In a world where every maintenance task has a trick or a tutorial available online, some people wonder if it would be okay to try to fix a major boiler issue or install a new boiler themselves.
The short and very simple answer is no; anything more significant than very basic adjustments, such as activating the filling loop, is typically too complex and potentially dangerous for anyone outside of a professional installer to attempt.
The simple reason for this is that it is illegal for any work involving a natural gas line to be undertaken by someone who is not on the Gas Safe Register. Whilst a registered gas engineer could work on their own boiler or fit it themselves, they also would not be asking the question to begin with.
Whilst illegality is the biggest and most definitive reason, it is important to understand why the laws are so strict concerning illegal gas work, either by individual homeowners or by cowboy contractors defrauding homeowners and putting their lives at risk.
Here are just some of the reasons why complex and dangerous installation work such as installing and maintaining gas boilers should never be attempted by anyone who is not officially qualified.
It Puts Lives At Risk
It is difficult to understate just how dangerous working with natural gas is, and how an incorrectly installed or maintained boiler can put lives in danger in multiple ways.
The most obvious of these is that it can lead to fires and explosions. It typically only takes a small spark to ignite methane, so if the gas is allowed to fill the room and then a light switch is turned on, that could be enough of a spark to cause the entire room to explode.
Many boilers are installed in kitchens, where ovens and hobs can also ignite a gas leak.
Beyond ignition, the more insidious danger to be mindful of is carbon monoxide poisoning, which can sometimes lead to serious illness, unconsciousness and even death very quickly if action is not taken to ventilate the room.
Even if the gas works are completed without an issue, boilers rely on complex wiring systems, which can lead to electrical hazards, particularly since they also have water lines fitted that could cause significant damage to your home if left to leak into the walls.
Inadequate Installation
Installing a boiler is a complex process, and registered engineers will not only undergo years of training and intensive courses but will regularly need to keep their qualifications updated.
This ensures that the engineer has the knowledge, expertise and understanding of the process of installing boilers, maintaining them and diagnosing faults to be rectified.
Boilers are exceedingly complex, and the working knowledge you need to install or repair one is significantly more than would fit in an SEO-friendly tutorial article.
This means that important steps in the installation process are missed and potentially dangerous flaws are in place as the boiler is switched on for the first time.
Voided Warranty
Boilers tend to come with a lengthy warranty or guarantee by the manufacturer, some of which can last as long as ten years.
However, there are conditions and restrictions in place to ensure that a warranty will be honoured, one of which is that the boiler is installed by a Gas Safe engineer, and all future repairs and maintenance visits are similarly undertaken by an approved professional.
A voided warranty means that all future repairs are done out of pocket.
Higher Long-Term Costs
In the long run, fitting a boiler yourself costs a lot more in the long run, as there is a huge range of hidden costs that are typically not accounted for.
Besides the extra costs for replacements and repairs due to being out of warranty, a boiler that is not properly installed is typically inefficient.
This means that it will not only cost more to run, but will typically operate far worse, provide less heat and break down more frequently, all of which leads to higher energy and repair bills.
Simply repairing the boiler enough to ensure it meets regulations can cost an additional £400 on top of the price of the original boiler, and this assumes that there are no complications in the work and there has not been a major accident.
A significant number of emergency repairs are for illegal installations and repairs, which means that the risks of breaking the law to save a few pounds are simply not worth the long-term costs.