DIY gas work Information, help and advice on many gas related subjects from gas fires to domestic appliances

[tsb]

Have just read a letter in a heating and plumbing trade mag, from a corgi gas installer, asking if it was ok for a diy'er to work on gas in his own home. The answer from CORGI was quite interesting, because I've never heard corgi state this before, but you don't have to be corgi registered to work on gas in your own home,as long as you are competent. Any thoughts on this from fellow corgi installers

[thedoctor]

See our projects section and read the project on Gas installation. Competant does not mean "can tighten nuts up" it means having the right equipment to test pressure before installation and again after and everything else required for a safe installation. If something happened in your home as the result of a faulty gas installation you can bet any money on earth the insurance would not pay out when an enquiry showed the installer was not CORGI !!

[tsb]

The testing equipment you are talking about can be bought from a well known diy store for around £15. My interest in the matter was that I was told and always have been told that it was illegal to touch gas unless you are corgi, which it turns out to be false, if you are doing it for yourself. As for the insurance argument, would they pay out if you have done a diy job,(eg re roofing) which in their eyes should have been done by a tradesman, and it went wrong.

[htg engineer]

Depending on the scale you're talking about you can't really compare the two - think of the worst case scenario after a DIY repair to a roof.
Water brings down ceiling?
or
Roof collapses, kills one person maybe a family.

Gas explosion could wipe out a whole street, people passing by, bring down a few houses.

I am deemed competent by CORGI as I have sat examinations, If you carry out gas DIY gas work, to be classed as competent you should also be able - if requested to pass those examinations.

The HSE and CORGI strongly advise against DIY gas work, and illegal gas work will be reported if found by a CORGI registered installer.

It's common sense, if you can't test it and you're not 100% sure it's gas tight and legal then you shouldn't do it.

If anything happens could you live knowing you killed your own family through an explosion or Carbon monoxide poisoning ? for the sake of paying a few quid for it to be done legally.

Not sure about everyone on here - but my family is worth more than a few quid - I don't repair my car brakes, for the same reason - that's what a garage is for.

htg

[AndyB]

I've seen some work done by corgi engineers and its awful, I've also seen work done by good diy'ers and its great because they have taken their time and not rushed it, read the manufacturers instructions and followed them word for word.

[tsb]

I agree that corgi deems you competent because you have passed the acs exams, but to me it proves that you are competent in passing exams. For example. A solicitor mate of mine was bored one week, so decided to go on a weeks course on domestic electrical work, then take the exams to prove competency and get his ticket to self assess. He is a very clever bloke and passed. He can now do domestic installations if he wanted. I also know electricians who have been working for years and can't pass the same exams because of all the maths involved. I know who I would want to put my electrics in, because I've seen my mate standard of diy.

[htg engineer]

I'm not saying every CORGI engineer takes pride in their work, all I can say is that I do. I know I said DIYers will be reported if their work is dangerous - but CORGI engineers would also be reported.

We seem to be going off the subject abit, CORGI is all about safety. A DIYer might do perfect pipework, soldering etc but if it's not gas tight, pipe the wrong size etc - it's not safe.

Some people are quick and the work looks shoddy, some people are slow and the work looks shoddy - it's not about how it looks, it's how safe it is that matters (in the eyes of HSE and CORGI).

htg

[uk_ducati]

hi

i would have thought the easy answer would be to read number 3(1) and 3(3) of the GSIUR.

no person can work on gas unless they are a member of a class of persons aproved by the HSE. meaning corgi

paul