Wood Burner Concerns...

Swanseajack

Hi, purchased a small seaside cottage which has a newish wood burner installed in the dining room. There is no installation paperwork for it (certificate of compliance, I think it's called) which I had no idea was needed, but I would have thought my solicitor (currently skiing) should have known about it? There has also been no CO2 meter installed which I think is a legal requirement? Also, where the flue was installed into the roof, there is a substantial leak to the ceiling of the bedroom below the apex of the ridge tiles where the flue appears. Clearly this fire appears potentially unsafe to use, and although the bloke who sold me the cottage has put me in touch with the installer, they have strangely disappeared off the face of the earth, despite promising to come take a look. Is there any redress with such an installation? Not sure who to refer to for further advice and my solicitor is away for three weeks. Meanwhile, the water is dripping into a bucket! Thanks.for any help.

molerat

What did your surveyor make of it .......... you did have a full survey, right ?

You have pretty much bought as seen and any consumer rights over the installation will be with the person who paid for the install.

If your solicitor was not aware there was a new wood burner installed he wouldn't have looked for any paperwork.

CO detectors are a moveable item, not required to be fixed, so that may have been chucked in a box when moving so no big deal for you to get another for £10 - £20.

born_again

How old is this fire?
As you were not the purchaser of the fire. The company do not have to deal with you. Given no paperwork, then there would be no transferable warranty.
As to solicitor, they can only go on information they are provided by sellers solicitor & you. They do not go & look at property to check what is required.


As to C02 meter. I would want to install my own any way. So you know it's history.
Legality I think only relates to rental & holiday lets. Not general houses.

FlorayG

There's not much you can do now you've bought it, these are things that should be brought up and dealt with before exchange. You don't actually need a certificate as long as building control know it's being installed ( and they inspect when its done) so the previous owner may have done this. As for the faulty installation I think you would do best to contact an installer who knows what they are doing and get it fixed. I don't think you have any comeback on the vendor now

Swanseajack

Thanks for responding. The surveyor actually advised removing the chimney (which was here previously) and the owner happily did this and arranged for the wood burner to be installed, which was then detailed under 'Other Items' in the T10 by the vendor, but presumably wasn't picked up on by my solicitor, hence no check for certification. I think amongst all the stuff I've read on these installations that if a 'dodgy' install subsequently causes damage to a property (after it's sold) the previous owner is liable. However, if my solicitor didn't do their job properly, perhaps that fact negates that theory. The pro installer I spoke to said a CO2 monitor (legally) should have been affixed to wall or ceiling in room where stove is located...maybe the owner just unscrewed it and took it away. Pretty irresponsible. I do have the fire service coming to do a home check next week...

Niv

Swanseajack said:

Thanks for responding. The surveyor actually advised removing the chimney (which was here previously) and the owner happily did this and arranged for the wood burner to be installed, which was then detailed under 'Other Items' in the T10 by the vendor, but presumably wasn't picked up on by my solicitor, hence no check for certification. I think amongst all the stuff I've read on these installations that if a 'dodgy' install subsequently causes damage to a property (after it's sold) the previous owner is liable. However, if my solicitor didn't do their job properly, perhaps that fact negates that theory. The pro installer I spoke to said a CO2 monitor (legally) should have been affixed to wall or ceiling in room where stove is located...maybe the owner just unscrewed it and took it away. Pretty irresponsible. I do have the fire service coming to do a home check next week...

Just for clarity of you and others:

CO = Carbon Monoxide - You do want a detector for this.
CO2 = Carbon Dioxide - You do not want / need / require a detector for this.

Aylesbury_Duck

It's a carbon monoxide (CO) detector that's needed.  CO2 is carbon dioxide and while it's interesting to know the concentration in the air, it's carbon monoxide you need to monitor and worry about if it's too high, so make sure you purchase the right sort of meter.  They're cheap and readily available and to be honest, I'd always buy my own anyway, that way you know how old it is (they do have a finite lifespan), that it's a reputable type and that it's installed in the right place.  The same goes for smoke detectors.

I agree with others.  I think you need to consult your solicitor when he returns.  He may have been negligent on this, but maybe not.

It should go without saying, but do not use the woodburner until you've had it all checked out, no matter how cold the weather is about to become!

pinkshoes

Swanseajack said:

Thanks for responding. The surveyor actually advised removing the chimney (which was here previously) and the owner happily did this and arranged for the wood burner to be installed, which was then detailed under 'Other Items' in the T10 by the vendor, but presumably wasn't picked up on by my solicitor, hence no check for certification. I think amongst all the stuff I've read on these installations that if a 'dodgy' install subsequently causes damage to a property (after it's sold) the previous owner is liable. However, if my solicitor didn't do their job properly, perhaps that fact negates that theory. The pro installer I spoke to said a CO2 monitor (legally) should have been affixed to wall or ceiling in room where stove is located...maybe the owner just unscrewed it and took it away. Pretty irresponsible. I do have the fire service coming to do a home check next week...

So the survey advised the removal of the chimney which was subsequently done. Was the solicitor informed of this work being done? Who was given responsibility of checking it had been done to a satisfactory standard? Did you get the surveyor back out to check this? Did the surveyor tell you to check it? Was the solicitor told they needed to request paperwork from the vendor for the installation of the wood burner?

The bit in bold... as it was owner who carried out this work, then what EXACTLY was agreed in writing? If wood burners need to have the correct paperwork, then you will need to go back to the vendor and ask for them to supply it, but... this should have been requested BEFORE you exchanged contracts, NOT after completion, so you may be relying on a gesture of good will here. You have no contract with the installation company, and as you now own the boiler, they're under no obligation to come out and supply paperwork unless the warranty states that the warranty is still valid for a change of ownership. 

Worst case scenario, you'll need to pay for an independent person to come out and inspect it, then pay for any relevant work to fix it. 

As for the CO monitor, just buy one from Argos. They're less than £20. 

For future reference (or anyone else this might be relevant to who is purchasing), then it's always best to reduce your asking price and get work done yourself, rather than agreeing for the vendor to do work on the property. The vendor will likely just get the work done as cheaply as possible which might then have problems. 

molerat

CO detectors are only compulsory in rental properties (outside Scotland) and it is only a recommendation they are fitted at head height.

Green_hopeful

You might find Hetas helpful. They are the trade association for installers. They might have some helpful advice. https://www.hetas.co.uk/

youth_leader

I am sorry about your leak, that's bad.  When you do get someone to check the installation, do check the chimney has been caged, otherwise you could have rooks/starlings falling into the log burner.