I actually knew this builder although we had never worked together before this. He is not a cowboy. This is however a good example of what can happen when a contractor is rushing to keep up to the home owners schedule and ignores the safety aspects. This home owner put his own property and life at risk because the project HAD to be done by a certain date.

The original specification was that the builder would erect the side walls and get a lintel in place over the existing openings and then we would come in and either move the flue or move the boiler & flue. As time drifted by and the home owners completion date drew near the builder was delayed on a previous job already in progress.  Things did get started but were running well behind schedlue with only a single man on the job. Instead of moving the finish date however the builder arrived on site in full force to push the job through as fast as HE could leaving no time for the mechanical changes which were no longer scheduled.

Without advanced knowledge I received a call to come by and discuss the flue. When I arrived the builder had not only finished the lintel and put up the side walls but had the roofing joists in place and told me he was ready to board the new roof. The flue as seen in the first picture just poking out from between the drainpipe work was now buried behind the timber beams with the brick work removed allowing the products of combustion (Carbon Monoxide) to enter the air space between the inner and outer walls.

Unfortunately we could not extend the flue nor could we move it due to the age of the boiler and the availability of parts. The boiler was replaced with a new model and the flue was moved to a more suitable location.

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