Advice needed about using qualified plumber

[peggy27]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice regarding building work we are having done and am completely clueless about this so please bear with me! We are in the process of having an extension built which will involve a new boiler and repositioning of radiatiors. The builder we have building the extension has said that he is qualified to do the gas work, however I have tried to trace him with Corgi and he is not registered, so I assume he is planning to have a gas engineer come to check the work once completed as it will obviously need to be certified in order to comply with building regulations.

I am concerend about this so would be grateful if someone could answer the following questions for me..

Firstly, is it legal for him to be fitting the boiler and pipes himself? And, if it is, should someone not be checking the work as he goes along? I.e. he has laid gas pipes which are now under concerete so have no way of being checked?

I know that the gas safe registration number will need to be provided to building regulations, but do they check this prior to sending us completion certificates or is this our responsibility to check? Also, would this just certify work done in the extension or all the other pipe work he has done in the house?

And, when the boiler is installed what paperwork should we expect to recieve with it for guarantee purposes? The builder told us that the boiler comes with a 5 year guarantee but this is only valid if fitted by an approved installer so if fitted by the builder then connected / checked by a gas engineer who would we then go to if it goes wrong?

I know now that we should have checked ID badges etc at the start of the work, however we believed the builder to be qualified as he said he was and is someone my husband knows, and are now in a position where we are questionning a lot of the work.

I know this is a plumbing forum, but a similar thing also applies with the electrical work which he has done himself (as well as informing us that we need a new consumer unit which he is 'qualified' to fit). He has told us he will get an electrician to test and certify his work but again, is this possible once it has all been done as so much of the wiring is under plasterboard? And also if something goes wrong would we go back to the builder or the electrician?

Please could someone also tell me if there is standard 'certifying' paperwork for the gas and electrical work and what this looks like or does the workman provide his own (need to be 100% sure that this is valid for insurance purposes before paying up on completion!), do they certify the whole systems or itemise the work that has been done?

Thanks for any help here as I said I'm a bit baffled by it all!

 

[kay-jay]

only a fully qualified and registered installer should be working on gas appliances and pipes carrying gas, this also applies to your electrics.

getting work signed off after the event of installation completed by someone else contravenes the rules, even if he can prove competency.
also only a registered installer can register the installation.

your warranties would very likely become void if it was discovered that the installer was not registered.

the registered installer takes responsibility for the complete gas system as all pipework is tested at the same time. both before and after installation. there is no responsibility under the gas safe regs for other pipework such as radiators etc, however the supply of goods and services act 1994 covers rights and responsibilities of both parties.

hope this helps

 

[nysk2008]

Firstly, is it legal for him to be fitting the boiler and pipes himself? And, if it is, should someone not be checking the work as he goes along? I.e. he has laid gas pipes which are now under concerete so have no way of being checked? If he is not gas safe reg I wouldnt let him near the boiler and there is no way he should have laid new gas pipes, do you know if these have been laid correctly and are gas tight? - its illegal for him to touch it. If he trys to fit the boiler bear in mind it is not only the gas part that we engineers get involved in, we always have to check ventilation reqs, flueing of the appliance etc etc in a nutshell dont let him touch anything gas related

I know that the gas safe registration number will need to be provided to building regulations, but do they check this prior to sending us completion certificates or is this our responsibility to check? Also, would this just certify work done in the extension or all the other pipe work he has done in the house? There are loads more guys with bundles more exp than me but if it was me I would certify the full installation and safety check the property, new extention and house to cover myself, I would issue a gas safety cert.
And, when the boiler is installed what paperwork should we expect to recieve with it for guarantee purposes? The builder told us that the boiler comes with a 5 year guarantee but this is only valid if fitted by an approved installer so if fitted by the builder then connected / checked by a gas engineer who would we then go to if it goes wrong? I am under the impression that nearly all boilers come with a guarentee say 3 years, this is then extended if fitted by an approved installer. The reg engineer will have to complete the benchmark which is normally on the last few pages of the instruction manual, this validates the warrenty. Bear in mind there are that many gas guys that will come out just to commision an install - we want the full gas job at least then we know its done properly.

I have only been qualified for about 4 months now and im sure you will get loads of advise on this forum, but hope ive helped a bit.

P.S. Cant comment on electrical stuff

 

[Ivor Bates]

Couple of points, you can be Gas safe registered and not on their online data base, best way to get up to date information is by calling Gas safe direct. Also, the general public make the huge mistake of assuming that because someone is Gas safe registered that they can install boilers / fires / water heaters and pretty much do anything. The presumption of this is wrong, therefore it is in the customers interest to ask the installer for his/her identity card, not only to look at the photo but to check the back of the card to see which catergories it entitles the installer to work with, then do a cross reference with Gas safe to ensure that the details are up todate. Then finally ask them for a copy of their public liability, don't just assume that tradesmen have it, that way you will have peace of mind....

 

[andyplumber]

Only gas safe registered installers can fit gas appliances and gas pipework, also the gas installer must be ACS qualified to work on boilers, as there are qualifications for every gas appliances that can be fitted so if you fit a cooker you must have gas cooker qualifications and same with fires you must have fires qualifications, just because your builder says he is gas safe doesn’t mean he’s qualified to work on boilers the builder might only be covered to work on pipework only, this is what a lot of customers don’t know about, they just see a card and think there qualified. If your builder is qualified and able to work on appliances this will show on the back of the gas safe card (if your builder does have one). Once a boiler has been installed it will have to be commissioned and recorded in the benchmark and they should leave a gas safety certificate to prove gas tightness and record any existing appliances to prove they all work safely. Also the boiler should be notified to gas safe and then you should receive a letter from gas safe stating that your boiler has been fitted by a competent gas safe registered installer, this you will need to provide to sell your house and provide to the building control to receive your completion documents. This also applies for your electrics certificate

 

[helpsy]

Also on a lesser note system should be cleansed when fitting a new boiler to validate warranty (section on Benchmark will show this)

 

[kirkgas]

others have commented about checking his card BEFORE he starts work, it will probably be the case that he isnt gas registered and intends to fit work he isnt qualified to do and will get someone else to sign it off, if this is the case i would bin him from doing ANY work for me, as he has proved to be a complete cowboy with no regard to the safety of your family, so will the conctrete be the right mix will the joist hangers be the right gauge will the insulation be the right density etc etc BIN HIM AND GET PROFESSIONALS IN