At Brian Gale Surveyors we come across some unusual defects when carrying out Full Building Surveys. Just recently when carrying out a Full Building Survey in Chislehurst, Kent on a residential property; Patrick Moyle noticed an example of a significant mistake made by Heating Engineers when retro-fitting a gas boiler and flue.
Modern boilers with balanced flues can be positioned in many places. Fan assisted flues mean that long flue runs are possible to outside walls. Unfortunately many plumbers/installers have a tendency to core drill through many materials without realising the damage they can undertake to the structure of a building. Here is an example of coring through a beam; although failure has not yet occurred the beam is seriously weakened and will need to be replaced and the boiler repositioned. The cost is going to be well in excess of £2000 + VAT for this installer’s error!!
Watch out there are NEW RULES coming next January (2013) on accessibility of long flues that are concealed/boxed in. Contact Brian Gale Surveyors for help and advice on these points.
