Pipe for central heating.....normal?

Pammy

My parents had their central heating implemented under the home grant scheme.

They used to have a gas fire in the fireplace, one of those with flames behind glass. All very late 80's

When the central heating was upgraded they disconnected this and today I pulled it out. Behind it, going through the fireplace is now a copper pipe. It is ugly as sin, sitting in the middle of the fireplace.

Is this normal? They now can't do anything with the fireplace

macman

Is it the old gas supply pipe, now capped off?
Or is it a water pipe carrying hot water to one of the rads?

Pammy

There are two, one is gas which goes through the middle and the other is water which sits behind it.

ziggyman99

It sounds like they may have had a back boiler and gas fire. The pipe work could be altered. Get your registered gas installer to take look and give you a price.

ormus

you can do the water pipe yourself.
if the gas pipe is live, you will need an engineer.
it all depends where the pipe is capped off. that gas pipe may now be a dead pipe.

Pammy

ormus wrote: »

you can do the water pipe yourself.
if the gas pipe is live, you will need an engineer.
it all depends where the pipe is capped off. that gas pipe may now be a dead pipe.

Thanks for the replies.The pipes are both part of whatever changes they made then they upgraded the central heating. My parents are both very elderly and didnt question it at the time as to why their fire no longer worked. So I pulled it out and saw the fire was hiding a mess of pipes.

They upgraed it to save money now they will have to pay out to get it rectified. According to Warm front they will disconnect your exisiting fire as they don't have certificates to prove its safe if they reinstall.

muskoka

I'd put a formal complaint in writing to Warmfront. They can't ignore you then & fight it. They do have engineers who can come out & inspect. I know this as my mum had a Warmfront grant years ago. Their fitters leave something, in fact a lot to be desired.

ormus

im not sure what you would complain about.
warmfront as most plumbers do, simply do the job they were contracted to do.
ie replace the CH boiler with a modern system.
and they have disconnected the old BBU as is right. as far as prettyfying the fireplace? that is not their job.
im sure the engineer said to you parents, do you want me to remove the fire/BBU completely or do you want me to replace it to cosmetically fill the hole?
ie as a temp measure.
most peeps fit a new gas fire. ie one without a BBU. hence the gas pipe was left there ready.

gas4you

Could be that they have taken the easiest and shortest route for the gas. i.e if the pipe from the meter was entering one side of the fireplace to feed the old BBU, they have just connected to this, run it across the back of the opening, then out the other side and on to the new boiler. The gas pipe should be sleeved through each side of the fireplace.

This would have saved them lifting the floor boards etc, making it a quicker and cheaper job.

Wrap the pipe in duct tape, then put a false back in the fireplace opening, assuming no new fire is going to be fitted in the future.

Pammy

The pipe goes directly across half way up the fireplace, it was obviously done to save time. We could put a false back in but the pipe is quite far forward so it would look pretty odd.

I know they did their job and they have heating but just because its free doesnt mean that it has to be done in such a way that it ruins the aesthetics.

They were not asked and were not ones to complain.