smart51
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:29 PM |
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Gas fitters, too expensive?
I have a CORGI gas fitter come to look at the gas leak I have. 4.5 millibars in 2 minutes is not dangerous but it needs to be zero under new
regulations. They've quoted £650 to replace the cast iron pipes with copper. Access isn't a problem as the pipes are clipped to the
basement ceiling. They also want to run a copper gas pipe up the outside of the house to the bathroom boiler, which I don't like the sound of.
It sounds like a lot of money for 1 day's work for two people. Is it reasonable?
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Hammerhead
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:33 PM |
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Wont transco sort the leak out for you? obviously depends where along the line it is.
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BenB
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:37 PM |
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In my experience Corgi registration is a license to print money.
I had my hob installed a few years back. Very few of the Corgi installers could be bothered to come out because it was "too small a
job".
I ended up paying £120 for 75 minutes work (including drinking a cup of tea).
I'm retraining next year 
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smart51
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:44 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Hammerhead
Wont transco sort the leak out for you? obviously depends where along the line it is.
The call centre morons weren't too sure. I asked directly about that and I got one of two answers each time. Your service contract
doesn't cover that and the engineer's coming out on Monday to fix the boiler. You can only ask someone if they can do the work so many
times before you decide that perhaps you don't want them to. Either way, I have to pay. About £30 per hour per person plus VAT.
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r1_pete
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:49 PM |
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Running copper through the wall and up the outside is fine, as long as the holes in the wall are lined with plastic to prevent any chafing, and the
pipe is clipped every 1000mm.
Corgi registration for the 'one man band' costs about £2k per year to keep up, all equipmenyt needs calibrating and certifying etc. but, 2
x £30 PH, is too much considering one will be 'the lad'
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red-westie
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 03:49 PM |
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CORGI registration iirc is expensive to keep, requiring regular courses and fees to be paid to CORGI. However as with all rackets once you have joined
as has been said it's a license to print money.
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NS Dev
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 04:04 PM |
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Could be wrong on this one but is it not the case that you can do the work yourself as long as the supply is isolated, then get the engineer to
connect up and test?
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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MikeR
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 04:33 PM |
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your right - but then you have to make sure the work is up to corgi standards and find someone prepared to come out and test.
I'd bet the bloke testing will want a good 100 quid for the 30 minutes he's on site (cause he just lost out a days work).
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mookaloid
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 05:17 PM |
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Nothing wrong with getting 2 or 3 quotes......
"That thing you're thinking - it wont be that."
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907
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 05:45 PM |
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DIY.
It's not as if it's an aluminium chassis or anything. 
Paul G
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MkIndy7
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 05:51 PM |
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Have they proved its the cast iron? pipes that are leaking.. that sounds iffy in itself as there usually LCS (low carbon steel) if anything.
Its unusual for a length of pipe to leak, its normally on a screwed fitting or a joint if anywhere.. or possibly if its passed through a wall or
floor without being sleved it might have corroded there.
If they haven't actually found where its leaking from, either buy some leak detector spray yourself, or get busy with some soapy water and see
if you can find it, and then just replace that bit.
I can't say i'd like the pipe running outside either really, but they'll probably have to do it like that, as if its inside it has
to be in a ventilated duct to meet current regs, which might make a bit of a mess inside.
[Edited on 22/2/08 by MkIndy7]
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JoelP
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| posted on 22/2/08 at 09:16 PM |
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im all for self employed people making a good wage, but id say 650 is a bit OTT.
Id also query (and i know some fitters on here can clarify) wether or not it has to be zero pressure drop or not. AFAIK its only zero for whole new
installs, which this isnt. Admittedly if he repiped the whole house it would have to be zero though.
Deffo get more quotes, if you were in leeds id get that done by my mate for under 200, and if it were my house id just do it myself.
As an example, we fitted a gas hob last week and had an excess drop. Repiped from the meter in 22mm, replaced all the accessible pipes and got it down
to 1mb. He only charged £80 to the customer.
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