How much does installation cost?

[bohnanza]

I am thinking of getting the Navitron SolarKit 1, ie 20 tubes, tank etc. I know how much it will cost me, roughly, to get someone to install the kit?

I have a a two storey house, with a concrete tile roof facing south, with a roughly 40 degree slope. Access to the attic and the current tank is easy. The ground at the base of the wall to get to the roof is concrete slabs. My gas boiler is non condensing, non combi, ie quite old. Anything else people need to know?

I, and probably others, just need a rough guide of how it much it will cost. If anyone messages me with a price I will post it here rounded to the nearest £100 without saying who sent it.

Over to you installers.

[Amy]

Im sure it will help if you can specify where in the country you are

[bohnanza]

My bet is there are people wondering about the cost all over the country. The time taken and materials needed should be roughly the same no matter where you are, the only real difference is labour cost. Two installers in the same street may charge different rates.

If it helps I am in West Lothian.

[desperate]

I would never even give a ball park without looking on site, sorry

Desperate

[martin]

Ho hum - starting at the beginning (which is not a bad place to start)...... like Desperate, I wouldn't even try to give a price without seeing the property - there are so many variables that it would be foolhardy to give a price.....
Then we have carts and horses....... an installer needs to have trained to do the job, and have at his fingertips several expertises, qualifications, insurances, tools, vans, staff etc., and he is going to want to source his own equipment for doing the job - there's nothing wrong with specifying you'd like to have Navitron gear used (which is why we've got the "installers' thread" to put you in touch with someone in your area), but it is usual to find the installer first, let him advise you on the install, and go from there - to just buy a "kit" and then expect someone to install it is rather cart before the horse - all the components need to be "matched" to the property, your requirements etc......

[Amy]

ive learned the hard way that to give a price to even change a kitchen tap is inviting trouble.

What what you think is a piece of i bet i impress you to you is most likely to be very different to someone else and vice versa

[martin]

I have a feeling we're on a hiding to nothing on this one, so I'll leap in at the deep end...........
If you want a basic install (20 tubes, tdc3 controller, new vented tank etc) on a house with absolutely no problems whatsoever, you MAY get it done for as little as £3,000 all-in
At which point there will be screams (firstly from the installers who'll say that's far too cheap), and from your good self........ because you'll think it's too expensive.......
At which point I'll tell the surgeon's story - "£3,005 for an operation?" - "it's only a tiny little cut" - "£5 is for the cut sir, the £3,000 is for knowing where to make it!"......
Contemplate that the bloke who installs has to make a living, he also has a government and several trade associations to keep in the manner to which they have become accustomed......he has to run a van(s), tax and insure them, employ staff, have been on the appropriate training courses, have the necessary regulation scaffolding (and know how to use it), he must be fully certificated and up to snuff on Part P electrics, and where necessary hold certification for working on pressure systems - pay for telephones, office equipment, his trade premises and advertising, carry several million quids-worth of public liability insurance......then he has to size your system correctly, obtain the appropriate parts, and then install them properly so that the system will work as designed, pay his own wages, and last but not least needs to make a small profit so he'll still be in business to ensure he's there should anything go wrong under the guarantee he'll give you............
Installers, you're quite right, that's far too low a figure.........!

[Amy]

And with the advent of screwfix catalogue, and all the former trade only builders merchants being open to joe public, the world and her husband think they know exactly what everything SHOULD cost to buy and then they make a guess at how much they THINK you should earn to make it all work.

As my chippy mate Alan says, its the addition of the magic fairy dust that only a craftsman can supply to make it all work properly, and thats what the customer pays for.

[martin]

ps, one good, if rather camp reason for getting it done properly............

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/JmJoyuUJj2Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/JmJoyuUJj2Q&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1</a>

[Amy]

Way to go dude.

I sat through 30 mins worth of footage when i did my G3. Some horrific incidents.
On one hand its good people should know what can go wrong but not good cos it puts them off unvented

[desperate]

Poor old bohnanza, you probably feel like giving up now,           get at least 3 written QUOTES, not estimates and go for the firm who you like the best, also if anyone asks for money up front, show them the door, payment on satifactory completion only. Maybe a 10% retention until BC sign off the job or at least a few weeks of operation.

Most bona fide traders wouldn,t mind something like the above.

Desperate

[martin]

'ang on a mo! - We look upon ourselves as highly reputable, and do a 50/50 split - 50% upfront, and 50% on completion - it helps keeps costs down as the equipment cost is covered upfront...

[desperate]

Sorry Martin my comments were based on the fact that bohnanza said he had already bought the equipment and he was after a labour only price. Of course there is nothing wrong with expecting payment for goods delivered to site, but I personally bear the entire cost of works up to about 7500 as I find this build a good trusting relationship with my customers, over this and I would go for a staged payment contract. On the rare occurence of having payment witheld I sell the debt to a collection agency for 80% of its original value, this has only happened to me 6 times in 28 years .... so far
PS I almost exclusively work for private punters so maybe it,s different from your situation, bl**dy builders aint worth the hassle

Desperate

[Justme]

'ang on a mo! - We look upon ourselves as highly reputable, and do a 50/50 split - 50% upfront, and 50% on completion - it helps keeps costs down as the equipment cost is covered upfront...

So he now has his estimate/quote from you too.

Just double the parts cost lol

Justme

[martin]

No probs! We all have different ways of working, and there are all sorts of ways of charging - I've been in businesses where it's traditional you're paid in full upfront, some where you're not paid until months after the job's been done...
 For the solar business I tried to look at it as a "what's fair?" deal for everyone - so far, fingers crossed, we've never been stitched up on a job, people see the 50/50 split as "fair" - we've got to trust the client, they've got to trust us - it means we've covered the equipment cost, so if we were ever left with a tank that we'll never use in ten years, we're covered, and it means we're not using our capital, so it keeps the cost down