I DON'T like spending money on boring things so when my husband told me we needed a new central heating boiler I wasn't really interested.

We've lived in our present house for about 15 years and it was there when we moved in.

And it's probably not been serviced very often - if it ain't broke then why fix it is my philosophy.

I suppose when I think about it though it's not very efficient.

If you want heating or hot water you can have tropical but not normal heat.

We vary between freezing or the danger of second degree burns if you touch one of the radiators.

Reluctantly, I agreed we could probably do with something more efficient.

My husband contacted three local tradesmen for some quotes to see how much we were looking at.

The first guy seemed OK - looked at our old boiler, took details of what we wanted and then said he'd get back to us with a quote. Still waiting.

The second guy was one of those people who shake their head and tut a lot.

Firstly he said it was against the law to have a boiler near an open window (it's in a kitchen cupboard and there is a window in the wall above).

We told him we don't open the window when we have the heating on - it's not rocket science is it? Open window equals cold air...

So he said the window would need to be bricked up... health and safety and all that.

Hang on, you're not bricking up any of my windows, mate!

Then he spent some time upstairs looking in bedrooms, suggesting we put a boiler there.

I know we're not exactly the Llewellyn-Bowens when it comes to interior design, but I'd rather not have a boiler in my bedroom.

So then he had a poke around in the loft - more sighing.

He even went as far as sticking his head in the living room - was he just being nosey or was he really suggesting we put a boiler in there?

Now why didn't I think of that?

We could make a centrepiece of it - perhaps cover it in Christmas decorations in preparation for the festive season.

The third guy said that the boiler we want won't fit where our present one is and he too wanted to put one on the wall.

But surely I'm not being unreasonable not wanting an ugly boiler on the wall of my kitchen?

You would think in this day and age - with most technology getting smaller - just look at mobile phones - that it's not too much to ask for a new boiler to be installed in the cupboard where the present one is?

So I'm afraid I've dug my heels in. Until we find someone who can do that - I'll stick with the old one.

I like tropical, make mine a Tequila Sunrise!