condemed

[davepreston]

talk about kicking a man while he's down
the gasman has just condemed our boiler, so thats a bike to fix, a new car needed, a **** job and a partridge in a pear tree

merry fecking christmas
wheres the exit im off

[collis]

you own the house or rent it?
If you rent it, it's someone elses problem, get them to fix it.

What type of boiler is it?
you can get grants to replace boilers to more energy efficient ones.

[speedplay]

a **** job


Blow?


Cant be all bad then :D

[timwilky]

It is his name on the mortgage, it is up to him to get it sorted.

Bad news Mr Hill, I feel your pain in the wallet. Send Gemma out to work.

[Specialone]

Is the boiler someone you trust Dave?
You have two options before committing harry karry (couldnt be arsed with proper spelling),

1, get a 2nd opinion, i have in the past had same bad news, a friends contact, just found a leaking joint, and fixed it.

2, Join british gas home care thing, i did even though i have gas safe friends, my boiler needed £350+ of replacement parts excl labour, it cost £29 per month for first year then down to £16 per month.

My boiler has been fine since, albiet anothe rrepair was done this year, again over £100 in parts.

[Bibio]

what a load of picolax. there is to much of this 'i'm going to have to condemn your boiler as it not up to regs' crap. my mate had the same stunt pulled by british gas a few years ago on his annual service. their excuse was there is not enough ventilation for the boiler. so he put more ventilation in and surprise surprise they still said that it was no good. it eventually turned out that his boiler was an older model. BG then cancelled his contract. he had been paying a service/insurance contract for years but because the boiler was getting on a bit they came up with any excuse to condemn it as long as it was nothing they had to do even though nothing else had changed in the whole time. they knew it was coming up for replacement and it was up to them to replace it so used any excuse to opt out.

get a second opinion.

ooohhh turns out there was nothing wrong with his boiler or the ventilation (even before he made more) as one of the mates checked it out.

[Specialone]

Yeah i agree, dont take your eye off british gas cos they do pull stunts like that.
Never, ever have a boiler replacement done by them, a friend of mine fits the identical same model as BG in these parts for anywhere between £1.5-£2k cheaper, they are mega over priced.

[MisterTommyH]

what a load of picolax. there is to much of this 'i'm going to have to condemn your boiler as it not up to regs' crap. .

Trouble is the way the law is now, if anything did happen and their signature was last on the sticker they could be looking at a spell behind bars.

[metalangel]

My back boiler/gas fire was 'condemned' in a similar way, but the guy produced a knackered heat exchanger to prove it. Getting the fireplace to light was hit and miss anyone, at one point I'd let so much gas in trying to get the damn spark to ignite that when it did, it did with a huge whoosh that knocked be backwards.

SWALEC did us a payment plan which wasn't too painful, and the new boiler we got is great, you turn it on and you can feel the rads heating up within a minute or two.

[collis]

My back boiler/gas fire was 'condemned' in a similar way, but the guy produced a knackered heat exchanger to prove it. Getting the fireplace to light was hit and miss anyone, at one point I'd let so much gas in trying to get the damn spark to ignite that when it did, it did with a huge whoosh that knocked be backwards.

SWALEC did us a payment plan which wasn't too painful, and the new boiler we got is great, you turn it on and you can feel the rads heating up within a minute or two.
You can get grants to replace back boilers, ours is being done next year hopefully.
they have a problem with the copper tank that holds the water rusting to nothing and it just goes with no warning.

[metalangel]

I wasn't aware of this, it was three years ago. It's all paid off now.

[davepreston]

gemma here: have got british gas home care(just) which is why they where here,
got it cus i had feeling something needed checking as when i light fire and back boiler it sounds like a hugh explosion is going on back there.
had not had it checked in the few years since we moved in.

bloke came and looked at fire, took front off(after some fighting. to get to back workings of it defo, condemmed about 10 years of rust on parts meant the guy could not get parts off to clean it also looking at it rust was falling away from parts when he touched it, so do not think they where pulling a fast one.
will be getting a second opinion though.

[davepreston]

You can get grants to replace back boilers, ours is being done next year hopefully.
they have a problem with the copper tank that holds the water rusting to nothing and it just goes with no warning.

Wwhat type of grant according to the goverment website i dont qualify cus im not over 60, and because my epilepsy is not bad enough to receive benefits it dont count?

[Bibio]

our back boiler is about 20 years old. never seen the council till about 7 years ago when i complained that there was a horrid smell coming off it. they came out cleaned all the soot out and set the burner as it was a yellow flame. they have been here every year since to service. its had 2 replacement thermocouples and 2 coal effects 1 new glass and a blanket.

[collis]

Wwhat type of grant according to the goverment website i dont qualify cus im not over 60, and because my epilepsy is not bad enough to receive benefits it dont count?

Not sure of the exact one but i know it's something relating to greener living, ie energy saving etc. Also, make sure when the boiler is replaced you KEEP all the parts, take them down the local scrappy and get them weighed in as the copper alone will get you some extra money.

[Bibio]

look here dave.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/05/boiler-scrappage-scheme

dont know if they are still running it though.

[davepreston]

thanks have looked will look into it but just my look wont qualify for anything. wondering if they mean working as in works if you switch it on or compleatly bust as mine was working (be it supposdly dangerously) until the guy condemmed it!

[AndyBrad]

Just out of curiosity how often are you supposed to get a boiler serviced? Mine seems to be ok? Carbonmonoxide sticker isnt black yet so is there a set period or something?

[Specialone]

I only got BG in my house after my boiler was doing the huge explosion on light up, it turned out to be the venturi and a few other things, not terminal by any means.
They will try, if they think they can get away with it, get you to have a new boiler.

What boiler is it? Ferroli by any chance?

[davepreston]

supposdly its reccomended every year annually, (my nanna has her boiler done every year and its older than mine and still working:( )
the only consoling thing is that im not dead, my boiler was getting quite scarey to light sometimes, eek, and that i think even if we had had it looked at two years ago i think the damage would have been not much different as we switch central heating off on summer and only use back boiler to heat water when needed therefore prolonging how long it lasted think if i used it as much as some of my friends we would have gone bang a while ago.

[dizzyblonde]

Just out of curiosity how often are you supposed to get a boiler serviced? Mine seems to be ok? Carbonmonoxide sticker isnt black yet so is there a set period or something?

You get a certified heating engineer to come and service it once a year, costs about 40 sum quid. My boiler is safe, but the outlet pipe hasn't been put through the wall, something me and dad forgot to do ten years ago when we installed it! Its on the list of things to do:rolleyes:

[punyXpress]

Get Bluepete along to handle the traffic & have another go at lighting it DP

[davepreston]

cant capped and sealed gas tap off too, going to do some searching on prices now:(

[punyXpress]

Minor details, DP - you know you want to!

[Bluefish]

You can get grants to replace back boilers, ours is being done next year hopefully.
they have a problem with the copper tank that holds the water rusting to nothing and it just goes with no warning.

And that copper tank is totally seperate from the boiler ie nothing to do with it

[Bluefish]

look here dave.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jan/05/boiler-scrappage-scheme

dont know if they are still running it though.


defo not running finished ages ago.

[Bluefish]

Just out of curiosity how often are you supposed to get a boiler serviced? Mine seems to be ok? Carbonmonoxide sticker isnt black yet so is there a set period or something?

yeah once a year is reccomended, chuck that sticker thing in the bin there useless and if you are worried about fumes buy a battery operated carbon monoxide detector, cost about 30-40 quid 10 million times more effective and accurate, hth.

[Orpheus]

You get a certified heating engineer to come and service it once a year, costs about 40 sum quid. My boiler is safe, but the outlet pipe hasn't been put through the wall, something me and dad forgot to do ten years ago when we installed it! Its on the list of things to do:rolleyes:

:shock:
You dont mean the flue do you?

[toxic]

Mild winter anyway, heating not needed.

[The Basket]

There is two types of condmened.

1 is that it is leaking gas and/or carbon monoxide and therefore has to be turned off. It can be fixible...maybe cheaper than a new one.

2 is that it is absolute kaput and fit for scrap.

A second opinion is always nice but if it is leaking then it has to be shut down for the good of the house.

Are you in a cover scheme? Certain companies can offer a price for a new one.

[dizzyblonde]

:shock:
You dont mean the flue do you?


Oh of course my dad who is a now retired heating and plumbing engineer of some 30 odd years, left the flue to choke us to death:rolleyes:

No I meant the overflow, copper pipe under the boiler (combi) which should be extended through the wall, so if it blows your house don't get flooded. Keep meaning to drill a hole and finish the job, just never get round to it!

[dizzyblonde]

yeah once a year is reccomended, chuck that sticker thing in the bin there useless and if you are worried about fumes buy a battery operated carbon monoxide detector, cost about 30-40 quid 10 million times more effective and accurate, hth.


+1. We have a battery operated on in the bedroom, as the boiler is upstairs. Nice flashy light to stare at on a night to make you go to sleep...much better than the boiler doing that:rolleyes:

[yorkie_chris]

Inside scoop...
British Gas "engineers" (pfffft) are on a commission for selling new boilers whether you need one or not.



Also Lou we had same "couldn't be *rsed" syndrome with our boiler overflow pipe. It turns out that fitting one foot of pipe would actually have been a lot easier than replacing all the plasterboard on a ceiling, skimming it and replacing half the loft insulation. Hindsight is always 20/20 :rolleyes:

[Bluefish]

Oh of course my dad who is a now retired heating and plumbing engineer of some 30 odd years, left the flue to choke us to death:rolleyes:

No I meant the overflow, copper pipe under the boiler (combi) which should be extended through the wall, so if it blows your house don't get flooded. Keep meaning to drill a hole and finish the job, just never get round to it!

i knew you meant the pressure release valve pipe dizz, if it was in a garage or somewhere not really a problem, but in the house i would get the pipe routed to outside, it will leak one day i guarentee it. ;)

[dizzyblonde]

Inside scoop...
British Gas "engineers" (pfffft) are on a commission for selling new boilers whether you need one or not.



Also Lou we had same "couldn't be *rsed" syndrome with our boiler overflow pipe. It turns out that fitting one foot of pipe would actually have been a lot easier than replacing all the plasterboard on a ceiling, skimming it and replacing half the loft insulation. Hindsight is always 20/20 :rolleyes:


Indeedy it is. Wanna come drill a hole?? LOL.

Although I wouldn't be laughing if that did blow would I? Suppose it would make me do the stairs carpet quicker if that got soaked:mad: Meh, houses always jobs to do...be better living in a cave!

[Orpheus]

Oh of course my dad who is a now retired heating and plumbing engineer of some 30 odd years, left the flue to choke us to death:rolleyes:

No I meant the overflow, copper pipe under the boiler (combi) which should be extended through the wall, so if it blows your house don't get flooded. Keep meaning to drill a hole and finish the job, just never get round to it!

Well thank goodness for that

[Gabriel2k]

What about sourcing and fitting the boiler yourself, just pay a gas safe registered plumber to connect the gas up?

[BernardBikerchick]

but u have me in your life so all is good!!!!!!!

[Bluefish]

What about sourcing and fitting the boiler yourself, just pay a gas safe registered plumber to connect the gas up?

HAHAHA, that is so funny, it's not a one out one in, 1 day job ;)

[Gabriel2k]

The length of the job depends on a number of factors, however that does not stop you doing it yourself.

[arenalife]

I installed my whole central heating system and boiler with a kit off the net (about £750 for everything including all the rads, pipes, fittings and boiler - 2005). I got a corgi (woof woof) to do the gas work and commissioning for £400.

They keep it very very quiet, but it's not illegal to do your own gas work as long as it's not for payment, just very stupid ;) That was the case in '05 anyway.

[maviczap]

I had an independant plummer come and install my combi boiler a few years ago. It was considerably cheaper that British Gas and also half the price of the grant system. Me thinks the grant system was a licence to print money for unscrupulous plummers

£1500 to remove old boiler (not the wife :)) and resite combi boiler in new location.

I got a carbon monoxide detector off Ebay for £11.99, it was featured in one of the daily deals, and not from a dodgy chinese seller

[ManxMatt34]

talk about kicking a man while he's down
the gasman has just condemed our boiler, so thats a bike to fix, a new car needed, a **** job and a partridge in a pear tree

merry fecking christmas
wheres the exit im off

Doesn't sound the best Dave, hope you get everything sowted! Hope you and Gem are well and that i'll catch ya's soon. Ever wanna chat/slag off the gasman you know where the phone is.
:smt039

[454697819]

as far as i know it is still not illegal to install ur own boiler however you will be lucky in this day and age to find an installer who wills sign off someone elses install...

[toxic]

Depends, some of the smaller guys will be happy to do the purge and test of your gas pipework and commission the boiler for you. Others will install the gas pipework as long as the boiler has been positioned and installed to manufacturer's instructions, the most important phrase in the gas regs ;)

[Bluefish]

Do you really think it's a good idea for some one who couldn't change a ball valve, to rip out a back boiler and a combined f+e hot water cylinder alter all the pipework and fit a combi with flue going through the roof?, the system would of course req power flushing as well.
Even if one could do it themselves you would no doubt have to take some time off work as currently they have no htg or hw, and i suspect time is of the essence what with it getting a bit chilly.
And i agree most plumbers/htg engineers would not go near a job to commision a system that someone else has put in, it's not worth the hassle.