Urgent. Gas bonding - unsatisfactory EICR

Hello everyone,

I am buying a property where the current owner has a EICR stating unsatisfactory due to (3.1g) main gas bond omitted and gas installation pipes.
 

The report also states the following overview:- **General condition of the installation (in terms of electrical safety):
Wired to previous BS7671, & retains Plastic Consumer Unit. Some signs of wear & tear and modification exist as an older installation, and some items resolved on test. Generally sound, however Non-compliance of Main Gas Bond omitted (easily resolved) mandate the Unsatisfactory assessment outcome below**

should this be alarming, and would rectifying be costly?advice would be very much appreciated!

thank you!

Emma

usually an easy fix and whilst it need done, not really something that would be 'alarming' that it isnt. basically requires an earth from your consumer unit / service head to the gas. tbh, if this is the only thing its unsatisfactory on, it does sound a bit unusual that it hasnt already been done at some point

or maybe it doesnt need done (because its not extraneous). does gas come into the property as metal or plastic?

Hi, thank you for your response!

 I am not sure to be honest whether its metal or Plastic (sorry). It is a old house (1800s) and electric stated on report as 30 years old. the gas bond was noted as ‘C2’ on report, there were some C3’s such as labelling and grommets missing.

many thanks,

emma

Have a look at your gas meter, What pipe work do you have, can you see any copper?

I am not house yet, in process of buying, but could check with vendor. Would it make a large difference if copper/ metal or plastic? Many thanks! 

Emma-loufre said:

I am not house yet, in process of buying, but could check with vendor. Would it make a large difference if copper/ metal or plastic? Many thanks! 

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if the incoming gas pipe is plastic it doesn't need bonding

It is quite unusual for there to be no bonding in place, unless no alterations have been done for many years..

As for a long time wiring regulations have required that earth and bonding should be verified before doing any alterations temporary or permanent..

However if it does need doing you basically need a 10.0mm CSA copper wire connected between your incoming gas pipe and the electrical earth in or near the consumer unit.

Obviously the further the distance between the two the more expensive it will be..

But as a rough guideline a 25m drum of 10.0mm can be purchased from Screwfix for less than £25.. 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/time-6491x-green-yellow-1-core-10mm-conduit-cable-25m-drum/803fj

A few more pounds for some other clips, fixings, earth clamp..

Plus whatever the labour costs are within your local area...

But the bottom line, as Andy said, should not be too alarming, or that expensive to remedy.

:coffee

Not an expensive job but depending on the route the cable need to take it may be a bit messy

The main take away should be that the electrics and probably also gas appliances haven’t been inspected or updated for a quite a while so that’s a priority when you are able .. 

@Bruspark has just got me thinking, so central heating gas boilers are supposed to get checked annually especially on rentals or local authority houses, are gas hobs?

On rentals of any type yes ALL gas appliances are supposed to be certified as safe each year, it is a legal requirement of landlord to have this done.