 quotes for a new boiler etc and both say I shouldn't have a combi boiler with the amount of 'baths' we'll have (eventually it'll have a bathroom, 2 ensuites, a cloakroom) but one plumber says my whole pipework needs to be changed as the new pressure system (it's all beyond me!) CAN'T work with the existing pipes.
The second plumber has quoted with only changing a few unsightly ones (in some places it's like spaghetti junction with pipes!) etc etc but hasn't mentioned anything about the pipes not being able to take the 'new pressure boiler' or whatever....again, over my head!
One plumber is MUCH cheaper than the other and as we begged, borrowed and stole (not stole quite but you get the drift lol) to buy this house and have virtually nothing to do it up with (it's our 'forever' house so I'm happy to live with it 'as is' for a few years till we 'come up for air'! lol) but I don't want to employ the 'cheap' plumber if it's gonna be crap and pipes burst or not work etc but the other plumber could just think i'm wet behind the ears etc........
Please advise me someone, you'll be a total rocking superstar!!!!!!
Now if that isn't an incentive to type a helpful reply then I don't know what is!?! .......oh, I know, I'll throw in a cuppa or a beer and a few jaffa cakes to boot! lol
Yours hopefully, Andrea :0)
Answer
MPfffffffff............
A lot going on here.
a) Standing pressure and operating pressure are _not_ the same thing. If you are on municipal water, the standing pressure in your system will be the same whether the operating pressure is high or low - what you perceive as 'low' pressure is mostly restrictions in the pipe from age, liming or other similar problems. Bottom line: the existing pipes will be able to take the pressure of a new system.
b) If you have iron, lead or galvanized pipes in your domestic water system (the stuff you drink and bathe in), yes, you should get rid of them (eventually - lead right away) as they will clog over time (and may already have) even if they do not fail from pressure. At the same time you do not have to do it all at once - you can do it as your budget permits. The second plumber is much more accurate on this aspect.
c) Cutting to the chase: Whether you get a combi or a single system for domestic hot water and another for heating is mostly a matter of philosophy and efficiency. Similarly if you choose a tankless combi or tankless single-purpose domestic water heater.
Now comes the advice part - got your several grains of salt?
Given that you will have two baths, one powder room, likely a dishwasher, likely a clothes washer and so forth, a domestic water heater with a moderate storage tank and high recovery is likely the most _convenient_ option. You can do this as a combi, conventional boiler with domestic water heating loop, or a separate high-recovery tank-type. The tankless domestic water heaters, while very efficient, require some significant flow to fire and modern sensing clothes washers and some similar dishwashers are not fully compatible with these types of units.
The single problem with a combi/conventional system is that they prioritize domestic hot water over house heating in most cases - which can be somewhat inconvenient in very cold climates - again pointing towards two separate systems.
Now: Two separate systems *will* be somewhat less efficient than a carefully designed single system. And at the same time, a true 'combi' system has a level of complexity and relatively high failure rate that somewhat balances the efficiency. The *most* efficient, *most* reliable single system will be a 'conventional' high-efficiency boiler with a domestic water loop to a super-insulated passive storage tank. These systems can supply a large house with as much hot water as needed with very little penalty (in excess of 90% efficiency as compared to standard domestic water heaters at about 40% or so). But they are far-and-away the most costly at the initial installation.
Two years ago, we purchased a house of similar size to yours with a 1947 oil-fired boiler and separate gas tank-type water heater. The boiler was 400,000 BTU and operated at 48% (net) efficiency. Replacing "in kind" would have cost us less than US$4,000 and we would have increased the boiler efficiency to about 60% (net). We opted to convert to natural gas, get rid of the separate tank-type heater and install a conventional 96% efficient gas boiler with a domestic hot water loop and super-insulated storage tank. It will deliver 80 gallons (302 liters) of hot water per hour at a 60F rise, but the storage losses are less than 2%/day. The boiler will deliver 220,000 BTU/H of heat (net) as compared to the original oil burner delivering 192,000. Cost to operate the new gas boiler at US$1.14/therm is $2.63/hour. With oil it would have been (assuming a new boiler) US$7.33/hour.
The system we installed cost us just over $9,800 installed. Assuming 600 hours of operation per season, the payback is around three years - but the first-cost is more than twice as much.
MPfffffffff............
A lot going on here.
a) Standing pressure and operating pressure are _not_ the same thing. If you are on municipal water, the standing pressure in your system will be the same whether the operating pressure is high or low - what you perceive as 'low' pressure is mostly restrictions in the pipe from age, liming or other similar problems. Bottom line: the existing pipes will be able to take the pressure of a new system.
b) If you have iron, lead or galvanized pipes in your domestic water system (the stuff you drink and bathe in), yes, you should get rid of them (eventually - lead right away) as they will clog over time (and may already have) even if they do not fail from pressure. At the same time you do not have to do it all at once - you can do it as your budget permits. The second plumber is much more accurate on this aspect.
c) Cutting to the chase: Whether you get a combi or a single system for domestic hot water and another for heating is mostly a matter of philosophy and efficiency. Similarly if you choose a tankless combi or tankless single-purpose domestic water heater.
Now comes the advice part - got your several grains of salt?
Given that you will have two baths, one powder room, likely a dishwasher, likely a clothes washer and so forth, a domestic water heater with a moderate storage tank and high recovery is likely the most _convenient_ option. You can do this as a combi, conventional boiler with domestic water heating loop, or a separate high-recovery tank-type. The tankless domestic water heaters, while very efficient, require some significant flow to fire and modern sensing clothes washers and some similar dishwashers are not fully compatible with these types of units.
The single problem with a combi/conventional system is that they prioritize domestic hot water over house heating in most cases - which can be somewhat inconvenient in very cold climates - again pointing towards two separate systems.
Now: Two separate systems *will* be somewhat less efficient than a carefully designed single system. And at the same time, a true 'combi' system has a level of complexity and relatively high failure rate that somewhat balances the efficiency. The *most* efficient, *most* reliable single system will be a 'conventional' high-efficiency boiler with a domestic water loop to a super-insulated passive storage tank. These systems can supply a large house with as much hot water as needed with very little penalty (in excess of 90% efficiency as compared to standard domestic water heaters at about 40% or so). But they are far-and-away the most costly at the initial installation.
Two years ago, we purchased a house of similar size to yours with a 1947 oil-fired boiler and separate gas tank-type water heater. The boiler was 400,000 BTU and operated at 48% (net) efficiency. Replacing "in kind" would have cost us less than US$4,000 and we would have increased the boiler efficiency to about 60% (net). We opted to convert to natural gas, get rid of the separate tank-type heater and install a conventional 96% efficient gas boiler with a domestic hot water loop and super-insulated storage tank. It will deliver 80 gallons (302 liters) of hot water per hour at a 60F rise, but the storage losses are less than 2%/day. The boiler will deliver 220,000 BTU/H of heat (net) as compared to the original oil burner delivering 192,000. Cost to operate the new gas boiler at US$1.14/therm is $2.63/hour. With oil it would have been (assuming a new boiler) US$7.33/hour.
The system we installed cost us just over $9,800 installed. Assuming 600 hours of operation per season, the payback is around three years - but the first-cost is more than twice as much.
Is this a fair quote for a deck?
michael b
I live in Cincinnati, Oh.
My wife and I are looking to get a deck built. We have been quoted 3815$ for a 16x12 deck.
Here are the specifics:
- he will take care of all the permit "stuff" (it will be attached to our house; our kitchen sliding door is a pretty decent hop down to the grass)
- standard pressure treated wood will be used; he said he uses screws not nails
- there will be standard rails; nothing special/fancy (e.g. no benches or the like)
- the bottom will be enclosed; we have a 2 yr old baby
- one set of steps on the side (or wherever we want) going out to the yard
- he will seal it with our choice of color with a 5 year sealant
Sorry for the lack of quality details, I'm not Tim the Tool man.
The $3815 quote is for labor and materials.
The wood is pressure treated pine.
Answer
Concrete adds cost, digging to solid ground. Best to use hot dipped galvanized nails [like twice the price compared to elecrto plated stuff.] to assemble frame. Is the frame in beam pockets? Plastic coated screws for decking is better than galv. exterior screws. Drilling pilot holes will help prevent deck screws from eventually snapping. [rarely done] OR best SS screws no pilot. Hot dipped lag bolts to house. Then notching [if any] to attach the framing to the posts ]Hot dipped galvanized lags with washers there also [5/16'' dia. min 3/8" best]. Do the posts carry thru to support the railing. If you have a lot of guests, span spacing [12' direction] should be closer than 24 inch. 2x10 size there is best. Some of the green would is really weak. Needs to be hand selected. Three posts in the 16' direction. Use double 2x10 there. Also, remember green wood really needs to dry before coating. Then know, baby should not crawl around on treated wood until it is dry/ properly coated. The old stuff was copper arsenic, now it is chlorine based, I think. Look at the label and call the manufacturer. Some of that green wood is so wet, you get sprayed when it is cut. Get more than one bid, in a city or rural area? KInd of expensive, if rural and the cheap materials are used. IE air gun nails, galvanized deck screws. Smaller wood, Electro plated lags, no beam pockets or other support beyond the shear strength of a few air gun nails. A deck can last decades, or not so much...
Just some thoughts.
Concrete adds cost, digging to solid ground. Best to use hot dipped galvanized nails [like twice the price compared to elecrto plated stuff.] to assemble frame. Is the frame in beam pockets? Plastic coated screws for decking is better than galv. exterior screws. Drilling pilot holes will help prevent deck screws from eventually snapping. [rarely done] OR best SS screws no pilot. Hot dipped lag bolts to house. Then notching [if any] to attach the framing to the posts ]Hot dipped galvanized lags with washers there also [5/16'' dia. min 3/8" best]. Do the posts carry thru to support the railing. If you have a lot of guests, span spacing [12' direction] should be closer than 24 inch. 2x10 size there is best. Some of the green would is really weak. Needs to be hand selected. Three posts in the 16' direction. Use double 2x10 there. Also, remember green wood really needs to dry before coating. Then know, baby should not crawl around on treated wood until it is dry/ properly coated. The old stuff was copper arsenic, now it is chlorine based, I think. Look at the label and call the manufacturer. Some of that green wood is so wet, you get sprayed when it is cut. Get more than one bid, in a city or rural area? KInd of expensive, if rural and the cheap materials are used. IE air gun nails, galvanized deck screws. Smaller wood, Electro plated lags, no beam pockets or other support beyond the shear strength of a few air gun nails. A deck can last decades, or not so much...
Just some thoughts.
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