DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad ‘Business Owners’
Regulations broken: BS7671:2008

It’s the time of year when boilers get switched on after a long break. It’s good practice to get your boiler serviced sometime before it needs to be switched on to make sure it’s safe. What is safe? Safe can mean a few things more than just the boiler itself. It relates to the room the boiler lives in, the air vents if required that allow the boiler to burn and dispose of the products of combustion properly and many other factors that you the end user may not fully understand. Here’s a good example of what could happen when you don’t service or inspect your boiler regularly.

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DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad Builders

Firstly, my apologies for not posting last weeks award  until today. It seems that I didn’t press the Publish button last week.

This particular property has been winning awards for poor workmanship for over a year. We keep getting called back in for one problem, get it sorted, and then several months later get called in for something else. This week was another  issue with the central heating system and another wet patch showing up on the ceiling. There may also be a hive of bees in the flat roof too! continue

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad ‘Gas Fitters’
Regulations broken:

Earlier this week we received a call from a desperate social worker who required a cloths washer hooked up ASAP. She told us that a plumber appointed by the council had been around two days earlier to sort out ‘a’ boiler issue. When she asked him if she would be able to hook up a cloths washer he told her there was no problem. No problem for him! She ordered a washer and upon arrival the delivery staff told her that there was no water or waste connections.  continue

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad ‘Electricians’
Regulations broken: BS7671:2008 Reg.133.1

This job started many months ago when we were initially asked to look at a central heating system which appeared to be functioning improperly. The complaint was that the heating, once turned on, would sometimes never shut off. Our initial finding was that the 3-way motorised valve was sometimes sticking half way through it’s movement. The exact  valve was no longer available so we opted for our prefered option; a Honeywell version. When we returned and opened the original wiring centre we found more than we bargained for. continue

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. continue

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Bad Central Heating Installers
Regulations broken: BS6798:2000

We’ve been hit by cold weather which again helps to highlight shoddy workmanship from many so called central heating engineers. A New Year and an old story. Boiler condensate drains installed haphazardly and well below the current building regulations and/or the manufacturers specifications are freezing up and causing boiler to drown in their own discharge. Why does this happen every year? continue

Location: Droylsden, Manchester, Lancs

Date: Nov 2009

Description: This kitchen was being made over by the homeowner and his son, a qualified joiner. They started the kitchen with good intentions but ran into issues straight away with the gas. A punctured gas pipe was sorted by National Grid but they sought extra help after that. We came in and after a look decided on the course of action. Gut the kitchen and start again! continue