SIP - gas issues

MarcoM

hi all,

we've just received the sellers questionnaire from our solicitor.

The seller states that central heating has been renewed in 2000.
He does not seem to be able to provide certificates. He mentiond in passing that his friend had done it for him.

Do you think it is reasonable for us to request a corgi safety check on the heatring system at the expense of the seller half way through a purchase? Or is it the sort of thing you sort out once you have purchased the house.

thanks for any advice

BobProperty

It's not the "safety check" part, it's the Building Regulation approval. CORGI registration allows self-certification that the boiler complies with Building Regulations. His "friend" should have applied and obtained Building Regulation approval for the installation. He wouldn't have done so because he wouldn't have got it, and BC would just have told him (possibly technically legally wrongly) to get a CORGI guy in.
This doesn't help you as they (BC) won't retrospectively make him comply or give approval. It's much too long ago. You can ask that he gets it checked by a CORGI guy, he can say take it or leave it, it's up to you to sort it if you buy the house. Either way, I'd get something sorted so that whenever you eventually come to sell the place you can show you checked it out. I'd also get it in writing that his "friend" did it, just in case there's some lurking "disaster waiting to happen". There was a story a few years back where someone did some DIY gas pipework and the CORGI guy wondered how he had got the pipework to go where it did, through a wall and round some obstruction. Turned out there was a short length of hose pipe in the middle of the pipe run.

Canucklehead

Good morning: If the CH system was installed in 2000 then the requirement to notify the installation to Building Control is not applicable...new regs came into effect in April 2005 http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumer/requestacertificate.htmx

I would advise an annual service, the provision of a gas safety certificate from the vendor and the purchase of a carbon monoxide alarm...all three should cost less than £100 in total (cost dependent on where you are in the UK).

HTH

Canucklehead

BobProperty

Canucklehead wrote: »

Good morning: If the CH system was installed in 2000 then the requirement to notify the installation to Building Control is not applicable...new regs came into effect in April 2005 http://www.trustcorgi.com/consumer/requestacertificate.htmx

I thought there was some registration system in place before that and the 2005 Regulations updated the rules rather than actually initiated them.

Sammy85_2

Hi,

The system is 7 years old, so whether fitted by a corgi engineer or not i would be getting the system checked out. It could be the best system in the world, fitted by approved persons but if the owner hasnt taken care of it then it could be dangerous.

You could try to get the vendor to pay costs for safety checks, but in my experience you'll be lucky if they do. Its one of those things; like a buildings survey, its for the buyer to arrange/pay for.


Good luck

Canucklehead

BobProperty wrote: »

I thought there was some registration system in place before that and the 2005 Regulations updated the rules rather than actually initiated them.

Hi...nothing in place until April 2005 (designed to tie in with requirements for condensing boilers with very limited exceptions) ...however the Benchmark book scheme (installation and service log) has been kicking around since 1999 (part of manufacturer's boiler installation/servicing literature)...from my OH's perspective for many of the callouts he has had over the years, the original 'installer' has left the log blank or the customer doesn't have it so no CORGI registration number to track and no details available on initial installation or annual servicing. See more on the Benchmark scheme... http://www.centralheating.co.uk/index/fuseaction/site.articleDetail/con_id/7480

HTH

Canucklehead