gas leak

[icecreamcrackers]

Hoping someones oh is a gas man or something just for advise, I do have someone coming for a quote on Sunday and don't want to get fleeced so I have posted in Aibu for traffic sorry.

Had to call up national grid at the weekend because my gas meter locked off and displayed 'call help', they decided it was the gas card an reset the meter only to find that when they did a pressure test the pressure kept dropping so bingo capped supply.

While thinking where a gas leak could be in the house and saving money for the repairs I've been looking at the exposed underside of my boiler today and there seems to be a big burnt patch of wallpaper underneath it and also on the sides where is sits on the wall the insulation seems to have melted at the rear on both sides.

The boilers is only 4-5 years old i believe and was serviced before we brought the property in December. I have read that burn marks near a boiler can indicate a gas leak so my question is could this be where im losing pressure (boiler was off at the time) or have I maybe got two problems instead of one?

Have you got any carbon monoxide alarms? If there are soot marks around your boiler, I would definitely get one as a matter of urgency.

I'm not a boiler/gas person, but two days ago our gas was shut off due to a leak and the fact that our boiler had been incorrectly installed.

Basically, the boiler itself is a very good combi boiler, but the cowboy who installed it couldn't be bothered to replace the ancient existing pipework that supported the old boiler. That pipework would have worked well enough for an old-style boiler, but the pipes were too small to sufficiently supply the combi, meaning that it was struggling if more than one gas-burning appliance was being used (i.e. extremely dangerous). We also had a leak.

It has all been sorted now, but I'm wondering if you have a similar problem. In our case, we got the guy who had installed the boiler to come back to replace the pipes for free (our trustworthy boiler men encouraged us to do this as they didn't want to take our money for a job that should have been done as part of the original installation).

I hope it works out!

Yes we have an alarm right next to the boiler. Although there is no gas to the house at all now as its been capped before the meter. I think the gas pipes are 40 years old having spoke to the previous owner as when they moved in the carpet fitter put a carpet tack through a pipe as they used to be under the ground floor.

Then this happened they re-routed them into the void between the two floors, which I suppose at the minute is my only saving grace as its easier to pull up floor boards then it is to dig up concrete.

Unusual to have a gas leak in copper pipework (but never say never) . Most leaks are where the pipework joins the appliance). Do you have a gas hob/ fire? Scorching does not really indicate a gas leak.

If a shoddy boiler installation was done there could be burnt wallpaper next to the pipework when the existing pipework (or new) was soldered up so that's no definite indicator. Any decent installer will put a heat mat behind what they're soldering to protect the wall. If that scorching is new and has happened since the boiler was installed, that's a whole different issue and you need to get that looked at immediately. No boiler should get hot enough to scorch anything.

It could have been there already but like I say we only noticed it today. National grid did check the cooker so that's not the cause, although was wondering if it could be the washing machine that's banged it as the pipes run behind that to the cooker.

I'm usually the one that can smell gas a mile off but I couldn't smell anything at all and when they pressure tested the pipes it dropped quite quick apparently.

I don't know anything about gas leaks, sorry. But if you've got a CO alarm, it should be 1-3 metres from your boiler and as high on the wall as you can (I.e above door/window height). If you can, mount it on the ceiling. If CO is leaking, it's coming out with warm fumes so will rise up before spreading through the room.

Dark marks above/around appliances could indicate a CO leak. And look for orangey flame instead of blue - usually means its not burning properly.

Hope you get it sorted.

What type of boiler is it - combi? Your situation sounds very like mine - our pipes were also upstairs underneath floorboards (Victorian terraced house). The boiler was installed before we bought the house.

Pipes that are too small will lead to inadequate gas volume and pressure. Do you think it was serviced/given annual safety check by the same person who installed it? The only reason our problem was picked up is that the boiler service was outstanding (surprise, surprise), and the guys who came to look at it immediately spotted the problem before even before carrying out their tests. I do wonder whether if I'd called back the original installation guys they'd have said it was okay.

By the way, have you had no gas since the weekend? Poor you! :(

Btw, I can also normally smell gas very easily (detected a previous tiny leak in a different house which no one else could smell), but I had no idea about this one as it was upstairs in between the floorboards. Now we've had the copper piping was put in, no more leaks.

It is copper piping that has been put in i believe ( well the bits I can see without pulling up the carpets and floor boards anyway. Yea no gas since the weekend so we are killing the power shower and cooking on portable electric hobs and a microwave. If this house was wired for an electric cooker think I would have brought a second hand one by now haha.

I dont thikn it boiler is strictly right anyway as the flu ( can't spell) is quite close to a sky light. The previous owners told us not to open the one closest to the boiler when it was on.

Bear in mind a CO detector only detects CO. It won't detect a gas leak. If the boiler is only 4-5 years old it's very likely to be room sealed therefore products of combustion cannot leak into the room, they go out of the flue. I have seen internal cases not replaced properly though (!), and flues not connected to the top of (brand new) boilers.

If the pipework in the floor is 40 years old it's probably mild steel 'barrel' and this is threaded together and can leak like a sieve. Very unlikely anyone put a nail through that.

Copper can be punctured pretty easily and cement corrodes it therefore it (should be) protected if it's run in a solid floor but not under boards.

That's not a great sign! Every boiler has installation instructions which stipulate how close the flue terminal can be from an opening or parts of or into the building (windows, vents, corners, downpipes, eves etc).

The position of the flue terminal on a correctly installed appliance should not prevent you from opening a window.

OP don't know if it's any help at all but I had a Gas Leak last week. Neighbour called National Grid a few weeks ago and they came and checked everything and all was okay. Had to ring them myself again last week when I could smell the Gas coming out the Flue from the Boiler outside. Literally almost choked on it. It turned out the Valve in the Boiler had gone and needed replacinng.
I know you said you had it serviced in December but would it be worth asking if they can come and check it over? Mine was only serviced a few months ago and the Manufacturers still came out within the hour as the Boiler was still under Guarantee ~

smoke marks round a boiler indicate a leaking flue, not a gas leak.

However if it is less than 20 years old, smoke marks also indicate a shoddy installation, so maybe the installer forgot to tighten something. A modern boiler should not have a leaky flue and it should not be close to a window.