gas leak at hob

[REDSAW]

i fitted a hob last october and the landlord (my uncle) told me and the tennant that it was a new hob (second hand imo).

the hob looked in good order and after fitting, gave a good flame picture and was gas tight.

in january, the tennant awoke to a kitchen full of gas and called out the grid who capped of the supply. my uncle was fuming and told the tennant to get me round to sort it. i did this free as i was concerned as i had worked on the hob and conscience told me to put it right.

on investigation, i discovered the hob connection (the point where the pipe goes inside the hob plating) had 4 washers in it consisting of a fiber, a rubber, another rubber and part of a fiber washer in the said joint. these to which i showed the tennant and identified as the fault of the leak.
a couple of days ago, the tennant recieved a letter from the grid stating reg 34(3) 'dangerous gas appliance/installation' addressed to the landlord (its a sort of bollocking note) that he has to yet recieve.

my question is; before it hits the fan,
am i responsible for the gas escape due to an incorrectly fitted joint?.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

legally sadly you are GS would argue if its a new or second hand fit you should take the connection apart and check if washers are in good order though your uncles a tight git and should have bought a new one,sorry martin,however it passed a tightness at the time so you would be none the wiser

 

[SafeGasInstall]

to me you did install correct and on install it was ok , however 4 washers never seen such a connection !

i use ptfe or rocol jointing compound ! If the connection you are describing is within the unit I do not think we have to strip all appliances in order to install them , or do we Mark ?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

the trouble is stan it sounds like it was the elbow made from joking metal going on to the hob none of us would strip it down if it looked sound and passed a tt but under the GUISR we would have to guarantee its gas worthiness martin did you issue any paper work on it?

 

[SimonJohns]

Sounds same to me. If it was a fitting that can be made. It should of been stripped. Also sounds like you had no mi's?
How do you know if it was done correct

 

[REDSAW]

the trouble is stan it sounds like it was the elbow made from joking metal going on to the hob none of us would strip it down if it looked sound and passed a tt but under the GUISR we would have to guarantee its gas worthiness martin did you issue any paper work on it?

thats the part i am referring to..
as it came in a box/tatty at that.
no paperwork.
looked like someone without a clue had a go with it at some time.
obviously, if it failed t.t i would have sourced it but it didnt.
i could see that what was used had deteriorated under the n.g

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Could have all this washers been supply by manufacture of gas hob ???
Good thing is that did smell the gas and no fatality
I fitted new cheap gas hob which was leaking gas from internal so had to strip it , bur I have not had used one to re fit

 

[Pssst]

Are we talking about the usually crummy alloy type inlet elbow as supplied with many hobs? If it had been SH i would have been tempted to strip it and have a look as the crappy fibre washers used with these are a known source of leakage. Even on new installs they have a tendency to leak maybe a year or so downline as the fibre shrinks,often with the heat of the oven below,and thus loosens off a bit.

Having said that,it was last October,it presumably passed a TT at that point and you have been back and sorted it.

Unlce has no need to "fume" and a "kitchen full of gas" is really down to a lack of understanding on his part. Even a GIA reading of 100ppm would smell like a house full of gas to the uninitiated but would never represent a real danger.

The letter is bog standard as usually sent out by NGs sausage machine.

ESPs only tend to initiate RIDDORs in the most serious of situations and it is recognised that these things happen from time to time. No one is perfect.

 

[REDSAW]

thats about spot on where i stand pssssssssst.

and the washers looked like ordinary fiber tap washers.

 

[REDSAW]

things are escalating now!.

my uncle got the letter from the grid, screwed it up and said 'what a load of crap'!.

he then a few day later asked my niece if she would like to terminate her tenancy giving 2 weeks notice to quit.
she has now gone to the council to put her name on the housing list and to do so they want to know why she is coming from private rental to the lha.
she then told them why....
previously the house was fire damaged, although most 'soot' was washed down, there is still soot present ie, behind the kitchen cabinets, floor boards and timberwork, behind paint and paper etc.
the gas escape has also been reported.
no rear garden fencing or fallen down.
fungus in wood work in bathroom and kitchen..
no carpeting when promised to be supplied.
no stair handrails.
loads of other stuff.

the l.h.a are now sending environmental health around to inspect the property as they were very keen after reading the tenancy contract and declared it as illegal, made up and pre 1970's. no rent book either for 2 years to boot.

they are also interested in the other 12 properties in his name, all social security rentals.

hope nothing sticks this side of the fan about the dodgy hob!!!!??
i have told her not to mention that he took of the fire front whilst she was talking to him, to fix the bbu that was playing up and giving no heat. well, not for now.lol.

 

[dancinplumba]

families can be probs

 

[Pssst]

Sounds like she is angling for a nice new b igger/better council house and will sacrifice anyone on the altar to get it.

 

[REDSAW]

not really, she likes it there. she just wanted things to be put right and having said that, she's up the duff and hysterical about the dangers.

 

[goz666]

I wouldn't worry mate, if the shti hits the fan tell em you attended but think someones interfered with the installation since you left. It galls me to have to say that because I don't like lying but I was called back to a gas hob three weeks ago, similar scenario kitchen full of gas, grid had capped the meter off and I was blamed for a shti fitting. She left me a key to get in so I tightened it all up and TT the installation again and just as I was about to leave the homeowner's fella turned up, got talking and I apologised for the inconvenience and the bad fitting and he said 'Oh it's not you mate, that's a different hob we dropped something on the original one and it damaged so we claimed and got a new one, girlfriend's dad put that one in.........Fuming mate !!! You don't know what's been done since you walked out that door. !!!

 

[REDSAW]

lol. did you charge him?.

 

[goz666]

lol. did you charge him?.

Absolutely mate, the girlfriend rang me and although she didn't directly blame me she said the Grid engineer said it was poor workmanship etc etc but she never told me her old fella had changed it since i'd been !!! So when the lad told me the real reason I invoiced him there and then for my time. We have no idea who does what when we leave any property !!!!!