Is a garage inspection pit legal?

lauren565

hello
just wondering if the existing inspection pit in our garage is legal, was told today by a visitor that they are no longer legal due to health and safety?
does anybody know please? Thanks

Dr._Shoe

Was it just a knowall or someone who genuinely knew the law on such matters?

wealdroam

lauren565 wrote: »

hello
just wondering if the existing inspection pit in our garage is legal, was told today by a visitor that they are no longer legal due to health and safety?
does anybody know please? Thanks

If they are not, perhaps your visitor should get in touch with Mech-Mate. They seem to sell plenty of them.

They even say:

Local authorities approve of Mech-Mate Motorpits, particularly their environmental contribution, when it comes to containing vehicle fluid spillages.

Maybe they are no longer approved for a work/employment environment, but it is unlikely that any legislation has been introduced that means all existing pits in private garages need to be filled in.

Hasbeen

lauren565 wrote: »

hello
just wondering if the existing inspection pit in our garage is legal, was told today by a visitor that they are no longer legal due to health and safety?
does anybody know please? Thanks

Yes totally illegal!! Same as leaving your car in the garage as some one walking into your garage might bump into it and injure themselves and claim for whiplash!

Seronera

Let's get sensible here. The pit is almost certainly perfectly legal, but you do have a responsibility to ensure it is as safe as it can be in terms of covers and possibly being properly signed and marked so that the unwary or careless do not fall into it and sue you or simply get injured.

I would go onto the HSE website where there is almost certainly some very good guidance on garage equipment. There have been some horrible accidents with fire in garage pits due to accumulated petrol vapours. I'd just make myself aware of all the issues and the best practice in dealing with them.

frisbeej

Don't modern pits need ventilation or something? Heavier than air gases get trapped in the pit and you suffocate.

Andy_L

Do you mean a business garage or a domestic/home garage?

agarnett

Falls are one hazard, but ventilation is the latent problem.

Petrol vapour is heavier than air and pools in the pit - the slightest spark e.g from turning on a pit light can cause powerful explosions - many years ago I attended the scene of one incident at a small commercial garage where a man had been burned and blown through a closed main door after exactly that. Suffice to say he was in no condition to continue with anything beyond pushing up daisies.

muckybutt

The key point is - at the time the pit was installed it would have been perfectly safe and legal.

It would however be whomever owns the property now where the pit is, to keep it in a safe condition. If used for business purposes then it would also have to comply with relevant H&S regs.

27col

I built an inspection pit in my first house. (Back in those days you did your own car maintenance.) It had a duck board in the bottom to keep your feet out of the ever present water.
Of course, several of my friends used to use it as well. Problem was, it always leaked and had to be bailed out prior to use. One chap chap put his car over it and then swung down into it using the front bumper of the car. He landed on the floating duck board and shot to the other end of the pit as if he was surfing. In those days you look under the bonnet and actually recognise the engine components.
Nowadays, you are lucky to recognise anything under the bonnet. But I don't need to thankfully.

Gloomendoom

They are perfectly legal. The Health and Safety Executive has guidelines on how to assess the risks they pose on commercial premises.