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How Long Does A Gas Safety Certificate Last?

As a result of faulty installation and irregular maintenance of gas appliances and chimneys, a lot of people have been met with an untimely death caused by the toxic gas - carbon monoxide. This is a gas that’s completely odourless, colourless and tasteless - meaning you can’t identify one of its in the environment. But what you should know is, if you stay in an environment filled with carbon monoxide, you’d probably be dead within a couple of hours. Consequently as a landlord, you must do what’s best to ensure the safety of all your tenants by making sure that all your gas appliances and chimneys are subjected to annual check by an approved Gas Safe engineer as required by the law.

Wondering how long a Gas Safety Check will take? The safety of your gas is guaranteed by carrying out regular examinations. Whether or not you possess a gas alarm, it’s still vital to conduct regular gas safe checks to make sure your home is safe. A typical gas safe check would last between 30 to 60 minutes for a normal domestic property. However, in the situations whereby a need for repair arises, it may take longer time to complete. Other factors that can also affect the timing includes includes both the size and location of your property.

So how long does a gas safety certificate last? The simple answer to this question is 12 months. If you own a rental property in the UK, it’s up to you to ensure all your gas appliances and chimney is check after every 12 months to obtain a Gas Safety Certificate which you should hand out a copy to all tenants living in your property. However, if you don’t own the property, you can inform your landlord to get one as soon as possible while also providing a carbon monoxide alarm.

How Can I Get My Oil Boiler Repaired?

Did your oil boiler just broke down and you’re considering your repair options? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Whenever your oil boiler breaks down, you have two options - repair it yourself or get in touch with a reliable professional. If you lack proper training or experience when it comes to fixing of oil boilers, we’d recommend that you rather hire the services of a trustworthy oil boiler engineer who can guarantee the best results while also saving you time and money that could result from possible costly errors.

However the issue is, not all oil boiler repair services are created equal. The words “expert and “professional are now so cheap that almost, if not all oil boiler repair companies online today make use of those words to qualify themselves. However, when several of them are done delivering their oil boiler repair services you’ll have no other choice than to start questioning their claimed status. In order to separate the boys from the men very early on, a little caution and some research is all that’s needed to know the most reliable company to approach.

To get a good repair company, the first step would be to make sure the company is fully accredited with a professional certification scheme so as to be sure that they’re actually qualified to deliver the service.

Another step you can take is by requesting personal recommendations from family and friends. For a company to be referred by several homeowners in the local area then it must be doing something that’s worth the money invested.

You can as well make use of the internet to get a reliable oil boiler repair company. You can start by visiting the website of the company that manufactured you appliance to identify any recommended repair companies. Go through the companies’ testimonials but do not rely too much on them because in several cases they may not be authentic.

Re-pressurising your boiler means that you allow more water to enter system via the filling loop. It can be easy to re-pressurise your boiler yourself. Always check your manual, but there are some simple steps you can take to restore pressure to your boiler:

1. Switch off your boiler and let it cool completely
2. Make sure both ends of your filling loop are attached
3. Open both valves to allow cold water into the system – you’ll hear it start to move
4. Look out for your pressure gauge to show 1.5 bar
5. Close both valves
6. Switch your boiler back on
7. Undo both ends of your filling loop and remove it. Remember some water might come out, so be ready to catch some spillage!

What Is A Gas Safety Certificate?

Do you wish to know what a Gas Safety Certificate is and if you need to get one?

If you’re in the UK and you own a rental property, you have a statutory obligation to obtain a Gas Safety Certificate. The law ( Gas Safety - Installation and Use, Regulations 1998) stipulates that landlords as a matter of necessity should have all their gas appliances, fittings,and property flues subjected to yearly checks in order to ensure that they’re are totally safe.

The Gas Safety Certificate can be referred to in a number of ways which includes Landlord Gas Safety Record ( LGSR) or CORGI PROFORMA 12 (CP12). The later dating back to when the official body for gas safety in the UK was CORGI. However, the official body is now known as Gas Safe, hence it’s now usually called a Gas Safety Certificate or something along that line. But regardless of whatever you choose to call it, as long as you reside in the UK, it’s crucial to know that if you need one as soon as possible. So how do know if you need a Gas Safety Certificate?

If you’re a homeowner with a property that you live in, you’re not required by the law to obtain a Gas Safety Certificate. There’s nothing like a homeowner’s gas safety certificate, however we’d recommend you subject all you gas appliances and pipework to yearly examinations to ensure they’re functioning properly and safely.

If you’re a landlord in the UK, you’re required by the law to get a Gas Safety Certificate to ensure your property is safe for your tenants. You must reach out to an approved Gas Safe engineer who’ll carry out annual checks on your appliances to ensure that they’re totally safe.

The size of boiler you need will depend on the size of your home, how many radiators and bathrooms you have and how many people live there. The boiler size refers to its output, which is measured in kilowatts (kW), rather than the actual dimensions. Speak to your boiler engineer about which boiler is suitable for you, as if you have more than one bathroom or a lot of people in your home a combi boiler might not suit you. Other boiler types such as system boilers or conventional boilers may be better suited to larger homes because they have bigger outputs.

Your LPG storage tank will need to go outside your property, possibly underground if you have limited space. There are planning rules that restrict where you can put your tank, especially if your property is listed or on designated land. Take a look at our planning permission article to find out more.

To ensure your boiler is functioning efficiently and to keep your home warm, it’s important to see that your boiler is serviced on a regular basis by a licensed boiler engineer. Failure to do this can result in sudden boiler breakdown which can be a hard hitting blow to one’s financial power especially when there’s no boiler cover to cushion the blow or totally avoid it all together.

When your boiler is covered, it implies that you’re protected in the event whereby your boiler or it’s controls malfunctions or break. Several boiler cover will include the servicing cost, while some may not so it’s advisable to always go through the details, no matter how small, before entering into a boiler cover agreement. Typically, a boiler cover will cost between £60 to £100 per year and the payment is made on a monthly basis. Various boiler insurance companies have varying cover cost, however, here are the common boiler cover policies:

• Homeserve charges from £13 per month

• EDF Energy costs from £13.29 per month

• British Gas from £12 per month

• Scottish Power from £13.13 every month

• CETRI UK charges from £13.50 every month

• 24/7 home rescue costs from £9.60 every month

• Gorgi Home Plan costs from £6 per month plus 3 months free

• Your repair charges from £9.60 per month

• NPower Boiler Cover costs from £10.92 every month

• SSE Boiler Breakdown Cover charges from £4.95 every month

It’s important to note that sometimes you have the option of adding your boiler cover to your existing home insurance, if you do not want a standalone policy for your boiler cover. In many scenarios, this is referred to as an extra or add on service referred to as “Home Emergency Cover. When compared to the standalone boiler policies, this is usually a lot cheaper as it comes in around £5 per month.

How Much Is A Gas Safety Certificate?

If you’re a landlord in the UK, then you’d know a gas safety certificate is a legal requirement. If yes, then you’d probably like to know how much it’ll cost to get a gas safety certificate so you can make plans on obtaining one for your property. In this article, you’ll find all you need to know about the amount you’re expected to pay for a gas safety certificate in the UK.

First and foremost, let’s look into the use of the certificate. Basically, a gas safety certificate is the legal inspection of your property’s gas appliances which would be done on an annual basis. Only an approved Gas Safe engineer is allowed to carry out this statutory check. Ultimately, if you own rental properties in the country, this is a requirement you can’t afford to overlook to ensure the safety of your tenants.

Furthermore, included in this inspection are each and every gas appliances, chimneys, pipework as well as flues in the property. In recent times, several individuals make use of fewer gas appliances which ultimately implies that they may only need the servicing of their gas fire. Once you’ve passed the inspection, you’ll be given your CP12 certificate which must be kept for a minimum of two years. A copy should also be provided to your tenants within 28 days of issue. So how much will it cost to get a gas safety certificate?

Depending on your location in the UK as well as the number of gas appliances incorporated, the average cost of a gas certificate will range between £60 to £90. The Gas Safe engineer will carry out the task as a fixed and statutory job.