SolvedHeating Repair
Repair or replace a 13-year-old furnace in London?
Asked by Ethan Pricein London, England· 3/3/2026· 1581 views
I'm in London, England and dealing with a 13-year-old furnace in our two-storey home. Over the last month, it has been short cycling every few minutes and we're now noticing we are trying to decide this week and i do not want to sign off blindly.
One contractor quoted GBP 979 for repair, while another jumped straight to a GBP 7,340 replacement because of the age. The weather here has been dealing us older housing stock with mixed insulation, so I do not want to wait too long, but I also do not want to approve the wrong scope.
If you were comparing bids on this, what would you want checked first? I especially want to know how much weight you would give to static pressure, filter restriction, flame sensor condition, and thermostat calibration.
heatingtroubleshootingrepair
4 Answers
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✓ Accepted Answer
The price range alone does not tell you enough. Ask what was tested, what failed, and which assumptions are built into the quote. For a furnace that is short cycling every few minutes, the first things I would ask for are static pressure, filter restriction, flame sensor condition, and thermostat calibration. If the contractor is recommending bigger work, ask them to explain which measurement supports that recommendation and whether they ruled out airflow or controls first. In London, England, pricing can move around, but the diagnostic process should still be clear.
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If you can, ask whether they checked airflow before recommending equipment. We nearly replaced a system when the bigger issue was elsewhere. We had a related issue with our furnace in London. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Avery Morgan·3/3/2026
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I would compare how clearly each contractor explains the diagnosis, not just the price. The clearer company ended up being the better hire for us. We had a related issue with our furnace in London. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Mia Brooks·3/3/2026
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We used the directory reviews to filter out firms that were vague about what they had actually tested. That saved us a lot of time. We had a related issue with our furnace in London. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Chloe Carter·3/3/2026