Thawing Out

After 2 days of no heating or hot water we finally managed to get our boiler fixed, but at what expense?

The boiler in our house is 10 years old next year (no we won’t be getting it a cake!) and we’ve been told on previous occasions that boilers generally only last about that long, so earlier this year when it conked out we thought that the end could be near. So we fixed it and it soldiered on through the summer with no problems, as it was only being used for hot water.

But fast forward to winter and within a month of having the heating on every day, the thing just decided to pack up. Lots of flicking on and off when trying to come on didn’t sound very good and so it was decided that we needed to get someone out to look at it. And so a call to British Gas was made and they promised to come out the next day and fix the thing for us.

The cost of this? Well this would be only £96 but only if we signed up to their boiler insurance thingy for another £20 a month. Considering the age of the boiler and the fact that it has required fixing twice this year it seems like a good deal, as all fixes to the boiler and central heating system will be carried out with no extra cost (with unlimited call-outs). In the long run, however, is it a good deal? I suppose that will come down to whether or not we need them to come out again much before the whole thing actually packs up and needs replacing.

Only time will tell…