Unvented cylinder and boiler upgrade in Bath

The job

A homeowner in Bath came to us with poor hot water performance. Pressure at the hot water outlets was low, and the existing tank was dated and had started to leak, causing problems around it. They needed a hot water system that could keep up with the house, and a boiler to match, so a new boiler and an upgraded cylinder were both part of the job.

What we did

We recommended a horizontal unvented cylinder, installed in a purpose built cubby above the stairwell in an upstairs bedroom, close to where the boiler sits. Laying the cylinder horizontally let us fit a 300 litre unit into a property where a standard upright cylinder would not have gone. We installed a Worcester 24ri heat only boiler, a 300 litre Gledhill horizontal unvented cylinder and new copper pipework, so the hot water and heating run on new pipe rather than staying tied to the old setup.

Challenges

Access was the hard part. Space in the property was extremely tight, which is why the cylinder position was planned rather than assumed. We framed and built the cubby above the stairwell specifically to take a horizontal cylinder, then ran the pipework so it stayed neat and reachable once the cylinder was in place.

The result

Three days on site produced a practical, space saving installation. The home now has a properly sized unvented cylinder feeding the hot water outlets, with a new boiler behind it, all on new copper pipework. The finish is the part we are most pleased with: the pipework is clean and tidy, and the cylinder sits in a space that was not being used before. It is a good example of how careful planning gets a full unvented cylinder and boiler upgrade into a Bath home with very little room to work with.