Capping gas pipe - testing requirments

[bengasman]

Would cutting a live gas pipe with an angle grinder be Riddor reportable.

It could well be argued that a gasleak was created by poor workmanship/illegal gaswork. This would be a riddor case. For a one of case, they could probably talk their way out of it,but a few repeats could well lead to prosecution. I doubt that the builder would have enough knowledge or the rules to dodge them, but his mate might know how to do it.

 

[JayJay1978]

This thread is a good read, some good advice given.

Bengasman was the first one to mention angle grinder, he may not have used one.

That said I'm not a RGI.

Or even a plumber!!

 

[kirkgas]

i always tell students if they have to assume something, assume the worst, ie customer says "oh yes gas is capped" assume it isnt and confirm, this would have stopped this happening, as a gas engineer i would have tested the system then removed the cap, or disconnected a pipe found the supply to be live, turned it off ripped out the pipe, capped it and tested it, but then again i'm not a dodgy builder, and i dont have any mates so nobody ever phones me to come round and bodge it up for them, contact the builder, tell him you are not happy with either his or his plumber mates work, and that you are getting in a gas engineer to test their work and he is paying, if not you will contact Gas Safe Register, HSE and will issue a RIDDOR, see what he says to that

 

[bengasman]

This thread is a good read, some good advice given.

Bengasman was the first one to mention angle grinder, he may not have used one.

True.
It could have been:
A chainsaw
An axe
A kango
Big hammer and chisel
A simple hack saw

Judging by the description, and knowing builders, I still think it was an angle grinder.
Makes no difference though; it's like whether you have been run over by a ford, a nissan or a peugeot

 

[Dawn10]

It wasn't an angle grinder, or any kind of power tool. I was in the kitchen at the time. Fortunately I had the garage key and was able to turn off the supply while he sat with his finger up the pipe. Good job I hadn't gone out else he could have been there a while.

Have sent builder letter telling him why I am not paying for his gas work and he has called me and tried to tell me that I told him the pipe was capped in the garage (I never said such a thing) and it wasn't his fault he cut a live pipe. 5 mins later he said that it would never have been possible to cap it in the garage because the pipe feeds other appliances (not true - there is a junction in the pipe, and one route feeds solely the gas fire. He told me the fee was high because he had to make an emergency callout. I reminded him it was him who had created the emergency (and besides, his mate had turned up 4 hrs later, not tested his work and had refused to cap it in the garage at my request) so why should I pay.

I mentioned having been advised to contact the GSR and explain the situation to them but he didn't make any comment on this.

I stood my ground and have refused to pay for the gas work but invited him to send back a registered engineer who would cap it in the garage test it, and that I would be happy to pay the local rate. He declined.

ANyway, now that it's all sorted I can stop pretending to be Dawn from Middlesex

 

[Dawn10]

I just want to say thanks to everyone for the brilliant advice. Without the information that I got here I wouldn't have been able to write the letter and I probably wouldn't have answered his call when he phoned either, but I did answer it because I felt confident enough to argue it out with him based on what I now know. So, thank you everyone

 

[JayJay1978]

ANyway, now that it's all sorted I can stop pretending to be Dawn from Middlesex

You mean to say you're not who you say you are?



Care to explain?

 

[bengasman]

...ANyway, now that it's all sorted I can stop pretending to be Dawn from Middlesex

Hi Cherie, how's Tony?

 

[doitall]

...ANyway, now that it's all sorted I can stop pretending to be Dawn from Middlesex

Hi Cherie, how's Tony?

That's not nice Ben Cherie's a bigger B'liar than Tony

 

[bengasman]

Wow, that's an accomplishment.

 

[ollski]

You could of course say that the builder made a genuine mistake in accidentally cutting a pipe he was told was decommissioned, as he was unable to test it himself as he was unqualified and called an appropriate operative to carry out a repair which may or may not have been done to the standard we aspire to.

 

[bengasman]

If he was a proper builder who goes by the book, and not a cowboy, he would have known better than to blindly accept anything a custard says.
It sounds more like he is the type that installs a boiler and then gets a dodgy rgi to sign it off.

 

[Homesafe]

and i dont have any mates so nobody ever phones me to come round and bodge it up for them,

thats quite an acheivment kirkgas

 

[davebgas]

Dawn, just a quick point u can tell the builder. If he had to make an emergency callout why didn't he ring 0800 111 999 for the gas transporter?they'd have capped it for free, usually the do it at the meter but I'm sure if the pipe was exposed he'd have done it there, plus tested the system to see it's all ok. Just ask him bet he back tracks, and also just say you aren't paying a thing until the 'plumber' comes round and shows you his ID card. Stand firm!!! Good luck

 

[Agile]

Dawn, you did not ask the builder for details of his plumber mate.

The real problem as I see it is not the builder cutting the gas pipe when it was live but the plumber who capped it off and did not do the tightness test to see if it was leaking.

The plumber is the person who should have been gas registered and should have tested the system.

He is the one who should return at no extra cost to test the system OR to be reported to Gas Safe if he is not registered or to be reported if he did not test it.

Testing only takes five minutes at the meter!

We are strenuously tested on these aspects every five years at a considerable cost and its very annoying when we hear of plumbers who do gas work when not registered or competent.

Tony