New boiler not compliant with Gas Safe requirements

[ALEC1]

gosh I hope you are a barrister, lawyer, journalist or politician who can highlight these issues to a wider audience..

the sad fact of the matter is the only boiler or heating system that ever gets any attention is the broken one..

the public gets what the public deserves..

 

[Galoka]

I wanted to add something to what I have said before. This particular boiler installation is a botched, incomplete, rogue job at many levels. This is not a case of an installer making a mistake (which is human and understandable and acceptable as long as the installer is willing to fix it). This is a job done badly either deliberately to cut corners or by an incompetent installer who simply does not know better. Both of these are unacceptable to me and I hope and believe would be unacceptable to the larger population especially other boiler installers.

Am I p****d off? Yes, absolutely. I am looking at a big bill to get the issues fixed and this is in addition to the inconvenience of not having a properly functioning boiler and the time spent in trying to fix it.

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that I should get 1-2 quotes from reliable installers, have a chat with the original installer and ask him to compensate me for an amount equal to the cost of getting it fixed. If he does not wish to do that I am ready to take him to Small Claims Court.

I am open to advice and suggestions. Thanks.

I can see this all frustrating for you, the perils of buying a house and all that.

Forget the original installer, you had no contract with him, you have no claim against him, when you buy a house, you buy it in the state it is in. If you want to be sure about the house services, it is your responsibility get them checked. As you have found out the hard way, relying on a piece of paper provided by someone else isn't worth very much.. He will I imagine tell you sling your hook, but probably not so politely...

He is probably cheap and a bit of cowboy which is why the seller used him. The only action you take re him would to be report him to gas safe (I presume that there is some sort of reporting procedure).

If there was misrepresentation, you might have a claim against the seller. EG, if the work required BR approval and they didn't have it, and your solicitors asked them if any work requiring BR approval had been done etc. It doesn't sound liek your solicitors did anything wrong.

Frankly though, sounds like you would be wasting your time. Sort out the problems, , live and learn and get on enjoying your new house.

The lack of flue sealing is the only thing that is really potentially dangerous, the poor condensate draining, well could be annoying. Neither of those sound expensive to fix.

Lack of TRV's is nothing to do with the Gas Safe certificate anyway AIUI, it might well be in breach of building regs, but nothing much to really do about that.

Add them if you think it is worth it, and live and learn for the next tiem you buy a house

 

[gigz]

Some of the issues that he pointed out are:
1. Boiler had not been properly commissioned and had just been switched on after installation.
2. TRVs had not been fit on any of the radiators.
3. Condensate pipe was not of the right gauge.
4. Condensate pipe had not been drained into a soakaway or a drain.
5. The hole where the flue pipe was routed through the brick wall to the outside of the house had not been filled in / sealed.

1. Dont know how anyone could prove that (you can only guess, just because benchmark is'nt filled in doesn't prove it wasn't done)
2. Its reccomended, not compulsory.
3. What size/guage does it say in the M.I.s. And what size is it now ?
4. Should go to drain/soakaway.
5. Think this has been discussed before, i ALWAYS seal in and out but i think some manufacturers allow just the 2 collars supplied to be a sufficient seal.

I can understand your frustration but your gripe is with the developer and your surveyer. But why not contact the original installer (by the way, if the benchmarks not filled in how do you know who it was) and ask him to put it right, worth a go.

 

[Dan Robinson]

He also remarked that the boiler was a cheap, low-quality one to begin with and was in most likelihood quite damaged because the central heating had not been flushed nor a filter put in.

I told you that in the other thread.

Personally I think you are on a hiding to nothing after this length of time, but your contract is not with the installer, but the vendor and the people you paid for the purchase.

You should really have had all this looked at as part of the purchase process. Surveyors are useless, yet people seem to think they are required for a house purchase.


Sorry to say this though. A 3 bed Victorian terrace is at best medium in size.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Benchmark is required now.

Condensate needs to be fitted as per the manual, as does the flue seals. We don't know that they haven't been from you posts.

TRV's, as already said are building regs; and in some circumstances, useless.

 

[dcawkwell]

Buyer beware.

In the end the finger of fault could be pointed at the solicitor, vendor or installer.

When buying anything it is up to the buyer to ensure what they are buying
they are happy with. No use jumping up and down about it
after the fact you will get nowhere. The courts won't help you.

Sold as seen.

You must now knuckle down and pay to put the things right.

 

[Galoka]

Thanks for your feedback, Boilerman2.

As the installer did not do the work for you I can't see that he owes you anything, if anyone you should be going after your own legal team who did the conveyancing or the Surveyor that did the Survey (assuming you had one!)

The boiler does owe me something because it is on the basis of the Gas Safe certificate he acquired and supplied that I, as a buyer, assumed that everything was properly done and that everything would last a reasonable amount of time without large number of issues or expenditure.


How can it be expected that I, my lawyer or my surveyor would be qualified to assess the correctness of a boiler installation?

You can't assume anything when buying a hous.e Ignoring things like NHBC for new houses, basically what you see is what you get.

If you want to be sure about the boiler/CH or electrics etc.then you should get an inspection of those done before purchase (and no doubt your survey report would have said that.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Indeed. NHBC aren't worth a warnk after 2 years either really. Trust me. The new houses on the end of our road have been an expensive calamity for a lot of the owners.

My regulars are taught to pay for the most basic of surveys to get the local searches and such like out of the way, then a sparks, builder and gas man paid individually to go and report on their areas of expertise.

Picked up a few doosies that way too.

 

[D_Hailsham]

I did have a structural survey (building survey) done but things like electrics and boilers are clearly out of scope for a surveyor since it needs specialist knowledge to evaluate.

All the Certificate does is tell you that the installation complies with the Gas Safety Regulations and 'relevant industry standards' (whatever that means) and has been registered with the Building Control Dept of your local council. It's no guarantee of the quality of the work done.

Did the surveyor recommend, in his report, that you get an independent report on the boiler? If so, but you ignored his advice and just relied on the Certificate, then it's like buying a car and relying on the MOT to satisfy you that the vehicle is roadworthy.

But if the surveyor did not make such a recommendation (I would be very surprised if he didn't), then you may have a case against the surveyor.

 

[shambolic]

Ps on a happy note does the flue have a rubber seal inside and out?
If so it complies with ideals manufacturers instructions and doesn't need to be cemented.
Hope this brightens up your day

 

[shambolic]

The Independant is a paired back version of the logic and is actually a good wee budget boiler.

 

[shambolic]

http://www.diynot.com/forums/plumbing/sludge-and-leaks-in-central-heating.361860/#2784157

Poor wee boiler