cowboy corgi boiler fitters

just had chaffoteaux maury combi-boiler fitted up in spare bedroom on existing pipework. radiators are only warm when boiler on 'max'.friend of friend whos corgi gas reg. said they are cowboys who have done job and feels sorry for me.
plastic small pipes lead out from top of boiler when should be copper. he said also too small a pipe to distribute hot water round house. said rads wil never get hot. also flue not sealed on top of boiler.
also terrible condensation on pipework from boiler, goes under floorboards where again plastic pipework is and runs down thru ceiling to kitchen below where it collects behind sink units. had the boiler fitter back and insists not a leak-says condensation.
have challenged boiler fitter re other faults and he said he would be back when new back panel arrives for gas fire from manufacturer but has refused to fit bigger bore copper pipes on boiler as reckons plastic legal.
also new gas fire he fitted has been condemned by my mate. back panel has cracked and again got terrible condensation in dining room. black mould on walls. mate says new gasfire not sealed at all, hence marble getting hot+cracked. told me not to use it. old pipes are not sealed and blow fumes into lounge.
to cap it all boiler fitter never signed the benchmark and left me high and dry. i am gutted. could i get corgi inspectors in to inspect this work-how do i go about it?
am worried.

You could refer it to the local trading standards office. (As well as any other action).

Ask to see the guy's corgi card and take a note of his corgi number AND the card's serial number. Then you can check him out on the corgi site : here

You're right he should have filled in the benchmark form with those details. Plastic pipe is NOT allowed within 1 metre of a boiler, or for any gas. The flue must be sealed of course.

Whether he's registered or not, you can report him to Corgi. You could of course demand all or most of your money back, with the threat of reporting him. If he isn't registered he will be prosecuted and fined, and have a criminal record.

The plastic pipe could burst and the flue gases could poison you. Don't use the boiler at all.

If a brand new installation is left in an ID state, which it sounds as though your fire has been, then it will be investigated by corgi and may even be riddor reportable when the s$%t really does hit the fan.Your corgi mate should be able to advise you the best as he can actually see the job.

i will be ringing corgi up tomorrow as i want installation inspected. my friends corgi mate advises same. will corgi bill me for all this? im stunned at state of my house - feel duped and ****** off with it all!

How much did you pay to have the work done? Did you take the cheapest quote? Did you check if he was CORGI registered when you accepted his price? Why did you not use the guy who is looking at the installation now? And does this guy have the relevant tick against boilers and gas fires at the back of his CORGI card? Have you checked?

One seldom meets a pro who will praise someone elses work.

During weeks leading to Christmas, I was getting at least one call just about every day asking for quotes to fit LFE fires. Did not go to see any one of these. Gave ballpark quotes with no takers. While a number will no doubt be fitted correctly, there will be others that have been installed by people with no inkling of gas regs, flues and ventillation or quality of work in mind.

does lfe stand for living flame effect fire?

Just wondered.

i paid reputable company called gasflair-they supplied and installed combi boiler and the gas fire and surround (where old back boiler was).
they employ local fitters, but god knows who the fitters are. i have my fitters corgi card and ive been told its a new registration number even tho he aint no spring chicken!!
i researched other companies and gasfair were sort of middle of the road prices, hence i chose them-a local firm, good reputation etc.

how things change! i am disappointed and let down. i wish i had know this other corgi man before but the job ahd already been done.
i will certainly ask for his corgi card but i will probably find out some info when i ring corgi tomorrow.

by the way i also have no room stat nor TR valves and ive got 15mm plastic pipes on flow and return pipes from boiler. is that crap or what.

Yes that is cr*p! Call boiler manufacturer who will confirm.
LFE is Living Flame effect.
Corgi do not charge for inspection,thoughthey are only interested in gas related problems so may not take up "15mm plastic on F & R" question.

Sorry to have asked searching questions niftynarker. I regularly come across people who have had similar experience as yours.

You may want to get your friendly gas fitter to look at the entire installation and list defects. Be aware that there will be many not visible to naked eye. Things you are looking for will include use of barrier pipe, 22mm flow and return, installation commissioning, gas line with stipulated bore and accepted pressure drop, correctly sloped flue, prv vent installed, system cleanse and inhibited being a small list. Make note of these and then go after this firm for your pound of flesh.

If you look in the yellow pages, you will see plenty of firms with free phone numbers. They have remote offices and often know nothing about the service they offer. When you call them they in turn call their local agent to pay you a visit. Recently repaired a boiler which had been condemed by such an engineer before he even got to the boiler or dismentled it. Then he gave the client a price of £5500 for a replacement boiler supplied and fitted. Same firm charged £300 for a gas valve that I would charge £97 plus vat. These firms have an hourly rate (split 50/50 with the installer), marked up materials with markup split similarly.

My heart goes to you. If you need any further advice or help, do post or you may email me on [email protected] removing 999 for the email to work.

As far as I know there is only one manafacture of barrier piping that guarantees a connection immediately from the boiler they are Uponor they make unipipe it should still obviously be in 22mm though if its any other make I would be hesitant to use the thing.


Brian

That's the one with the aluminium layer - v good but expensive. No chance these @~{})($ people will have used that. Hepworth etc pipe comes in barrier and non barrier. latter is hard to find, thankfully.