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Oxford Boiler and central heating systems – 10 points to ensure you choose the right person to sort it out
So you live in or around Oxford and you have problems with your boiler, your pump, your radiators, or you just think it is time to update your central heating system and fit a combi boiler. You need a plumbing and heating engineer. Here are the ten points you need to follow to make sure you make the right choice
1. Don’t just go to Yellow Pages and pick the first plumbing and heating engineer you come across. Find someone whom you trust who can recommend a good heating engineer. You could ask your family, your neighbours, work colleagues. The key questions to ask are: Were you satisfied with the work done by the heating engineer? Would you use them again? You could ask at your local DIY store for some suggestions.
2. Once you have got some names go and see if the plumbing and heating engineers have websites – not all do and there are some very good plumbers without websites. However a website will tell you whether they are a family firm or part of a national organisation and may tell you whether they specialise in domestic or commercial work. Good websites will have testimonials from satisfied customers.
3. One key thing to check is whether the plumbing and heating engineer is on the Gas Safe register, a national register on which anyone working with your gas supply should be registered. While not exactly comparable the Gas Safe register effectively replaced the old Corgi registration and strengthened it by making it a statutory requirement for gas engineers to be on the register. In the wrong hands your boiler and central heating system can put your home at risk. So when any heating engineer comes check their Gas Safe registration.
4. Draw up a shortlist of potential heating engineers and get at least 3 quotations for the job. Ask whether there might be any factors which cause the estimate to be revised – you don’t want any nasty surprises later on. Ask what materials they are going to use and then make a trip to your local B&Q or Homebase stores or go online to find builders and plumbers merchants to see if their prices match the quotes.
5. Check the insurance of the heating engineer. They should have employer and other liability insurance.
6. Get at least three references from each heating engineer. Then contact the referees and ask the following questions:
- Was the company professional?
- Did it perform the job safely, and on time?
- Did the company clean up properly after the job?
- Did the company answer all your questions
- Would you use the company again?
7. Once you have made your choice, get a written contract from the heating engineer – really important. The contract will specify the work to be done, the timescale for doing the work, the pricing for the job, and a commitment to clean up everything once the job has been completed.
8. Check what warranty the heating engineer will provide. A new boiler is an expensive piece of equipment and all plumbing jobs are never cheap so make sure you get specific warranties for the parts amd labour. The warranty should be included in writing in the contract.
9. Safety. A plumbing disaster could put you and your home at risk. Ask your prospective candidate what steps they will take to prevent injuries and damage to your home.
10. Check with the company how it plans to leave the work area once it has finished the job. You want it cleaned up and back to normal.
In making your choice of plumbing and heating engineer don’t always pick the cheapest. Using a good quality heating engineer could save you money and it will ensure that your home is not put at risk of a plumbing disaster. After all that expense you want to be sure that your home heating will provide you with the right warmth, the right efficiency so that it doesn’t cost you more than it should, and a system that will last you for years.
About the Author
Arthur Lewis is an internet marketer who specialises in working with particular local businesses to promote their business and is currently working in Oxford in the plumbing and heating industry. To get a Free Guide on choosing the right heating engineer to sort out your boiler go to http://www.oxfordcentralheating.com and check out This video
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