Boiler Flue Position

[SparkyMarky]

Hi all,
I'm in the process of planning my new kitchen, part of which will be to get the existing gas system boiler replaced with a combi. One option is to get the new boiler installed in the same place, but if possible I'd like to get it moved as it currently intrudes on the work surface and severely limits the number of wall cupboards I can fit in.

There is only one other possible position in the kitchen where it wouldn't be in the way, the pipes could be routed to it and where it would (on the face of it) meet the building regs / Corgi requirements for the flue position. However there's one potential problem which neither of the Corgi installers I've had round to look really seem sure about. My house is the end house of a row of 5 terraced houses, with a two storey extension at the back where the kitchen is. Between my house and the start of the neighboring block of terraces there is a pathway about 1m wide which is a right of way for the owners of the other houses in the terraces to get to the rear of their houses. The neighbours house has also got an extension on the rear, but it is single storey with a low roof line (about 1.8m above the path level). If I get the boiler moved the flue will discharge about 2.2m above the pathway, 0.5m down the pathway from the corner of my house and about 1m from my neighbours opposing wall (there are no windows or openings in his wall). All seems ok so far, but the uncertainty comes from the property boundary positions. The pathway isn't actually owned by anyone (checked out by my solicitors when I bought the house). The walls of the houses on each side of it form the property boundaries, so although the flue would technically be over my boundary, it would actually be in a no mans land and still about 1m from my neighbours boundary.

Sorry for the long post, but can anyone shed any light on how permissable / sensible it would be to position my flue in this location? Thanks...

 

[EliteHeat]

I saw a newly installed boiler on a job I was on recently in pretty much exactly the same circumstances. I queried it with the homeowner who in turn had also queried it with the installers at the time. Their response was that it was over 600mm from the opposite wall and was perfectly legal. Personally I thought that the 2.5M rule would apply.

When you saw it running it was discharging against the neighbours wall and although nowhere near an opening into the building, it looked a bit odd to say the least.

Why not fit a vertical plume kit?

 

[SparkyMarky]

I could fit a vertical kit, although it would still mean that the flue itself would be outside my wall, and therefore in the no mans land over my boundary. I don't think the plume would be a problem anyway. The neigbours single storey extension has got a pitched roof with the ridge running parallel to the boundary line. The eaves of his roof would be about 0.5m below the height of the flue anyway, so even if the plume from the flue crossed the pathway it would just disperse above the slope of his roof...

 

[chess]

Simple answer to your query is this. Look at the manfacturr's instructions at the section on flue positions - these are taken from the building regs which are based on the British Standards - and see what they say.

Or perhaps draw a plan of your proposed location and sek advic form the particular boiler manufacturer - they will give you specific anwers for their appliance.

 

[nickso]

I could fit a vertical kit, although it would still mean that the flue itself would be outside my wall, and therefore in the no mans land over my boundary. I don't think the plume would be a problem anyway. The neigbours single storey extension has got a pitched roof with the ridge running parallel to the boundary line. The eaves of his roof would be about 0.5m below the height of the flue anyway, so even if the plume from the flue crossed the pathway it would just disperse above the slope of his roof...

none of that will help if the neighbour makes changes to his extension. you have to think of what might happen in the future as well as the present.

for starters i would ask the neighbour if he has any objections. then i would look at the necessary regs to see if its still feasible.

 

[giblets]

TBH I find it difficult to believe that the pathway is not owned by anyone or shared by you and your neighbour. All ground is owned by someone.

If your neighbour decided to build up from his ground floor extension I think that he may be able to force you to move your terminal as it would then be creating a nuisance.

Best check with Building Control and your solicitor.

 

[petit_pablo]

Its not ideal to flue out onto shared access. I believe you would be installing against current standards. Mi's dont tend to cover this aspect of flueing, just clearances for safe operation.

 

[Agile]

Whatever the MI say an over riding requirement is that the discharge does not cause any danger or inconvenience.

I would expect that a plume diversion kit taking it horizontally to discharge towards your back garden woulod probably be an acceptable solution.

The ownership of the passage is probably deemed to be a joint ownership amongst all those whose rears are serviced.

Tony

 

[namsag]

If it is definitley not owned by anyone and CANNOT be extended into and your discharge height is as you say i cannot see any problem at all providing there is nothing in the manufacturers instructions.
Some say about damp onto neighbouring property from flue gases but Eh do houses not get more soaked by being rained on

 

[SparkyMarky]

To clarify a few of the points raised...

If the neighbour did build up from his ground floor extension, it wouldn't technically matter. His wall/boundary is still far enough away from mine that it would still comply with regs, although the plume may then hit his wall as someone mentioned earlier...

If the pathway is owned by someone it's been lost in the mists of time. Ownership of the path was something I specifically queried with my solicitor when I bought the house, and he drew a blank on all his searches. It's certainly not owned by any of the nearby properties who have the use of it. Even if the owner did appear I wouldn't think they'd be all that bothered about the flue being there. There's already sewers, cabling, gas and water mains buried under the path.

I've already looked at several different manufacturers installation instructions in search of inspiration. As far as they're concerned it would comply with their requirements, the only problem being the interpretation of the word 'boundary'. They just use it without defining which boundary is meant (my boundary and my neigbours boundary being different things in this case).

All in all I still feel slighly uncomfortable about the whole idea. One other option would be to turn the flue through 90 degrees and take it out of the end wall of my extension instead. I ruled it out at first because the flue would then be only 272mm from the edge of the kitchen window. I might ask the installer about the feasibility of taking the flue through the wall at a slight angle to gain the extra 28mm needed to meet the 300mm requirement. Failing all that I guess I'll just have to live with the boiler where it is now.

 

[giblets]

If you exit through the end wall could you not add a plume diversion kit to increase the distance from the window?

(I think this may have been raised before as to exactly what part of the flue the 300 dimension is taken from but can't find the posting.)

 

[twgas]

think i read somewhere that a shared path/drive one would use centerline as boundary. could be wrong, cant remember where I read it so cant confirm this.

 

[bengasman]

A picture says a thousand words, and I am a fast reader