height clearance above range cooker

Glad

I've just moved into an older property which has a range cooker in an alcove in the kitchen, it has a light fitted in the alcove which I thought was a bit dodgy so I've been asking advice from a few friends and one mentioned that there isn't enough height between the hob and the alcove. I've tried lookin for official guidelines and it seems to be saying you need 760mm clearance, the clearance above mine is 560mm.

Am I right about the 760mm? also I'd like to know when that regulation came into force, the previous owners bought the house in 2012 and had the range cooker installed sometime since 2012 and now

travis-powers

Spot on! I take it the range isn’t gas? It shouldn’t be signed of with that.
 Don’t know when it came in but at that height you risk hitting your head.

Glad

travis-powers said:

Spot on! I take it the range isn’t gas? It shouldn’t be signed of with that.
 Don’t know when it came in but at that height you risk hitting your head.

It is a gas range, I haven't really cooked on it yet, I tried the gas grill which brings some sort of fan on, but the front panel where the knobs are gets incredibly hot after a few minutes! so I wasn't too happy with it and my plan was to buy a new one, until someone posinted out the height of the alcove

It would be good to know when the regulation came in before I try contacting my solicitor, either the previous owners installed it themselves, unsafely, or a gas fitter did

travis-powers

I have no idea when it came in but it was pre 2012!
What gets me is hoods come with instructions on height so someone was incompetent.
 I told a lie it’s 750mm for gas and 650mm for electric but I always go 750mm just in case

FreeBear

I'm assuming the alcove is a redundant fireplace. In which case, you have two options. Insert a lintel higher up and remove any gather that might be up there. If if chimney is clear all the way to the top, it may be possible to fit a liner and fan to suck any smells/steam out.

Option two is to remove the chimney completely, but that would require a structural engineer (to do some calculations) and Building Control to sign off the work.

Both options will cost a bit of money and generate quite a bit of mess. The third option is to move the range to another location in the kitchen.

Edit to add - Side clearance also looks somewhat restricted. Consult the manufacturers installation notes, and it should give recommended clearances to the side and above.

Rosa_Damascena

Congratulations on your new home, Glad!

Another_Level

Looking at the photo shows the cooker to be fitted in a very confined area.

The cooker will have an instruction manual which should havebeen left with the appliance or the UK spec manual is downloadable, the clearance mentioned will be clearly stated.

There are reasons for having a clearance above the hob, flammable material above a source of ignition is one idea.

Is the light fitting heat damaged from using the cooker ? 

If the property is rented, there will be historic service & safety documents. If you own it maybe consider having a gas tech service the cooker, just to ensure its safe and working to the manufactures specifications.

Happy cooking 

Bigphil1474

OP, we have the exact same set up as yours, but with much more clearance above - about 900mm. Our extractor/light unit is fitted above the cooker. Ours is a Cannon and was fitted about 10 years ago. It is gas hobs and electric grill/ovens, so might be different requirements to an all gas unit.

Ours doesn't have any side clearance either and non-was required for our cooker from what i can remember. I definitely remember checking with the gas engineer and the electrician just to be sure. 

I think your option would be to have the clearance increased by removing some of the chimney to the front, or replace with an all electric model. Having the cooker in the old chimney space was our only option and would be difficult to put anything other than cupboards in there anyway. 

Glad

FreeBear said:

I'm assuming the alcove is a redundant fireplace. In which case, you have two options. Insert a lintel higher up and remove any gather that might be up there. If if chimney is clear all the way to the top, it may be possible to fit a liner and fan to suck any smells/steam out.

Option two is to remove the chimney completely, but that would require a structural engineer (to do some calculations) and Building Control to sign off the work.

Both options will cost a bit of money and generate quite a bit of mess. The third option is to move the range to another location in the kitchen.

Edit to add - Side clearance also looks somewhat restricted. Consult the manufacturers installation notes, and it should give recommended clearances to the side and above.

It is an old fireplace, the chimney and stack were removed in 2015 when the roof was retiled
I've just had another look at it and it appears to be just plasterboard above the cooker! The light is hanging on 2 wires and the switch for it is on the side wall of the kitchen, there is some damage and a lot of dirt from cooking, but strangely none to the board above the cooker
As the cooker was part of the price I paid and even without the clearance issue, doesn't work properly as the front panel where the knobs are gets too hot to touch when the grill is on, do I have a claim against the seller (who by the way is a senior fire officer!!)

Glad

Bigphil1474 said:

OP, we have the exact same set up as yours, but with much more clearance above - about 900mm. Our extractor/light unit is fitted above the cooker. Ours is a Cannon and was fitted about 10 years ago. It is gas hobs and electric grill/ovens, so might be different requirements to an all gas unit.

Ours doesn't have any side clearance either and non-was required for our cooker from what i can remember. I definitely remember checking with the gas engineer and the electrician just to be sure. 

I think your option would be to have the clearance increased by removing some of the chimney to the front, or replace with an all electric model. Having the cooker in the old chimney space was our only option and would be difficult to put anything other than cupboards in there anyway. 

even if I had all electric the clearance is still 10cm too low! I quite like it in the alcove so I'll probably have the clearance increased

FreeBear

Glad said: As the cooker was part of the price I paid and even without the clearance issue, doesn't work properly as the front panel where the knobs are gets too hot to touch when the grill is on, do I have a claim against the seller (who by the way is a senior fire officer!!)

Probably not. House sales are very much "caveat emptor", and it is down to you (or your surveyor) to find all the faults. You may have a claim against the vendor if you had asked a specific question and he lied in response - That would be something to ask of your solicitor.

Assuming you had a full survey carried out, the surveyor could/should have picked up on the lack of clearance - You may have a claim against him..