I've just bought a house and there are 2 rooms (one 12' x 12', the other 6' x 5') in the attic. There's no radiator in there, and although the roof is pretty well insulated, it's already getting quite chilly at times. I'm wondering how much it'd cost to fit an extra radiator in the main room (run from the existing gas central heating system) and whether this would be cheaper in the long run than having an electric heater up there. I know it'd involve raising the hot water tank, which is currently at floor level in the attic (under the eaves) and the radiator would have to be a low one as the tank can only be moved so high because of the roof. Has anyone had something like this done? Any recommendations for a plumber to do it? I had a plumber in to fix the boiler when I first moved in, but they weren't very reliable so I'd prefer not to use them again if I can find someone better.

You may have to consider just how much your boiler is worth - how long will it last before replacement.

I had this same choice and with a tired boiler I changed to combi (hence no header tank in loft) and had a rad fitted in the attic.

As stated already it would be prudent to replace boiler with a combi boiler.To move the tank would be a days work and may involve joinery work to lift and support tank which adds to material costs.You need to consider how long you plan to stay in the house.If a shorttime use a temporary arrangement.I am a trained plumber and my partner is CORGI registered if you need further advice.

I agree with the others about a combi boiler.
I fitted an extra radiator in my attic myself it was dead easy, because I already had a combi boiler. Cost about £60 for a few pipes and the actual radiator from wickes.

The latest modern boilers are much more efficient and that will greatly affect your decision in the long run if you are considering the running costs. Especially if you compare with your old boiler wich will be quite "long in the tooth" by now.

As stated already it would be prudent to replace boiler with a combi boiler.To move the tank would be a days work and may involve joinery work to lift and support tank which adds to material costs.I am a trained plumber and my partner is CORGI registered if you need further advice.

Why the rush to replace with a combi without even exploring the customers system set up first.

Why would the hot water cylinder need removing and resiting 'Gnvqsos' when only a small attic radiator is being added to the system? I would imagine that this is already a fully pumped system and the rad would be lower than the F&E tank.

astirl2809 - as I said in my original post, the hot water tank is at floor level in the attic, so would need to be raised in order for it to be higher than the radiator.

astirl2809 - as I said in my original post, the hot water tank is at floor level in the attic, so would need to be raised in order for it to be higher than the radiator.

you are confusing the matter here. your hot water tank(cylinder) doesn't need moving as you are not interfering with the hot water, you would ony need to move the header to the cylinder if you wanted an extra bath or shower in the loft rooms. now in the vicinity of all the gubbings you should find a small header tank, it is this that has to be higher than the radiator. now that usually isnt a problem so long as you can get the height. all you have to consider is how to run the pipework and where to site the rads, also the highest rads are usually the ones that always need bleeding but fitting an auto airvent can minimise this.
overall a combi would be the best option in an ideal world but i guess your world isn't ideal just like mine!!!

you are confusing the matter here. your hot water tank(cylinder) doesn't need moving as you are not interfering with the hot water, you would ony need to move the header to the cylinder if you wanted an extra bath or shower in the loft rooms. now in the vicinity of all the gubbings you should find a small header tank, it is this that has to be higher than the radiator. now that usually isnt a problem so long as you can get the height. all you have to consider is how to run the pipework and where to site the rads, also the highest rads are usually the ones that always need bleeding but fitting an auto airvent can minimise this.

My thoughts exactly Gav. Cant beleive a previous plumber said the cylinder would need re-siting :rolleyes:

To clarify the cylinder stays but the feed and expansion tank must be raised above the level of the radiator in most circumstances

In all this debate, no-one has actually mentioned how much it might cost to fit a new radiator...I don't want to replace the boiler (and can't afford to, besides which it had some repairs a few months ago and 2 plumbers have estimated that there's a good 5-10 years life left in it), so I just need a vague idea of how much it might cost to have a new radiator put in the attic. There's no point wasting a plumber's time (and having to take time off work myself) getting them to come and give me a quote if it's almost definitely going to be too expensive for me to have the work done.

OK point taken.

When I had mine done I believe the RADIATOR & fitting came to about £230, this included a 6K+ btu rad which would have cost about £60.

But as it was a new combi, no re siting of header tank (F&E?) was required.

In all this debate, no-one has actually mentioned how much it might cost to fit a new radiator...I don't want to replace the boiler (and can't afford to, besides which it had some repairs a few months ago and 2 plumbers have estimated that there's a good 5-10 years life left in it), so I just need a vague idea of how much it might cost to have a new radiator put in the attic. There's no point wasting a plumber's time (and having to take time off work myself) getting them to come and give me a quote if it's almost definitely going to be too expensive for me to have the work done.


Depending on rad size i would say nomore than £150

To clarify the cylinder stays but the feed and expansion tank must be raised above the level of the radiator in most circumstances

Thats better :thumbsup:

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Thats better :thumbsup:

what's wrong with my explanation!!!! :rant:

what's wrong with my explanation!!!! :rant:


Nothing Gav. You were agreeing with with what i originally stated in so much as the hot water cylinder does not need moving. So, at this point the customer may get by without having a new combi installed.

GNVQSOS had told the customer it would have to be moved with the cost implications eg joinery, time etc. He then back-tracked....

Customer was given wrong advice and I think we have saved this customer quite a few ££££'s. ;)

Priot to making my post, 'the customer' was given the advice that the tank supplying the radiators would need to be raised if I wanted a radiator in the attic. Apparently I didn't make this clear enough in my original post, but I would have thought it was reasonably obvious, particularly to a plumber, which tank I was referring to when I said it needed to be raised. GNVQSOS evidently realised this when they responded to my post - I know very little about plumbing but even to an amateur like myself it seems blatantly obvious that the cylinder supplying hot water has nothing to do with putting in a new radiator. Thank you for your interest in my question, but it would have been nice if your advice had been rather less patronising and simply given an estimate of how much a new radiator would cost to fit, as I asked in my original post.

. Thank you for your interest in my question, but it would have been nice if your advice had been rather less patronising and simply given an estimate of how much a new radiator would cost to fit, as I asked in my original post.

Wouldn't say i have been patronising and I'm sure MANY who have read this post would agree.

If I hadn't explained the system setup as in my first post in this thread, you would probably be forking out a couple of grand for a new combi install as recommended by muddycofee and GNVQSOS.

As for giving an estimate for a replacement rad, again why dont you read all the threads to your post :mad:

GNVQSOS has never mentioned the 'F&E' tank in his thread.

As you have stated, to avoid confusion, make your initial post clear

Why would I have been buying a new combi boiler when I knew that my current boiler is fine? Again, I appreciate your attempts to help but all I wanted was a rough estimate of a price (which yes, I eventually got. Thank you for suggesting that I read my own thread, I hadn't thought of that...) rather than a debate over the wording of my original post and smugness about apparently saving this poor ignorant customer a load of money.

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