HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

How to hire a radiator fitter in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to fitting radiators; the boiler's gas side needs a Gas Safe engineer. Sizing, valves, fixings and the quote.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a radiator fitter in five steps

  1. Size it for the roomAsk for a heat output figure so the radiator heats the room.
  2. Think heat pumpIf one might come later, size for lower flow temperatures now.
  3. Check the wallHeavy column radiators need a wall or fixings that can take them.
  4. Valves included?Thermostatic valve and lockshield in the price.
  5. Inhibitor at the endThe system topped up with inhibitor after refilling.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to radiator fitters in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so anyone may offer radiator fitting. For radiator fitting, two legal lines remain: gas work belongs to a Gas Safe registered engineer, and new fittings must meet your nation's water fittings rules.

Ask whether any part of the radiator fitting touches gas, and if it does, who on the team is on the Gas Safe Register.

Gas Safe Register for anything on gas

Plumbers need no register, but gas does: under the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, and Northern Ireland's 2004 Regulations, only a Gas Safe registered engineer may be paid to work on a gas appliance or pipework. If the radiator fitting reaches a gas boiler, hob or supply, that part is theirs.

Check the engineer's licence by text to 85080, or on 0800 408 5500, before the gas part of the radiator fitting starts. gassaferegister.co.uk →

Extra radiators and building regulations (England)

gov.uk lists adding extra radiators to a heating system among the alterations that may need building regulations approval in England, and its homeowner guidance marks extensions to central heating as notifiable in some circumstances. A competent person scheme installer can self-certify.

If the radiator is a new one rather than a swap, ask whether the fitter self-certifies it or who tells building control. gov.uk →

Public liability insurance, including water damage

No law requires a plumber to be insured for the radiator fitting, but one leaking joint can ruin a ceiling. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to the radiator fitting done with reasonable care and skill — insurance is what makes a claim against the radiator fitter worth something.

Ask the radiator fitter for the insurer's name and whether the policy covers water damage.

VAT

A new radiator and its fitting are standard-rated at 20%; thermostatic valves fitted on their own in a home can be zero-rated until 31 March 2027, and 5% applies only to grant-funded work for a qualifying person in their main home. Registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover, and a registered firm has to charge it and itemise it rather than fold it into the price.

Ask the radiator fitter to show the radiator and any valves on separate lines with their rates, and for the VAT number; if only valves are being fitted, ask whether the zero rate applies. gov.uk →

“What heat output does this room need from the radiator?”

A good answer: A figure based on the room, not just the old radiator's size.

“Will this radiator work with a heat pump later?”

A good answer: An honest answer on size at lower flow temperatures.

“Can my wall take the weight of the radiator?”

A good answer: A check of the wall and the fixings for column or cast iron.

“Are valves and inhibitor in the radiator price?”

A good answer: Yes, both listed.

“Do you need to drain the whole system?”

A good answer: An explanation; some swaps need only a partial drain.

“Will you bleed and balance afterwards?”

A good answer: Yes, so the new radiator heats evenly.

Getting the quote right

  • Radiator type, size and output
  • Valves included
  • Draining, refilling and inhibitor
  • Any new pipework to a new position
  • Who actually attends to drain down and hang the radiators — employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on the radiator shown on its own line

Walk away if

  • No output figure, just 'same size as before'
  • Hangs a heavy radiator on plasterboard with ordinary plugs
  • No inhibitor added after refilling
  • Touches the boiler's gas side without a Gas Safe card
LOW
£150
TYPICAL
£250
HIGH
£400

What a radiator fitter costs: £150–£400 per radiator

Radiators are priced per radiator; a new position with pipework, and designer or column radiators, cost more. Radiator Installation price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Radiator fitters near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Drain downThe system isolated and drained enough.
  2. BracketsBrackets fixed level into a wall that can take the weight.
  3. Hang and connectRadiator hung and valves connected.
  4. Refill and inhibitSystem refilled, inhibitor added.
  5. Bleed and balanceAir bled out and the radiator balanced.

TRV
Thermostatic radiator valve.
Lockshield
The valve on the other side, set when balancing.
Heat output
How much heat a radiator gives, in watts.
Bleeding
Letting trapped air out of a radiator.
Inhibitor
Chemical that slows corrosion in heating water.
Column radiator
A heavy radiator made of vertical tubes.

AFTER

When the job is done

Feel it heat upWarm across the top and bottom; a cold top needs bleeding.
Check the valvesNo weeping at the valve joints the next day.
Check the boiler pressureBack in the normal band after refilling.
Review it honestlyYour review of the radiator fitting is tied to a real booking. Under four stars, you can send the problem with the radiator fitting to the radiator fitter first and we follow it up; then the review goes live.

STEP 1Tell the radiator fitter, in writingGive the radiator fitter a clear written account and a fair deadline. The law treats the radiator fitting as a service that had to be done with reasonable care and skill, and where it was not, the trader must redo it at their expense or refund part of what you paid.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepGive the radiator fitting fewer than four stars and you can send the issue to the radiator fitter first; we stay on it until there is an answer, and then your review is posted.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesTrading Standards is reached through a helpline, not directly: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, and Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland can log a complaint about the radiator fitter and pass it on.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedTo get money back for the radiator fitting, the small claims limits are £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland; court fees start at £35 in England and Wales and £23 in Scotland.

Hiring a radiator fitter: questions people ask

Not for the radiator itself; any work on the gas boiler does need a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Yes, 20%. Thermostatic valves fitted on their own in a home can be zero-rated until 31 March 2027.

Ask for a heat output calculation for the room.

£150–£400 per radiator, about £250 typical for a like-for-like swap. There is more in the radiator installation price guide; enter a town above to see fitters who work there.

Heat pumps run cooler, so radiators are often larger; plan for it now.

One to two hours for a swap, half a day with new pipework.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Central Heating InstallationHow to hire: Power FlushingHow to hire: Boiler Service & RepairHow to hire: Underfloor HeatingHow to hire: Pipework InstallationHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Heat Pump InstallationHow to hire: Boiler ReplacementAll 701 hiring guides →

Radiator fitters near you

Radiator fitters in LondonRadiator fitters in ManchesterRadiator fitters in BirminghamRadiator fitters in GlasgowRadiator fitters in BelfastAll radiator fitters on Locufy →Do it yourself: bleeding radiators and re-pressurising →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 5 — notice to the water undertaker
  2. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 6 — contractor's certificate
  3. Water Supply (Water Fittings) (Scotland) Byelaws Extension Order 2024
  4. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009
  5. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
  6. gov.uk — VAT on energy-saving materials and heating equipment (Notice 708/6)
  7. gov.uk — building regulations approval (England)
  8. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  9. Gas Safe Register
  10. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  11. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  12. Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) — 3.3 Central heating systems (5% only when grant-funded); 2.23 otherwise standard-rated
  13. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  14. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register