Member Article

Rogue plumber fined over risky boiler installation

Manchester plumber Liam Gurney has been ordered to pay nearly £4,000 after putting residents’ lives at risk by inadequately installing a gas boiler.

Gurney failed to adhere to building regulations when installing the gas boiler at a property on Mauldeth Road in Burnage.

Faulty boilers, or those with blocked or leaky flues, can release the poisonous gas carbon monoxide.

Gurney was fined £2,000 plus £1,423 costs and a victim surcharge of £120 on 20 November 2013 at Manchester Magistrates Court. Gurney failed to attend and the case was proved in his absence.

Gurney installed the boiler at a Mauldeth Road property and certified it as being complete with Gas Safe, who subsequently notified Manchester City Council Building Control of the installation as required by the building regulations. Following the installation the owner of the property had reservations about the boilers safety and so contacted the council.

Upon inspection a Manchester City Council surveyor found the boiler’s flue had been incorrectly installed, the boiler was also lacking appropriate energy efficiency features - despite Gurney being a Gas Safe registered plumber.

On closer examination further problems were uncovered, the boiler case had not been closed correctly, pipes feeding gas into the boiler were not protected from corrosion and the main hot water outlet was a plastic pipe - not the required copper pipe.

Further investigation by building control surveyors discovered the installation certificate given to the owner included the fitting of both a fire and a boiler. No fire had been installed at the property increasing concerns about the quality of the work.

Even more worryingly the certificate number did not match the one given to Gas Safe for the registration of the appliances.

A Gas Safe inspector’s report concluded that boiler had to be disconnected due to its dangerous condition.

Councillor Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council executive member for the environment, said: “It is vital that gas appliances are installed properly by a professional, the building regulations are in place to prevent accidents and must be followed to the letter.

“Although he has received a large fine Mr Gurney has been very lucky in this instance, the consequences of his negligence could have lead to somebody being very seriously hurt.

“This case should serve as a warning. We take building regulation violations very seriously and will inspect and pursue anyone that we believe is contravening them.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .