New kitchen, hob fitted - is it legal?
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Monkeybutler
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New kitchen, hob fitted - is it legal?

by Monkeybutler » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:32 pm

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me as I'm a bit worried we've done something illegal and I'm even more worried it'll cost a fortune to replace and involve ripping out units and worktops.

Basically we've just moved into a new house and my father in law has been helping me fit a new kitchen, including a gas hob over an electric oven. At the end of the copper pipes the old hob fitting was attached to a flexible (metal, *not* rubber) hose with a safety valve (a bayonet? Sorry, don't know the terminology), and there was a safety tap to shut the gas off behind one of the cupboards. My FiL assured me it was a simple switch-over - which it was - and hence it was perfectly legal to do so as you only need to be Corgi/Gas Safe if you're doing paid gas fitting work for someone else. Everything went fine and the hob works perfectly.

However, it's been nagging me that gas safety is a hell of a lot more complex and important than e.g. plumbing in a new sink, and though I'm convinced that there's nothing technically wrong with the work we did and I've no reason to doubt that it's safe and there are no leaks, I'm concerned what we've done isn't legal at worst, or at best would leave us high and dry if something happened with regard to our insurance. I need to get our boiler checked anyway as it was last serviced just over a year ago (the previous owner let it lapse just as we purchased the house so he could avoid paying - thanks a lot!), so if I get a gas safe engineer to come out and check the hob at the same time, will all be good or do I need him to basically disconnect it, check it's all OK and then reconnect it to be in the clear?

Cheers in advance for any advice!

DEEARR2
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by DEEARR2 » Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:03 pm

Toatal misconception, any gas work can only be carried out by a suitably qualified/competent person whether the work is paid or unpaid. (Its the law.) To be pronounced compenent, ability is tested and qualification awarded and recorded, hense the Gas Safe Register.
The installation of your gas hob by your FIL. only supports the need for the register as the work is sub standard in that the hob should not be connected via a fleible pipe, metal or otherwise. Have the hob installed to current standards by a competent gas fitter.
Shudder to think of other installs carried out by well intentioned relations.

Monkeybutler
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by Monkeybutler » Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:37 pm

Right, thanks for that. Thankfully all the access to the gas pipes is simply a case of sliding out the cooker, so should be an easy fix and won't need units ripping out. In the meantime we won't use the hob and I'll get a gas safe chap out as soon as possible.

TheDoctor4
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