‘At Risk’ boiler and inspection hatches

[Angleseykayaker]

Hi, just a quick query (hopefully). We’ve got a combi boiler installed in a cupboard with the flue going 90° then directly through the external wall to where it terminates. We’ve had numerous gas safety certificates for it over the years with having lodgers etc, but we’re about to sell the house and discovered the boiler was never registered with building control. We’ve found a GSR engineer that had done some work for us previously including issuing gas safety certificates, and would issue a building regulations certificate and recommission it but they queried that the whole of the flue wasn’t inspectable and that we’d need to install inspection hatches. My main query is that the whole of the flue is visible in the back of the cupboard, apart from the small section that goes through the external wall. They did some work for us last year including sealing around the flue so am unsure why this is suddenly an issue. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

 

[Deleted member 120897]

Can you post a photo? There are a couple of exceptions but would need to see it before commenting properly.

 

[Angleseykayaker]

 

[Deleted member 120897]

As long as it only goes through that wall it shouldn’t need inspection hatches. If there was a panel where the flue is, as long as it’s removable, again, can’t see it needing hatches.

 

[snowhead]

I wonder if the thinking was to have a hatch in the left side of the cupboard, assuming it's timber, so you could get a direct view of the flue joints.
If so it seems pointless as you still can't see the righthand side of the flue against the wall without a mirror or using a phone camera.

 

[Angleseykayaker]

There’s a couple of cm between the wall and the right hand side of the flue, so it is possible to see that side of it. Thank you all for your replies, it’s been really useful! Now to get back to my gas engineer!

 

[Last Plumber]

It sounds like a misinterpretation of requirements to me. Looking at it, I can't see why the question arose if that is the outside wall.