Gas Safety Check Results

[Lemansky]

We had the gas safety check results back on the house we're looking to buy & while the engineer didn't fail anything he did say:

Gas fire fitted in living room not to current standards.
No earth bonding to gas meter.
Slight drop in gas pressure with no smell of gas.
Hot water cylinder as some leakage around Emersion heater.

I ran boiler for a while took gas flue readings all ok, although boiler is a bit noisy it may just need a good service.
But for these days the boiler is not very efficient.
In my opinion a replacement of the hot water/ heating system would be the best option.
The fitting of a combination boiler will save money in the long run and you will have the convenience of constant hot water.

I imagine he's touting for work with the complete new boiler system etc, but in terms of the rest of it, is any of it particularly worrying or needs sorting asap? Would any of it be fairly simple to sort out? I wonder if Pigletjohn or anyone else has any opinions?
Any help/info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[wowfudge]

Have the vendors provided service records for the boiler at all?

[LIZS]

Most older boilers would not meet current installation regulations, we are told similar every year and advised to replace. How old is it ?

[Lemansky]

I haven't seen service records for the boiler, I've been talking via their EA so far, should I ask her or is this something that needs to go via the solicitors. It's about 10 years old apparently.

[wowfudge]

When we sold last year, I completed a form about maintenance and provided the service history for the boiler to my solicitor who then passed the info on the buyer's lawyer. I believe it is something which is routinely asked about as part of the purchasing process. I would get your solicitor onto it. You are paying for their services after all. The EA works for the vendor.

[specialsubject]

combi boiler may be the way forward, or you may be like me and prefer a tank of hot water so getting decent pressure; doesn't mean higher bills, especially if you don't run hot water in lots of dribs and drabs.

'not to current standards' means you can't fit a direct replacement but the one you have is still ok to use. BTW If it is one of those gas fires that doesn't need electricity it is useful as it will work in a power cut.

the last point isn't clear; leaking hot water cylinder? And where is the gas going?

budget for replacing the boiler, 10 years is about it for anything now as they don't build them like they used to.

[WidowWadman]

We replaced the conventional boiler we had pretty swiftly with a combi, as I didn't want to fire it up every time I just needed a little bit of hot water. It's so much more convenient.

[specialsubject]

er... a combi boiler DOES need to be fired up every time you want hot water! One with a hot water tank avoids this.

[WidowWadman]

Well quite. The hot water tank one fires up regardless if I need it or not, or alternatively you need to know at least half an hour ahead if you need some hot water for whatever purpose. We ended up using the kettle a lot. Sorry, was a bit imprecise with language

[PettsWoodParadise]

We find often worst case scenario is given in these reports. I would hate a combi boiler as I adore our hot water tank. Having multiple showers at same time, flushing loo when someone is in shower etc is not a problem with a hot water tank but at my parent's house the combi is a nightmare and so many things you have to not do at the same time as someone else. Our system isn't to current standards as the boiler is in a cupboard that is now a few inches smaller than they recommended when we had it built. Gas engineer repeatedly says it is fine, just guidelines have changed and we are in no danger but they have to put it in the report.

[Needmoresleep]

No boiler more than a few years old meets current standards. Standards are constantly changing.

I would not worry about the report but instead think that a boiler of about 10 years old might not be worth repairing if it goes wrong. Replacing a boiler is not too big a job, and need not be that expensive if you schedule it for the summer.

I would not waste further solicitors fees. The report sounds about right for a boiler that age. Is the property price acceptable given you will almost certainly need to replace the boiler in 2-3 years.

[Lemansky]

Yes, I think we'd imagined it would need replacing at some point so should be fine. I hate gas-currently we're in a new build flat with no gas so I have no experience of it, but it does scare me.

I'm worried about the gas fire, although hopefully that shouldn't be too difficult to sort out, I doubt we'd use it anyway. But also the 'No earth bonding to gas meter.
Slight drop in gas pressure with no smell of gas.
Hot water cylinder as some leakage around Emersion heater' parts.

thanks for the help so far, very much appreciated.

[specialsubject]

widow you had a duff boiler. We have a tank system and the boiler doesn't have a mind of its own. 20 mins notice for hot water although the tank is heated in the evening, does baths/showers and there's hot water until lunchtime next day.

doesn't matter though, your duff one is gone!

[jevoudrais]

The gas not being bonded is something our electrician did when we had the most tiny bit of electrical work done. Our gas nor water was bonded and basically they couldn't do anything without doing those as needed to be up to date with current regs, so expect to have to get a leccy person in to do at at some point. It's not particularly expensive but another thing to have to pay for.

Some people think British Gas often say this and that needs doing when it doesn't,many believe smaller independent firms don't, so that might impact a little depending on who did it.

[Lemansky]

Ah that's helpful, thanks. My cousin is an electrician and he said he can deal with the electrical stuff and the gas bonding when (if!) we're in the house. So that's one thing I suppose!

[Lemansky]

Turns out the boiler hasn't been serviced for 3 years, as the vendor thinks it's best to leave it, if it's not broken. Should I be overly worried about that?

[specialsubject]

if it is gas...not ideal but as it sounds like it is coming to end of life, no real effect.

be prepared for it to fail at some point though.

there is no reason to be scared of gas as long as the work is done by someone competent. Never be afraid to check that a gas safe engineer IS just that.