Heating engineers

For a gas boiler, look the engineer up on the Gas Safe Register (www.gassaferegister.co.uk); for oil, OFTEC; for a heat pump grant, MCS. We don't do this for you yet.

What to put in your job description

• What heats your home now: a gas or oil boiler, a heat pump, electric heaters or a wood burner.
• What you need: a repair, a service, new radiators, a power flush, smart controls or a new system.
• What is wrong: no heat, cold radiators, noisy pipes, a boiler losing pressure, an error code.
• How big the home is: how many bedrooms and radiators, and how old the system is, if you know.
• For a heat pump: whether you hope to use a government grant, such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Don't put your name, phone number or address in the description: every trade who covers your area reads it. Your name, phone, email and address go only to the trades who take the job (3 at most).

Questions to ask before you hire

• Which register are you on for this work: Gas Safe for gas, OFTEC for oil, HETAS for wood burners, MCS for heat pumps?
• Will you register the new boiler or heat pump with building control, and will I get the certificate?
• Is there a call-out charge, and what does the price include?
• Who takes away the old boiler, tank or radiators?
• Do you have public liability insurance?

Registers and schemes to check

Work on a gas boiler or gas pipe must by law be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. For oil boilers and tanks, look for an OFTEC registered technician; for wood burners and other solid fuel, HETAS. A heat pump needs an MCS certified installer if you want the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in England or Wales. Each register can be searched on its own website. We don't check this for you yet.

What the job usually involves

• Finding the fault: cold radiators, no heat, pressure loss, noisy pipes or controls that don't work.
• Bleeding and balancing radiators, new valves, and new or moved radiators.
• Cleaning the system (a power flush or chemical clean) and fitting a filter.
• Oil boilers and tanks, heat pumps, underfloor heating or wood burners, each with its own register.
• Smart controls and thermostats, and commissioning a new system so it runs as it should.

How quotes and visits work

Repairs usually start with a call-out or diagnosis charge, then a price for parts. For a new system or a heat pump, expect a survey of the home, its insulation and its radiators before a written quote. Ask whether the price includes the building control registration and taking the old parts away.

Ask for a written quote (a fixed price) rather than an estimate (a guess that can change), and for what it includes. If you agree a job in your home, you usually have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations; if you want work to start sooner, you may have to pay for what has been done.

Safety

• If you smell gas, open windows, don't use switches or flames, turn the gas off at the meter if you can, and call the gas emergency number: 0800 111 999 in Great Britain, 0800 002 001 in Northern Ireland.
• Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with a boiler, a wood burner or another fuel-burning appliance.
• If you smell oil near an oil tank, or see it in a drain or a stream, ask your engineer for help at once.

Insurance and TrustMark

Ask for public liability insurance before work starts. It covers damage or injury caused by the trade to you, your home or someone else. Ask for the insurer's name and the cover's end date; you can ask to see the certificate.

TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home. Its registered businesses agree to its code of practice, and you can look them up on trustmark.org.uk.

Guides for homeowners

• Your boiler has stopped working: what to do first
• How to compare quotes from local trades

We take jobs from anywhere in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trades choose the postcode districts they cover.

Heating engineers by town and city

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland