Fumes in house and excessive damp

[Charles Edgington]

Yes products of combustion are deadly.
That’s why I was in a and e for over 4 hours the other day. Blood abnormal.
Pungent fumes in bedroom.

 

[denso13]

He said the system should be vented higher and further away as the vapour lingers.

Looks fine to me.

Section 3.23 Document J

That document gives guidance only and the installation seems to follow it anyway.

 

[JohnD]

there's a smell and excess humidity.

Could a condensate leak be the cause?

 

[Charles Edgington]

3.23 says care needs to be taken to locate flue outlets away from parts of the building that may be damaged by frequent wetting.
The render which was fine now has a hole in it directly above the outlet. To the right the paint is coming off the waste pipe. The paint on the gas pipe above the outlet is bubbling off only in the area directly above the outlet.
So it’s not ok.
Only until I had the boiler installed did I have these issues. For 20 years before no issues.
I spoke to a render expert on old houses who said he sees it all the time.

 

[Charles Edgington]

I don’t know. I need to get yet another gas safe guy out.
No heating or hot water and no one person who can diagnose it.
I’ve spent thousands of pounds with this plumbing company and they just charge me more and more to fix things that went wrong so I’m not using them ever again. I asked twice them to come out but they didn’t so when the gas inspector said that they should fill the hole he said that I’m in my rights not to let them.I was charged nearly £8k to put in a boiler that has just caused me lots of problems and affected my health.
I found out I should have paid more than £3.5k.
I was vulnerable having just had a major operation for cancer and I reckon I was taken for a ride.

 

[Charles Edgington]

No more than £3.5k

 

[denso13]

The render which was fine now has a hole in it directly above the outlet. To the right the paint is coming off the waste pipe. The paint on the gas pipe above the outlet is bubbling off only in the area directly above the outlet.

With respect the flue is not even close to any of the things above. You seem to be fixated on the boiler which you say has been checked over by the manufacturer.

The render will get "wetter" by normal rain much more than a boiler flue.

 

[Charles Edgington]

He also said that he sees many flue holes not sealed.
Whilst some manufacturers say it’s ok to use a 3mm thick rubber he said that it isn’t.
It’s not weather proof. you can feel cold air inside the house coming in.
I had a new boiler installed to keep the house heated not to ventilate through an incomplete job.

 

[Gasguru]

With so much humidity I wouldn't rely on the Dyson telling you anything useful.
I can't understand the hesitation in not getting someone round to seal around the flue and plug the hole in the render.
Of course a render company will tell you what you want to hear...but us in the trade do not see loads of problems with ruined paintwork and render.
Remember paint quality has dropped significantly as regulations ban more and more additives....and of course preparation is key to a long lasting finish.
I've installed boilers with far more Kw than yours in much more confined (but legal) positions and the render and paintwork is fine after many years.
As for building regs...many are deeply flawed, where are you're supposed to vent the boiler when the wind is blowing the combustion products against the building?

 

[Charles Edgington]

Less than a metre to the hole.
Less than that to the gas pipe.
He said it is a poor job. Defect issued to company for not following regs on weather sealing.
He said it is quite possible for the rain to get into the fluehole from what he has seen and cause damp issues. the same rain that comes down the render will just go into the hole.
That is why it MUST be weatherproof.
The render is roughcast which is traditional breathable render and is not designed to have warm steam impinging on it five hours a day in the winter.
You can see the paint blistering already on the gas pipe above it and you can see blistered pipe on the waste pipe none of this was there until this installation.

 

[Charles Edgington]

Who said I was hesitating to get round to fix it? I’ve already had someone round before the inspector came round as I knew it was wrong and then they told me it was wrong.
The gas safe installer who came round said that he has seen it loads of times with vapour affecting render because it’s just incessant.
You can’t blame building regs on crap work.
The seal should be adequate. Deemed inadequate.

 

[GoodDIYjob]

He also said that he sees many flue holes not sealed.
Whilst some manufacturers say it’s ok to use a 3mm thick rubber he said that it isn’t.
It’s not weather proof. you can feel cold air inside the house coming in.
I had a new boiler installed to keep the house heated not to ventilate through an incomplete job.

I think you’ve got a lot of things on your mind.

I can see why you are not that happy with the flue sealing. You can see on the outside it leaves a slight gap around part of the circumference.. If the inside is the same, or the rubber not firm against internal plaster, it will cause draughts.

So to get that off your mind get someone, a builder or a friend or engineer, to mortar around the flue. Then that problem goes away. It sounds like you do not want to use the installer in any case.

as for the other problems, humidity, etc. I am not sure as the responses on here are very thorough and the boiler’s been checked over thoroughly.

could it be there is a radiator or pipe leak. That would cause humidity and a smell of inhibitor most noticeable when boiler is on.

first step though, get the flue sealed so that is off you mind.

 

[Charles Edgington]

I asked the original installer to do it but he failed to turn up.

 

[Charles Edgington]

Every day I have to white brick dust up from the kitchen worksurfaces.
Look here.

 

[denso13]

You can’t blame building regs on crap work.

You've already made your mind up despite alternative views on here.

Hope you get it sorted.