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The pictured flue tells a clear story. The installer of this twin pipe flue made a BIG mistake by connecting the exhaust pipe to the plastic flue adapter and the intake pipe to the aluminium portion of the flue adapter. The boiler is a 40kW storage combi and from the look of the pipe work and the adapter the mistake was made the day the system was installed. The pipe work could not have been accidentally reversed at a later date. So, the plastic would have melted almost immediately and has remained that way for about five years! But how could the property have passed five Landlord Gas Safety Certificates without this serious issue ever being noticed?
It would appear that the faulty and dangerous flue also passed several Landlord Gas Safety Certificates. I found on site several signed documents with all of the proper boxes ticked including the all important Flue Flow Test. Now how could anyone not have noticed that an entire smoke pellet was pouring completely into the loft space? I’ll tell you how. They didn’t look in the loft – EVER! So this boiler has been pouring Products of Combustion (CO) and moisture into the loft space above the three bedrooms for about five years! Five years!!

In another twist to the story, it turns out that the neighbouring terraced property has had to have work done in their loft due to ‘unexplained’ moisture issues and rotten timbers. I’ve just explained it all – an unsafe boiler installation. As it turns out, the company that did the work for Oldham Council also undertook the many years of safety checks too. Not a cowboy builder this week but the work of several professionals who have let their standards drop to that of a cowboy. Landlord Gas Certificates are serious business.

As for my customer, they were as shocked more than I was as they believed this ex-council flat to be safe as it had been maintained by Oldham Council during the boiler installation and years of safety checks. Afraid not!

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