Choosing the right heating engineer
Reading time: 6 minutes
When choosing the rightheating engineer, there are some key issues you need to think about. In this article, we’ll take you through them step by step.
- Choose someone with lots of specific experience
- If your job involves gas, check whether the tradesperson is Gas Safe-registered
- Get a detailed quote from each tradesperson you’re considering
- Ask each tradesperson to explain what they plan to do
- Ask about professional qualifications and accreditation
- Discuss materials before work starts
Let’s look at each of these in a bit more depth.
Choose someone with lots of specific experience
First, make sure you choose aheating engineerwho has lots of specific experience in doing your type of job.
If it’s a boiler breakdown, for example, go for someone with experience of repairing boilers - not just a gas fitter. Because even though someone is a gas engineer, they might primarily be an installer, and not actually have a clue about fixing a boiler. People should look for the MyBuilder feedback specific to the type of job they need done.
Once you’ve found a tradesperson with the right experience, ask to see photos of their work, and - if it’s going to be a big job - try to speak to one or two of their previous customers. That will allow you to find out about what it’s like having them in your home, as well as their standard of workmanship.
If your job involves gas, check whether the tradesperson is Gas Safe-registered
If your heating job involves gas, the tradesperson who works on it is legally required to be on theGas Safe Register. This is the official list of gas engineers who are registered to work safely on boilers, cookers, fires and all other gas appliances. You can check whether a particular heating engineer is Gas Safe-registered usingthis search tool.
Every heating engineer on the register should carry a Gas Safe ID card. Ask to see this card when they arrive, and don’t be afraid to make a note of the licence number so you can check it online afterwards.This video解释卡片上所有信息的含义。
Occasionally you may come across a heating engineer who is not Gas Safe-registered: They may have chosen, for example, to only take on jobs that do not involve gas at all. However, this is quite rare, as so many heating jobs do involve gas to some extent.
Get a detailed quote from each tradesperson you’re considering
Be wary of a tradesperson who only gives you a quote over the phone - it’s unlikely they’ll be able to be accurate without seeing the situation in person.
I usually go round before I quote - because most of the time what the customer posts as the job doesn’t completely reflect the job that needs doing. Because obviously they’re not technical - so they’ll just say stuff like they don’t have any heating.
That could actually be something really simple that you can fix in two minutes without charging them. Or it could be a really big job.
So I would always recommend you choose someone who is willing to go out for free to assess the situation properly - rather than someone who says that will be £60 or £70 no matter what.
Choose a tradesperson who gives you a detailed written quote after the viewing, with all the costs broken down. These should include everything from labour and materials to any possible extra expenses, like a charge for power-flushing your heating system.
The quote should also make clear if the customer is expected to pay for any materials upfront - for example a new boiler or set of radiators.
Heating and gas engineer William Eastman, ofOne Shot Plumbers, has an excellent MyBuilder feedback rating. He explains that a homeowner should never choose a tradesperson who demands full payment before a job is done.
I find a lot of people actually try to pay me before I’ve done the job! Never, ever do that - always wait until the job is finished and you know you’re happy with the work.
我还建议房主选择一个供暖工程师，他会在他们的报价中给出整个工程的总价，而不是每小时或每天的价格。这是因为如果你按小时付钱给某人，他们可能会在你的橱柜里做任何事情。他们可能只是坐在那里接电话而已!
Get a free quote
We can help you meet professional heating engineers near you to get real quotes today.
Ask each tradesperson to explain what they plan to do
As William emphasises, a really good heating engineer will help the homeowner understand what’s going on:
When I’m doing a job, I try to explain to the customer why it’s being done, why I’ve decided to approach the job that way, and how the machine actually works for future reference. For example, a lot of people don’t know how to top their boilers up - and then they pay an engineer £60 to come out and top the boiler up every time.
So I would choose a tradesperson who was willing to explain things, and show you how to sort the little, safe things you can do yourself, rather than just fixing something but not showing you what he’s done.
Ask about professional qualifications and accreditation
If a tradesperson has a City & Guilds qualification inPlumbing and Domestic Heating，或相关的NVQ资格，这无疑表明他们认真对待自己的工作。
However, because heating projects so often involve unexpected problem-solving and learning ‘on the job’, several years of experience can be at least as valid.
It’s also worth asking whether a tradesperson is a member of any professional association. Depending on the specific membership, this may give you extra protection as a consumer.
For example, if the tradesperson you choose is a member of theAssociation of Plumbing and Heating Contractors(APHC), another member engineer should be contracted to complete the job if they go out of business mid-way through your project.
Discuss materials before work starts
If a job involves the purchase of fixtures and fittings, you might be tempted to buy these yourself: Many homeowners go down this route because they see products in high street shops and then think they can buy similar items more cheaply online.
Heating engineer Mark Geraghty - ofMG Plumbing and Heating- has been a MyBuilder member since 2009, and has positive feedback from over 300 customers. He explains why this approach can cause problems:
我买的任何东西都是经过wras认证的——水法规当局标准。正规的水管工只卖这种东西。然而，通常情况下，在网上买的更便宜的东西——水龙头、散热器阀门等——质量都很糟糕。
For example, someone bought a load of valves off the internet, and I fitted them on to eight or nine radiators. Once I’d fitted them all, I filled the system as you would do normally, and every single one leaked, because the sizing wasn’t correct - it was just out by a fraction of a millimetre.
那天我在那里待到晚上9点，因为它们都必须被拆除，我必须用聚四氟乙烯密封胶带把它们重新装好，这不是它们应该安装的方式。这就是为什么如果客户要采购自己的配件，那么购买经过wras认证的配件是很重要的。所有经wras批准的东西都有印章，所以很容易看出什么是什么。
A good heating engineer will be able to explain the pros and cons of buying from different sources, and should help you avoid any ‘false economies’.
