DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad – Kitchen Fitters

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A retailer I deal with passed on the name of one of their clients who wanted to have a boiler installed. I called up and was asked to come and look at the current boiler and was told that it was built into a chimney breast in the kitchen.  The homeowner couldn’t make the appointment so his daughter showed me through to the kitchen. I didn’t see any signs of a boiler and after opening a few cupboards asked the young lady if she knew where the boiler was. She had no idea. So I changed my strategy. Find the flue and I’ll find the boiler. Well, I found the flue but the boiler still couldn’t be located.

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DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad DIY Gas Fitter…

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When called to a home last week we viewed a fire which was to be swapped with a new unit of the same type. Everything looked alright on first glance. The gas fire was old and the surround was worn. The flue terminal and chimney brickwork looked good too. So we showed up yesterday to remove the old fire and re-fit the new one but had to stop when we realised that we couldn’t gain access to the catchment space behind the fire.

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DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad Heating Installers

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While installing a new boiler in a group of flats I was surprised to see that with the exception of two boilers in the whole group of first floor flats 80% were installed incorrectly. I’m always surprised when installers go install a flue straight through an air brick but when the outside the air brick lines up with another vent inside the flats like most of these pictured below I am stunned! I’ve written about this practice before in A Room With A Flue, Improper Flue Termination, Another Danger Of The Week Winner and my all time favorite 30 Illegal Flues. The flues pictured here  break most of the regulations that exist.

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Location: Ashton-under-Lyne, Cheshire

Date: Apr 2009

Description: This gas fire had seen better days but was not really safe to use due to lack of maintenance. We spied the fire when we were on site to look after a boiler issue. As with all gas fires a yearly service is required to clean up the dust and debris that collects in or on the gas jets or opening that allow the gas to flow through to the coals. As seen here this fire had not been serviced for some time and the side panels had fallen out allowing the flames to burn the paint work off the side of the firebox. The fire was still being used.

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DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad Builders

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The original call was to look at a leaking boiler. We couldn’t find a leak in the boiler so started looking around the property to see if the water was coming from somewhere else. The obvious choice would have been the room above the wall hung boiler but after poking around for a while we could see no signs of a leak inside the property.  I finally asked to see outside so I could view the flue thinking that the water might be getting in that way.

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DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad DIY Gas and Flue

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Due to the weather this week and a few cancellations I have decided to jump into the archive of weekly pictures that have not won our coveted Cowboy Of The Week Award and show you this gem.  My joiner rang me late last year and asked if I would look at replacing a wooden fire surround for his client.  I went down to take a look and found this basket mounted in an opening which was built by her ex-husband many years ago. When I tried to inspect the flue I couldn’t see anything but a blackened metal plate sitting directly above the fire basket just behind the lintel. As I fished around I discovered that the metal plate sat upon four hexagon nuts supposedly allowing a draft to pull through but no grit to fall onto the fire basket! continue

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad Gas Fitters

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Another week, another group of photos to decide upon and another cowboy flue installation.

I would like to say that I’m surprised by this flue installation but sadly I am not. I drive by around six of these a day near my own home, and in one case 30 or so illegally installed flues (Read that story) on one property owned and managed by the Oldham Council. continue