K
Knight175
Hi All,
I wonder if someone might be able to offer some advice / guidance? I am not a plumber, so bear with me here, but have a problem with my house central heating system and wanted to seek some advice as according to British Gas, our installation contravenes Building Regs!!
My house was built Dec 2009 and is fitted with a Range Tribune Unvented Central Heating system.
Earlier this year, we had a leak coming through the ceiling directly underneath what we now understand to be the discharge pipe. After 4 weeks(!) and 4 or 5 visits, the original plumbers (having cut holes in the ceiling to try and get access to the leak) finally found and fixed the leak, having realised it was accessible through the airing cupboard after all (thanks for the 40x40 hold in the ceiling you left me to repair) As well as the leak in the discharge piping, the pressure vessel diaphram had also split, causing the vessel (white one) to fill up with water, fall off the wall and leave a huge dent in the cylinder. Thank god it landed balanced on the cylinder and didn't split the connecting hose...
8 months on from having that fixed, I've just had British Gas come and do my boiler service. The first thing the British Gas engineer says to me on inspection of the central heating system is that it will not be covered by them as it does not adhere to G3 of the building regs. He has issued me with a safety notice and suggested I contact the house builder directly...
According to him (and the Cylinder installation manual), discharge arrangements should use copper (not plastic as we have) piping. Also, this piping should not be fed into the main waste / soil pipe.
How serious is this type of problem? and how big a job is it to correct? I will obviously need to contact the housebuilder but not sure how to approach it with them. From previous experience, their customer service and attitude to fixing problems has left much to be desired (car port condemned & rebuilt, leaky roof, uneven floors, electrical faults, exposed wiring, wrong flooring laid etc....)
I would imagine I am one of perhaps 4-500 houses on this new estate that has the same problem. It also begs the question as to how thorough any inspection was prior to signing the house off?? If indeed the installation does contravene building regs, are they obliged to correct it or has that responsibility lapsed after nearly 4 years?
I guess its by the by now but I'm also left wondering if the pressure vessel filling with water might have had something to do with the leak? Might it have caused the discharge to operate and in doing so, contributed to the leak which we ended up paying the same company to come back and fix?
Any help or advice would be most appreciated!
Regards,
Adam.
I wonder if someone might be able to offer some advice / guidance? I am not a plumber, so bear with me here, but have a problem with my house central heating system and wanted to seek some advice as according to British Gas, our installation contravenes Building Regs!!
My house was built Dec 2009 and is fitted with a Range Tribune Unvented Central Heating system.
Earlier this year, we had a leak coming through the ceiling directly underneath what we now understand to be the discharge pipe. After 4 weeks(!) and 4 or 5 visits, the original plumbers (having cut holes in the ceiling to try and get access to the leak) finally found and fixed the leak, having realised it was accessible through the airing cupboard after all (thanks for the 40x40 hold in the ceiling you left me to repair) As well as the leak in the discharge piping, the pressure vessel diaphram had also split, causing the vessel (white one) to fill up with water, fall off the wall and leave a huge dent in the cylinder. Thank god it landed balanced on the cylinder and didn't split the connecting hose...
8 months on from having that fixed, I've just had British Gas come and do my boiler service. The first thing the British Gas engineer says to me on inspection of the central heating system is that it will not be covered by them as it does not adhere to G3 of the building regs. He has issued me with a safety notice and suggested I contact the house builder directly...
According to him (and the Cylinder installation manual), discharge arrangements should use copper (not plastic as we have) piping. Also, this piping should not be fed into the main waste / soil pipe.
How serious is this type of problem? and how big a job is it to correct? I will obviously need to contact the housebuilder but not sure how to approach it with them. From previous experience, their customer service and attitude to fixing problems has left much to be desired (car port condemned & rebuilt, leaky roof, uneven floors, electrical faults, exposed wiring, wrong flooring laid etc....)
I would imagine I am one of perhaps 4-500 houses on this new estate that has the same problem. It also begs the question as to how thorough any inspection was prior to signing the house off?? If indeed the installation does contravene building regs, are they obliged to correct it or has that responsibility lapsed after nearly 4 years?
I guess its by the by now but I'm also left wondering if the pressure vessel filling with water might have had something to do with the leak? Might it have caused the discharge to operate and in doing so, contributed to the leak which we ended up paying the same company to come back and fix?
Any help or advice would be most appreciated!
Regards,
Adam.
