Fitting a Combi What can be done DIY? before calling a Corgi

[abaracadabara]

I am plumbing rads at the moment. The combi is fitted to the wall.
There is no piping to the boiler yet and the flue which will be horizontal has not yet been fitted. I was planning to plumb the water side, fit the flue
and get a Corgi engineer to connect the gas and commission the boiler.
Is this OK or does the Corgi fitter need to carry out more of the work?

 

[sidecar_jon]

Wikes do an instructional leaflet on this very thing and its free!

 

[abaracadabara]

THanks for the quick reply.

Wickes is a way from me.

I am planning to do all the water/flue installation, prior to calling a Corgi
Fitter, but I dont want to waste my time doing work that needs to be done by a Corgi fitter.

 

[chrishutt]

The fitting of the flue, the gas supply and the commissioning must be done by a competent person (by law), preferably Corgi registered. It is arguable that the fixing of the boiler to the wall should also be covered since the safety of the appliance depends on the security of the wall fixings.

However the best thing is to ask the Corgi fitter you propose to use. He will tell you what he would regard as acceptable. Make sure that his work includes commissioning the boiler, completing the Benchmark certificate and notifying the boiler installation to Building Control.

 

[sidecar_jon]

"The fitting of the flue, the gas supply and the commissioning must be done by a competent person (by law), preferably Corgi registered"



compitent person...as long as they arnt paid...i think you cant pay someone to do it unless they are Corgi passed, so doing it yourself is ok, and calling the Corgi person in at last is OK

 

[abaracadabara]

Thank you

I was not happy with the two coach bolts and plastic plugs supplied with the boiler. I upgraded them to 2 substantial long 10mm rawlbolts. these will be reinforced by 2 further bolts supporting the boiler by two brackets bolted through the first two fixings.

 

[chrishutt]

compitent person...as long as they arnt paid...i think you cant pay someone to do it unless they are Corgi passed

Not exactly what the law says, but a rough approximation.

What it actually says (in my words) is: - if the competent person doing the work is self-employed (or an employee) then that person (or the employer) must be corgi registered. So if you pay someone to do the work, it is arguable that they then become self-employed, even if they aren't normally.

But you ought to consult with the Corgi registered installer right at the beginning because the location of the boiler and flue terminal must comply with various requirements.

 

[sidecar_jon]

ah right thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Softus]

Hi chrishutt, I'm mildly confused by your use of the word "preferably" in the following:

"competent person (by law), preferably Corgi registered."

Surely the CORGI thing is a mandate, not a preference?

S.

 

[ChrisR]

If you drill down to the words in the law, you get to "employed". Anyone employed to do gas work must be corgi regd. That's obviously ambiguous, but any form of payment makes it crystal clear.

You can't expect any corgi to take your word for it that anything is as you say. In this situation I'd always dismantle the flue, and certainly wouldn't complete the Benchmark or BR notifications. I could of course issue a Gas Safety Record as used eg by landlords - if the installation passed all the tests.

Always get your corgi involved before you get a boiler.

 

[Softus]

Ah OK - I get it now. It's the employment that makes a difference.

Foe example, if I interpret SI 1998:2451 correctly, then I can:

a) install and maintain my own gas appliance(s);
b) install and maintain someone else's gas appliance(s), for free.

as long as I'm competent, but without any requirement to be CORGI registered.

 

[sidecar_jon]

just a point tho.... and i no fan of Corgi... house insurance might just cut up rough unless "compitance" can be proved..

 

[Softus]

IMHO I suspect that they would have to prove incompetence, although it would be a tough legal battle to endure whilst temporarily homeless...

 

[ricarbo]

How do you stand with wiring up the controls and boiler? Surely that is work that is not exempt from the dreaded Part P, if you're making any alteration. So that's another problem.

 

[Softus]

How do you stand with wiring up the controls and boiler? Surely that is work that is not exempt from the dreaded Part P, if you're making any alteration. So that's another problem.

Nothing is 'exempt' from Part P, but the wiring and/or alterations you're referring to are not classed as notifiable work unless in the kitchen or bathroom.

Have you read Part P ricarbo?