LANDLORDS SAFETY CHECK

[qs]

Kev has already answered the question, but it's obvious really. If the tape which previously successfully sealed the closure plate lost its adhesive qualities during the inspection then you clearly cannot leave the installation unsafe as a consequence of a safety inspection!!!! - replace the tape and write out the ticket, don't charge for tape.[/quote
ok supose the catchment space was half full of debris would i need to remove these has well has part of the inspection

 

[ollski]

Although of course the closure plate is not is a safety component, its role is purely to restrict air changes in the room.

 

[ArtfulBodger]

ok supose the catchment space was half full of debris would i need to remove these has well has part of the inspection

Yes, IMHO

 

[Bahco]

Thanks for the thread qs

 

[corgi-si]

Whenever I carryout a GSI I allways strongly recommend that all appliances should be serviced. If there are debris in a catchment space on a fire the you 'cannot' issue a cert. as this appliance needs a service.

All said & done though, how many of us have been asked to do a GSI that has had previous certs issued. Only to find an appliance that should never have had a cert. Issued in the first place?

 

[kevplumb]

I really hope that when your kid's go to university and live in rented accomadation you lot remember the advice above

 

[ChrisR]

..... you 'cannot' issue a cert.

Nonsense! You still complete the Landlord's Gas Safety Record and hand it over. It isn't a pass/fail thing.

There are lots of misconceptions about various aspects of LGSR's. The first - they are not "Certificates". Corgi are guilty of generating a lot of mistakes, which of course get taken as gospel. The old Acops had mistakes too.

The whole thing about taking the closure plate (which most definitely IS A SAFETY COMPONENT!!!) off to "inspect the flue" is a bit daft. Even with a torch you don't get to see much flue. You can look for debris at the bottom of the "builder's opening", but as long as the aperture in the bottom of the CP is well clear, it doesn't affect the operation of the fire at all.

It seems daft to me that Landlords' appliances do not get serviced annually. It's in the gas Safety regs just as a LGSR is.

There are some real bits of nonsense about fires. One suggests that they do not need to be fixed to the wall. A fire is not a free standing appliance - it has a rigid pipe not a flexy hose. The Manufacturers Instructions did not always say that the fire had to be fixed to the wall, but they sure as hell didn't say that it shouldn't be. Appliances have always had to be "secure". Nontheless, most oldies are screw free.

A current topic on Gas-news is about fires which belong to the tenant. It has been assumed for some time that, as part of a LGSR, the fire had to come off the wall so the flue could be inspected. I checked the regulations, and it doesn't say that. If the flue is faulty the landlord has to fix it, (assuming he has given permission for a tenant's own fire to be used) but he doesn't have to test all his flues every year in case someone wants to put a fire in.
If a tenant puts a fire in, it must be serviced in accordance.... every year, The flue would be inspected then. No need to do it twice in a year.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

If there are debris in a catchment space on a fire the you 'cannot' issue a cert.

I was taught that the cert was just a 'snapshot inspection' rather than one where everything must be ok as would be the case with an mot test on your car. In this case I would issue a cert stating that there was debris in the catchment space and the fire therefore required servicing and or categorized as AR /ID if necessary assuming that I did not have the authority to 'service at will' at the time.
eg. Last week I was asked to carry out 2 LGSC's where in both cases the BBU's were condemned. I am now in the process of replacing them. This means that the properties both have and rightly so a ticket valid for one year from that date, meaning that LGSC requirements were complied with and the landlord was not left for a time more than necessary without the req'd legal document.
I will not be issuing another LGSC unless I get paid for one !

If anyone thinks I was taught wrongly please let me know

Apart from that my opinion is that removing debris is work classed as servicing and that removing / refitting the fire and taping up is part of the inspection.

 

[ChrisR]

All that sounds spot on to me.

 

[kevplumb]

The whole thing about taking the closure plate (which most definitely IS A SAFETY COMPONENT!!!) off to "inspect the flue" is a bit daft

where do you put the smoke pellet then
oh sling it in and hope for the best
cmon chris

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

There are some real bits of nonsense about fires. One suggests that they do not need to be fixed to the wall.

Before 98 regs came in I queried this with corgi and I was shocked to hear that it was acceptable! Don't know the latest though apart from what you just told me. Any I find now will be getting at least an NCS

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Don't know the latest though apart from what you just told me

Actually I do know and you are right. If I'm not mistaken it came in with '98 regs. I am only down to my last brain cell today cos I saved my drill from smashing into the wall when the bit snagged. My head took the full impact

 

[ollski]

The whole thing about taking the closure plate (which most definitely IS A SAFETY COMPONENT!!!)

Well yes I didn't word myself quite right, it is a safety component in that it prevents an excessive flue pull from starving the burner of combustion air, but I was just generally posting an interesting fact that some are unaware of, that the plate's function is to control air changes in the room.

 

[ChrisR]

It also constrains the poc's somewhat, especially when the flue's cold and not working too well. With a lot of old fires I see the CP is visible well above the fire. If it isn't sealed there, there are usually marks from spillage, up the wall.


[code:1]where do you put the smoke pellet then
oh sling it in and hope for the best
cmon chris[/code:1]

I do try not to be quite that dense.
Picture the scene:- Fire removed from wall, you need to get blowlamp for warming and a smoke pellet holder behind the closure plate. All you seem to have in front of you is a dirty great hole and usually a small one at the bottom. I'll let you think on it!

 

[ollski]

Yes it may do that chris, but if the fire is going to spill it will spill back through the spigot anyway or the air relief. I'm just imparting a piece of info I was taught a few years back that came as a surprise to most on the course. Also useful for nervous customers who think that bit of grey tape is all that seperates them from certain death