Boiler placement-no building reg cert

bris

It's over ten years old, if it wasn't installed correctly you or the current owners anyway would know about it long before now.


It's a private residence so doesn't even need a certificate but if there is a GSR cert there then all the better. This shouldn't stop you doing your own due diligence however, if you are worried so much about it get it checked out.

G_M

oldbaldman wrote: »

G_M you appear to be making a number of assumptions about this scenario, not the best approach in my view. Always better to have the facts, and if they are not presented, seek to obtain facts before dishing out advice which may cost a person money or more!

There is as yet no evidence presented here to suggest that the appliance was or has been inspected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. There is mention of a "maintenance certificate", but no clarification on what this document is or who it was completed by and signed off by, if anyone, or what their qualifications are.

Which is why I said in my post:

I asume you have been given/offered a copy of the most recent service report?

Once that is provided, OP can check it is valid, was issued by a GasSafe engineer, and does not indicate the boiler has faults/is dangerous.

It may well indicate areas where the installation is 'not to current standards', but as explained
* that applies to millions of different asppects of millions of properties UK wide
* is no indication of faults, or indeed either good or bad condition

domcastro

Don't worry about it. Ask them for a gas safety certificate, if they can't produce the installation certificates.

arbrighton

if you are worried, you need to pay to have it inspected yourself

C_Mababejive

What about other aspects of the building i.e damp,the roof,the plumbing, the state of the electrics?? i wouldnt focus too much on the boiler.

TBagpuss

As others have said, ask for the most recent service report, and check that the person who did that inspection is registered with GasSafe.

If they are not, or if the sellers cannot provide the report, or if it would give you better peace of mind, then ask them to allow access for your own GasSafe engineer to inspect. That person will probably then be able to reassure you that the boiler is safe (although very possibly not compliant with modern standards).

They may also be able to give you an idea of the age of the boiler so you have some 'feel' for whether you are likely to need to budget to replace it in the short term.

To me, the fact that the sellers can't / won' give you installation details suggests to me that it is likely to be older, as if it were a recent installation they would probably be pushing that as a selling point.

AlexMac

I'm not saying its not a big deal... but...

A replacement will cost £1.5- £3k; and probably down the bottom end of that range unless its a big installation with a pressurised cylinder...

And while that's a significant expense, its still potentially only half-to-one per cent (or less in the SE) of the total value of the house. And if the boiler really was installed in the past ten years, its nearing the end of its design life, as that's the way the wicked suppliers make their money; by building in obsolescence (cynical? Moi?).

I've had to replace a boiler in every one of the past six properties I've owned, usually within a year- or in three cases, within weeks of buying them. So now, convinced by their fallibility, I factor that into any offer.

And any new one you install will of course be 'gas safe' and Council registered as Cowboys charge almost the same as registered fitters who don't give you that thrilling reisk of asphyxiation or explosion!

Running_Horse

You need building regs for a boiler now? Ours was a few years old when we moved in eight years ago, and with a little help from British Gas we have been getting away with it. But they have been making ominous noises about spare parts being hard to get now, and sooner or later everyone has to change their boiler. It's just one of many different aspects of maintaining your home.

C_Mababejive

Running_Horse wrote: »

You need building regs for a boiler now? Ours was a few years old when we moved in eight years ago, and with a little help from British Gas we have been getting away with it. But they have been making ominous noises about spare parts being hard to get now, and sooner or later everyone has to change their boiler. It's just one of many different aspects of maintaining your home.

If they identify a part that needs replacing and say they cant get it, you contact the manufs direct. If they havent got it,they it probably cant be got. BG have an extensive but limited parts list so just because they say they cant get it, doesnt mean its not available.

TBagpuss

Running_Horse wrote: »

You need building regs for a boiler now? Ours was a few years old when we moved in eight years ago, and with a little help from British Gas we have been getting away with it. But they have been making ominous noises about spare parts being hard to get now, and sooner or later everyone has to change their boiler. It's just one of many different aspects of maintaining your home.

Yes, you do. But it can be self-certified by the gas engineer fitting it.