DIY Installations

[Softus]

Help!
I've had more answers locally than hot dinners. Can I legally install my own LPG C/H provided that the commissioning is carried out by a Corgi installer?

Yes. But finding someone prepared to do that isn't as simple as you might first think.

you are not allowed to do anything that is described as working on a gas appliance/pipework by corgi or the HSE.

This is a fabrication - the legislation doesn't state anything like this.

 

[nickso]

you are not allowed to do anything that is described as working on a gas appliance/pipework by corgi or the HSE.

This is a fabrication - the legislation doesn't state anything like this.[/quote]


wish it did

 

[Softus]

...the legislation doesn't state anything like this.

wish it did

I'm curious - why do you wish for that?

 

[nickso]

your right...there is probably no point in changing the regs as diy bloke wont be reading them anyway

 

[brokenspanner]

Granted a Haines Manual and a box of spanners doesn't make you competent, and having once received 750 volts due to an error by a major motor manufacturer's senior electrical engineer, I think I can claim to have suffered as much as the next engineer, and a qualified engineer I am, but again, can I connect all the water pipes and still have the gas work done by my friendly local Corgi to meet my insurance terms?
Ta!

 

[Softus]

your right...there is probably no point in changing the regs as diy bloke wont be reading them anyway

Lay people don't generally read any legislation, so I don't see why that should make a difference as to why you wanted to change it.

 

[Softus]

can I connect all the water pipes and still have the gas work done by my friendly local Corgi to meet my insurance terms?

Er, I don't know - what are your insurance terms?

 

[nickso]

being a qualifed gas engineer doesnt make me qualified to work on anything i like because i can say im a qualified engineer

why dont you phone your insurers and ask them.....surely thats the only way to get the answer you want......they will either not care or say no.

i cant imagine they would be happy to let you part install a central heating system.

best advice with insurers is to tell them as little as possible. is there something special about wooden house insurance? there are a few round here

 

[nickso]

your right...there is probably no point in changing the regs as diy bloke wont be reading them anyway

Lay people don't generally read any legislation, so I don't see why that should make a difference as to why you wanted to change it.

my original point was perhaps the legislation should not allow non registered people to do gas work of any kind.

after what you said i realised it would make little difference as they wouldnt read it anyway

 

[Softus]

being a qualifed gas engineer doesnt make me qualified to work on anything i like because i can say im a qualified engineer

That's because you need to pass specific assessment criteria for different appliances and systems, not because of a general rule that qualified people aren't competent.

why dont you phone your insurers and ask them.....surely thats the only way to get the answer you want......they will either not care or say no.

i cant imagine they would be happy to let you part install a central heating system.

I don't foresee that they would be unhappy.

best advice with insurers is to tell them as little as possible.

That's actually the worst advice. You are contractually bound to reveal all material facts, and if you don't then you risk your policy being is null and void. If you aren't sure whether or not something is material, then you have nothing to lose by telling them. It's utter stupidity to be economical with the truth.

 

[Softus]

...after what you said i realised it would make little difference as they wouldnt read it anyway

I disagree - it would make an enormous difference, because it would empower the HSE to prosecute any non-registered person who worked on a gas appliance.

 

[nickso]

being a qualifed gas engineer doesnt make me qualified to work on anything i like because i can say im a qualified engineer

That's because you need to pass specific assessment criteria for different appliances and systems, not because of a general rule that qualified people aren't competent.

why dont you phone your insurers and ask them.....surely thats the only way to get the answer you want......they will either not care or say no.

i cant imagine they would be happy to let you part install a central heating system.

I don't foresee that they would be unhappy.

best advice with insurers is to tell them as little as possible.

That's actually the worst advice. You are contractually bound to reveal all material facts, and if you don't then you risk your policy being is null and void. If you aren't sure whether or not something is material, then you have nothing to lose by telling them. It's utter stupidity to be economical with the truth.

thats why i said qualified and not competent.

dont be obtuse....you cant forsee they would be happy or unhappy.

fair point.

 

[nickso]

...after what you said i realised it would make little difference as they wouldnt read it anyway

I disagree - it would make an enormous difference, because it would empower the HSE to prosecute any non-registered person who worked on a gas appliance.

agreed....it wouldnt stop them doing the work in the first place though especially if it was a diyer in their own home. a person pretending to be a registered engineer probably wouldnt get away with it for so long.

 

[Softus]

dont be obtuse....you cant forsee they would be happy or unhappy.

I wasn't knowingly being obtuse. To clarify, I meant to imply that I would expect no objection whatsoever from an insurance company - the installation still has to be notified and certified, and if it weren't then they would simply not cover it, but being part-installed by a DIYer would make no difference at all.

 

[brokenspanner]

This is getting more heated than my C/H. I pointed out that I was a qualified engineer to agree that not all DIYers are by definition moronic. As regards my insurance company I don't think they'd give a Damn if I flood the place as I haven't got flood insurance, but hey might take exception if didn't have the necessary gas work done by a specifically qualified person. Agreed?