Combi Boiler Installation
Combi boilers installed from £1,650 + VAT, and honest advice on whether a combi is genuinely right for your property.
New boilers from £1,650 + VAT
- Gas Safe registered
- 12-month workmanship guarantee
- Clear written quotations
Combi boilers are the most commonly installed type in UK homes, and for good reason. They take up less space, need no cylinder or loft tanks, and deliver hot water on demand.
They are not right for every property, though. Pinnacle Plumbing installs combi boilers from £1,650 + VAT, and part of that service is telling you honestly if a combi would not serve your household well.
What’s included
- Mains pressure and flow rate testing
- Combi boiler supply and installation
- Cylinder and tank removal on conversions
- System cleanse and magnetic filter
- Controls fitted and explained
- Commissioning and certification
- 12-month workmanship guarantee
How a combi boiler works
A combi, short for combination, is both your central heating boiler and your water heater in one unit. When you open a hot tap, the boiler fires and heats the water as it passes through, straight from the mains. There is no stored hot water and no cold water tank.
That is the whole appeal: no cylinder taking up an airing cupboard, no tanks in the loft, and hot water that never runs out because there is no tank to empty.
Advantages of a combi boiler
- Space. No cylinder and no loft tanks frees up a cupboard and often a loft.
- No reheat wait. Hot water is produced on demand rather than stored and reheated.
- No stored water to lose heat. Nothing sits in a cylinder cooling down.
- Mains pressure showers. No need for a separate pump in most cases.
- Simpler installation in properties already set up for one.
Disadvantages to be aware of
- Simultaneous demand. Run two showers at once and flow rate to each drops noticeably.
- Dependent on mains pressure. Poor incoming pressure means poor hot water performance, and no cylinder to buffer it.
- Bath fill times. A combi fills a bath at its flow rate, which can be slower than a pressurised cylinder.
- No immersion backup. If the boiler fails there is no stored hot water at all.
Which properties suit a combi?
Combis work well in one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with a single bathroom, where hot water demand rarely overlaps, and where incoming mains pressure and flow rate are good.
They suit larger properties less well, particularly those with two or more bathrooms in regular simultaneous use. In those homes a system boiler with a pressurised cylinder almost always gives a better experience.
We measure your mains flow rate during the survey. It is a short test and it removes all the guesswork.
Converting to a combi
Converting from a regular boiler to a combi is a bigger job than a straight swap. The hot water cylinder is removed, loft tanks are decommissioned and taken out, pipework is altered and redundant runs are capped.
It is worth knowing that making good, meaning plastering, tiling, decorating where the cylinder or tanks were, is not included unless it is specifically written into your quotation. That is standard across the trade, but it catches people out, so we say it plainly up front.
Frequently asked questions
Is a combi boiler right for my house?
Combis suit most one- to three-bedroom homes with one bathroom and good mains pressure. If you regularly run two bathrooms at once, a system boiler is usually the better choice.
Can I convert from a regular boiler to a combi?
Usually yes, provided your mains pressure and flow rate are adequate. The cylinder and loft tanks are removed and the pipework altered. Making good is not included unless quoted.
How much does combi boiler installation cost?
From £1,650 + VAT for a like-for-like combi replacement. Conversions from another boiler type are quoted after survey.
Will a combi give me a good shower?
If your mains pressure and flow rate are good, yes. If they are poor, a combi will not fix that. We test flow rate at survey so you know before committing.