ARMAGUIDANCE
ADVISORY NOTE
THE HEALTHAND SAFETY EXECUTIVE has is- sued newguidance about certain types of gas boiler fluesystemsinstalledinvoids –usually in
theceiling.The aim is to raiseawareness of thepotential dangersfrom certain typesof flues connectedtogas-firedcentral heating installations in someproperties. These proper- ties areoften,but notalways, apartments completed since about 2000. Do youhaveagas boiler locatedawayfrom
external walls? If so,fluesare morelikelyto runthrough ceiling (orwall) voidsand you need to follow theadviceasgiven here by the HSE. Thereisnot necessarily anyimmediate danger to youoryourfamilyfrom such flues in voidsbut youdoneed to actnow tomake sure your flues are safe. Theintroductionoffan-fluedgas appliances in themid-1990s allowedgas centralheating
CarbonMonoxide Poisoning What are the symptoms?
Aheadache is themostcommonsymptomof carbonmonoxidepoisoning.
Other commonsymptomsinclude: ndizzinessandnausea(feelingsick) nvomiting(beingsick)
ntirednessand confusion nstomachpain
nshortnessof breathand difficulty breathing
Source: NHSDirect
centralheating
systemsinstalled.For example,flatswhere olderflue systemswere provinginadequateand thereforefan assisted flues were added later. Revisedtechnical guidance issuedinApril
2012 required inspection hatchestobefitted in propertieswhere the flue is concealed within voidsand cannot be inspected. Homeowners haduntil theend of lastyeartoarrange for inspection
hatchestobeinstalled.Any gas engineer workingonaffected systemsafter 1 Januarythisyearwilladvisethe homeowner that thesystemis“at risk”and with the owner’spermissionwillturnoffthe gas supply to theboilersoitcan’t be used.
Don’tignorethe new guidanceongas boiler flues 38
If youare unsurewhether your homehas concealedgas fluesand thinkyou might be at risk: nSpeaktothe GasSaferegisteredengineer
INFLUESVOIDS 18
Is your centralheating flue installedinyourceiling void and, if so,doyou have an inspection hatch? If not, you need to act nowasARMAexplains
boilerstobeinstalled away fromexternal walls. Thismeant that builders could design new-buildand refurbishmentpropertieswith boilers being installed on internal walls to make better useofthe
availablespace.The flues to theseboilers were,insomecases, routed throughvoids in theceiling space (and throughstudwalls)between theproperties above. This practice becameprogressivelymore
popularfrom 2000 onwardsand thevast majority of affectedsystemsarethought to be locatedinnew buildflatsand apartments completed since 2000. It is however possible that othertypes of homemayhavesimilar
thought to be locatedin newbuildflats...
Thevastnumber of affected systems are
wholastservicedyourboilerand he or she will be able to advisewhetherornot this
appliestoyourproperty. nIf you do not have your boiler regularly serviced,arrange foraGas Safe registered engineer to visittocheck theappliances and flues urgently.
If your property has concealed flues in voids and no inspection hatches, this is what you should do: nForproperties less than twoyears old, contactthe original developer/builderfor assistance with theretrofitting of inspection
hatches and repair of any flue defects. nForproperties betweentwo and10years old, contactthe homewarranty provider as youmay be coveredbythemifthere aredefects in
theflue.Themain warranty providers,NHBC,Premier Guaranteeand Zurich Building Guaranteehavehowever advisedthatcover is notprovidedfor installing inspection hatchesinproperties
more than two years old. nForproperties10years or older, youshould
Issue 14, Spring Flat Living
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