Capping off lounge gas fire pipe?

[Richard Marx]

Hi, advice needed please.

Have a nasty 70s upright gas fire in my living room. Thin gas pipe leading to it is above the floorboards and easily accessible for capping off and removal of the fire.

My builder says he can do it, and will shut off the gas main which is on the pipe by the meter in my hall cupboard. Not sure if he's CORGI or not.

Basically, is this a simple job and can much go wrong if he shuts off the gas, tests it is off, then blanks off the pipe? (I wonder about air getting into system, and recall warnings not to turn gas on after it has been off etc?)

Advice, tips and instructions please. Thanks in advance.

[John Stumbles]

If he's not CORGI reg he's not allowed to do it. End of story.

What if the connection to the elbow coming out of the floor is dodgy and he doesn't pick up that by disturbing it he's started it leaking under the floor, building up to a dangerous concentration until one day ...

Unlikely, but the consequences could be devastating.

He's not doing himself, you or anyone else a favour doing gas work if he's not registered: he could get the legal book thrown at him for a pre-existing fault which becomes his responsibility if he touches the system, and you don't get the opportunity to have any faults with the system (hopefully) picked up by a competent person doing the work. By 'anyone else' I mean anyone within flying-masonry range of your house :-)

[Brian Sharrock]

"Richard Marx" wrote in message news:PVnnf.7639$ [e-mail]...

My house _had_ provision for a gas fire(s); probably similar to yours. The gas supply was from cast-iron(?) black pipes that protruded through the floorboards. I enquired at Fireplace emporia if they 'knew a man'. I was told that they 'knew this man' who was a CORGI type and he came in and 'capped' them off. Because I had adjacent floorboard up he leaned under the boards, found a convenient union and strap-wrenched the pipes apart. He then fumbled about in his 'bits box' and produced a 'capping' fitting. He used a 'visualing foam' to ensure the pipes were well and truly not-leaking. {I should have mentioned the gas OFF/ON at the incoming main ... } The guy was in the house for ten(?) minutes and we parted company on excellent terms .... a single low value portrait of HM changed hands. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. I reckoned it would've cost me more to identify the work required, obtain the tools and fittings than to 'hire' this guy. Plus he did it in ways that I hadn't thought about. The appliances; hob, boilers worked OK - the gas pipes to the fire(s) were stubs (cul-de-sacs) off the main pipe which distributes to other stubs (hob and boiler) so any air in the pipework will be vented at the appliances. The pipes are now capped off below the floorboards with nothing visible above. [As I was covering the floor boards, I took the precaution of writing 'Gas Pipe /Stop Below' warnings on the floorboards ... just in case ... }

HTH

[owdman]

Easy job - only a complete prat would get it wrong. But then there's alot of them about.

[tarquinlinbin]

He may well be perfectly competent to do the work.

If however he is doing it for pay then he needs to be CORGI registered.

Being CORGI registered does not infer competence as there are plenty who have such registration and are hopeless and wreckless.

Remove antispam and add 670 after bra to email

[fred]

In article , tarquinlinbin writes

I'm sure he'd be prepared to do that bit for free ;-)

_imply_

[zymurgy]

I got a man in in the end, since you wouldn't tell me how to isolate the elbow ;-)

Thirty quid later, I have a nice corgi letterheaded receipt for the capping off (5 mins work)

But, like you say, peace of mind.

Cheers,

Paul.

[John Stumbles]

It doesn't work like that (I think it used to but 'they' got wise to unregistered installers supposedly doing the gas bit for free). If you're doing gas work by way of business - whether or not you invoice for it - then you have to be CORGI regged.

[fred]

In my heart I knew they would have nipped up that fairly obvious loophole, I'm sure there's a clause or two with 'shall not's and 'in connection with' or 'as a consequence of' plus 'chargeable works' somewhere in the regs.

[PammyT]

ITYM 'reckless' ;-)

[Geoffrey]

Or possibly 'wreckfull'