opinion on a situation?

[AWheating]

Working on a council kitchen and bathroom job in Brum, part of the job involves moving existing gas cooking appliances from one position to another in the kitchen depending on the new kitchen design. I currently turn off atleast 20-30% of the cookers i come across for various reasons. At one property i found that the glass lid safety shut off valve did not operate when the lid was closed so i ID the appliance and left the gas point blanked.

The situation i have now is that the tenant has said that the appliance has now been fixed and they require it to be reconnected. So the main contractor asked me to reconnect it. I have enquired why the engineer that fixed the appliance did not leave it reconnected, to which i got the reply i think they have done it themselves. 🙁 . I replied that i will not refit the appliance knowing that an unqualified person has been tampering with it and if the appliance has been fixed by a competent person then that person should have needed to reconnect the appliace to test it and they should ask he/she back.

I thought that would be end of it, but now ive got the guy im working for telling me that it must be reconnected. I dont want to burn my bridges but i normally stand my ground to my loss on these things. Ive consider'd phoning gas safe to report the situation if it transpires that a non competent person has been messing, but im guessing they wont really care? or take any action? as im leave the appliance safe.

so what would you do? if i do reinstall the appliance it will ofcourse be done correctly and left safe but i feel i need to either say no im not touching it on profession principal, or get something in writing from the main contractor and council stating that they know the situation and require me to reinstall anyway. So i have something in writing showing i have reported my concerns up the food chain.

 

[Barry98]

Get the paper trail mate cover yourself

 

[villa_tom]

Don't do it mate. If it was fixed properly then it would have had to be connected to the gas main to test it. So if a qualified bloke had fixed it, he could have commissioned it etc etc.

what firms this for? I've done council work the start of this year and the main contractor was brilliant in these situations.

 

[Nostrum]

Probably find they've taken the lid off which would mean its till not safe according to gas safe. I had a similar situation the other week. We were told it was fixed, turned up reconnected, still not working so disconnected and capped again!

If it is working, just note on the certificate that it has been connected following a repair from an unknown source. To be fair it's not your problem, we are not here to police the industry. As much as it annoys us all, DIY repairs happen and there's not much you can do about it.

cover your arse and forget about it would be my take on it, gassafe won't give a monkeys.

 

[stevetheplumber]

were only here for the money do the job providing its all working safely just note down everything on the paperwork if you arrived at a property to fit a cooker that had moved in with the tennant you wouldnt know its history

 

[AWheating]

Don't do it mate. If it was fixed properly then it would have had to be connected to the gas main to test it. So if a qualified bloke had fixed it, he could have commissioned it etc etc.

what firms this for? I've done council work the start of this year and the main contractor was brilliant in these situations.

main contractors lovell. not very helpful in these situations.

Had a second hand cooker which i refused to fit without the instructions and they keept phoning me saying i must fit it. Did not want to know about gas regs.

 

[zeebeedee]

Don't cp12 the tenants own cooker in the first place. Visual only.

 

[AWheating]

i guess the main reason im being cautious is because this job could run for 3 years, (i would normally walk away) so if my own work stays as dry as it is now i may be on it for a while yet. You know what its like on these jobs, if you dont stick to your guns they will just expect you to do what they want without question. If i stay on the job they will learn i do things right.

i think i will put my concerns in writing to main contractor stating they must report the concerns to the landlord and make simular remarks on the gas cert.

 

[AWheating]

Don't cp12 the tenants own cooker in the first place. Visual only.

you cant visual only an appliance you have installed. or in this case moved.

 

[zeebeedee]

you cant visual only an appliance you have installed. or in this case moved.

Very good point!

 

[Nostrum]

Probably worth going to have a look and see what the tenant says about it first. Otherwise you could look stubborn. If when you go back (with all intention of fitting if things look right) you see something your not happy about, they haven't got a leg to stand on, they cannot insist you fit it if you have observed safety defects. On the other hand, the tenant could have just squirted a drop of 3 in 1 oil on the mechanism and it could all be good and they will have done nothing wrong either.

 

[AWheating]

its what alot of guys on these jobs do to be honest. They also now want me to fill in a cert every time i remove and refit the cookers for other trades aswell. So they expect 4 to 8 certs per cooker depending on what work gets done. Ive tried to tell them its not needed but the landlord clarke is an idiot.

 

[AWheating]

Probably worth going to have a look and see what the tenant says about it first. Otherwise you could look stubborn. If when you go back (with all intention of fitting if things look right) you see something your not happy about, they haven't got a leg to stand on, they cannot insist you fit it if you have observed safety defects. On the other hand, the tenant could have just squirted a drop of 3 in 1 oil on the mechanism and it could all be good and they will have done nothing wrong either.

that would be ideal, its not so simple when you dont have the backing of the contractor and the tenant is being told we will fit it for you on the phone.

the cooker without instructions the tenant was told that i would be made to fit it even if the instruction were not there. they sing from there own hym sheet.

i hate crap work like this, but it pays the bills currently.

 

[Nostrum]

Is their a legal requirement for the instructions to be available, or do you revert to BS if they are not? I've always known it as the latter?

TB002 covers it I think.

[DLMURL]http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/1-april-2009-tb-022-installation-of-previously-used-domestic-gas-cooking-appliances.pdf[/DLMURL]

 

[AWheating]

Is their a legal requirement for the instructions to be available, or do you revert to BS if they are not? I've always known it as the latter?

TB002 covers it I think.

[DLMURL]http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/1-april-2009-tb-022-installation-of-previously-used-domestic-gas-cooking-appliances.pdf[/DLMURL]

yes if its a second hand appliance then instructions must be available and followed. even with existing you should make efforts to follow MI and then if not available you can go to BS.

 

[REDSAW]

putting your principles before the person that pays you is your choice depending if you want the work or not!.
if it were proved that the appliance does not meet safety checks then that is an informed principle in which to stand.
if you go and fit it and everything is ok to complete but you are not happy on the 'principle' of who dunnit, then make comment in your reports. you cannot make assumptions, just look at the job in hand from freash....
but then again as said.
If it was fixed properly then it would have had to be connected to the gas main to test it.
so why not?????

​

 

[AWheating]

why not indeed......:disappointed:

 

[REDSAW]

is it just me or what!. tb009 flow chart is ridiculous imo!!

can take old cooker to new house and install but if sold to new person in same house cant install?

 

[zeebeedee]

is it just me or what!. tb009 flow chart is ridiculous imo!!

can take old cooker to new house and install but if sold to new person in same house cant install?

Someone who can't even hang a shelf wrote that one!