DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad DIY ‘Gas Engineers’
Regulations broken: The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 : PART B Gas Fittings – General Provisions(Qualification and supervision, Materials and workmanship, General safety precautions, Protection against damage, Existing gas fittings) / PART E: Gas Appliances – Flues/ Regulation H1 – Paragraph 1.14

While working on a re-wire last week we spied this pooly installed boiler across the alley from where we were working. Our first impression was that it was installed with much haste and with little background knowledge. After speaking with the tenant all was confirmed.

The previous boiler had packed up and after months with no heat or hot water the tenant finally pushed hard enough that something happened. Somebody showed up, ripped out the old system, banged up the new one in a  few hours and legged it!

The tenant doesn’t know any better and of course doesn’t really care. Why? Well they had no heat and no hot water before the replacement and now have both. Gas safety certificates had never been issued to the tenant who didn’t even know what a safety certificate was!

This install shows clearly how NOT to install a flue and certainly how NOT to finish the brickwork. The open brickwork can allow for flue gases to be pulled back into the property if the conditions are correct. Also, the smashed, cracked and open brickwork also allows water and snow to enter the building. This moisture gets inside the building and can cause dampness issues.

The condensate pipe is draining straight onto the roof. The acidic nature of the condensate waste will help eat away the roofing material. Interesting that the installer actually used the correct sized waste pipe though.

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5. Boilers Won’t Freeze…If Installed Correctly