New build issues - help

[TJ2503]

Hi there - am hoping someone might be able to offer some help/advice. I will try and keep this succinct and factual as possible.....

We moved into our new build home June 2017. Everything was signed off as safe and working etc. We had a British Gas engineer come out and do the first annual boiler check about 6 weeks ago.

They found 2 things:

1: A gas leak in the kitchen where one of the seals around the hob had been caught during installation and it allowed a small and slow leak of gas. It has been suggested this should have been picked up on inspection but is hard to prove any negligence.

2: The external flue for the boiler was not sealed with any sealant, the white pipe was exposed and brick work had not been made good. The engineer advised this needed to be urgently rectified and our developer has made good on this although we needed to get the NHBC involved for them to do it. The reason it needs to be sealed and not exposed is to stop any dangerous fumes from re-entering the property and to ensure the pipe does not erode.

Having spoken to some independent engineers they have all said the same thing in that the flue MUST be fitted in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. I have checked the manuel and it clearly states no white pipe should be exposed, it should be correctly sealed and the brick work made good.

We have a gas safety certificate which has been ticked as YES the flue was fitted in accordance to the instructions and it passed a visual inspection.

When we flagged this with our developer they admitted it was an oversight on their part (we have this in writing) and they had no procedure in place to check the flue, but will be adding it to their final inspection check list in future. Since then they have refused to engage with us or respond to our emails about this flue.

My question is: has the developer breached any health and safety or building regulations by passing the house as safe with an incorrectly fitted external flue?

Any advice or experience anyone has would be really appreciated.

Many thanks

Either Building Control checked it or an approved contractor did. It is almost certainly the latter. The builders might employ a suitable person(s) but it was probably subcontracted out. You can try and find out from the builders head office who checked the installation and put in a claim. The Health and Safety Executive might be able to advise.

Just an update and more advice or experience needed if possible.

In a nutshell we met with a member of our developers senior leadership team today. He was actually straight down the mine, admitted responsibility and admitted the H&S breech. He asked for a list of works of what we thought appropriate in order to make good on the inconvenience and stress caused to us. The question I have is what figure of the sum of works should we be looking at? He would not be drawn on what he thought an appropriate figure was.

What would you realistically ask for?

The snags you describe sound minor and should amount to a few hundred pounds to repair. The safety implications were serious but the remedial costs are low.