Trev in Cyprus.

[trevnhil]

I'm sorry for the delay in answering this. I read it when it was posted but then forgot it.
The visiting Family are from the Frozen North. It will certainly have warmed them up being here. The temperatures are in the High 20's, and we have the windows and doors open all day. The window are open 24/7 to catch any Breeze.

There has been no sign of rain since they arrived so they have had plenty of Beach Time. They have also had many drinks around the harbour area, so they have had a good time.
Tomorrow will be a little sad as they catch the flight back to Scotland. However we do have more family visitors in about 5 weeks time.
So again we have something there to look forward to.

Trev..

[trevnhil]

Regarding The ongoing Saga of trying to get the final certificate for our finished building.
I am feeling quite a bit jaded after a visit from the Health and safety department to check on our gas installation.

Nearly everything was condemned, and so it would seem that we have a lot of alterations to do. There were so many Items that i made sure that they will put them in a letter to me.

It appears that the rules changed / tightened up about the same time that our gas heating was installed.

I will try to remember to take some pictures later, and try to show all the things which need to be altered.

So...... to be continued.

Trev..

[accykeef]

The rules and regs regarding gas installations are pretty strict here too and the goal posts are frequently moved. Many of the regs are common sense but in today's society of apparently thick people, gaps cannot be left in the rule book where common sense would normally be applied. What we end up with is a rule book which contains some ridiculous things. Not that this matters to me as the only thing I have ever done with gas piping was capping off an old feed off the main pipe to gas fires I removed. Soldering a blank onto the end of a short pipe is within my capabilities.

[trevnhil]

The rules and regs seem to be a little overly strict here, especially as it is Cyprus.

I shall try to explain most of the things they require me to have done. Some I am OK with ...... others I am not.



As you can see from the picture, we have a driveway which goes past the gas tank. They are worried that coming in the direction from where the picture is taken, that I may veer to the left and hit the gas tank and fittings.
So they require me to put in a metal post to provide the tank with protection....... Just about OK with that.




This picture shows that they require me to put a pressure gauge on the side of the fitting shown..... Just about OK with that.

They also wanted to know what the two pipes were for going down the grid. I told them it is waste water from the flushing of the water filter. They then showed concern, as if there is a leak of gas from the tank it will go down the drain.
However I showed them that the drain just empties onto the ground forming the gravel car park. THEY were OK with that.



Here is the most work. There are 4 gas feed pipes going into the house. Two are not being used as they were put in for gas fires we have not installed.
They require me to disconnect the unused ones and blank off the outlets from the Manifold. Also cap the pipe ends, also remove the redundant tap handles. Definitely OK with that.

There is also a main gas feed to the boiler that is copper and is just the copper colour. I have to paint that yellow, so that people know it has gas in it and not water.... Fair enough I suppose

They then wanted to know where the gas pipes went from the manifold to the appliances in the house. So I told them.... they are in the foam insulating concrete forming the floor.
No No No. Gas pipes have to be OUTSIDE the house NOT INSIDE.
If someone digs down in the house through the tiles and the 2" concrete screed, and the concrete below that, then they may hit a gas pipe.
Apparently the pipes will now have to go along the outside wall supported by regular clips and then they will need to go in the house where the gas hob is. This to me is RIDICULOUS
They say they may be able to let it go for a year or two therefore enabling me to get our final completion certificate. But it will need doing.




This final picture shows the new corrugated metal connecting pipe, which they stipulated. But they now say that there also need to be a special shut off gas valve that closes at a temperature of 100c.
I suppose that is another hoop I will have to pay to jump through.

Phew.... Trev..

PS.... Pleese excuse the Spilling.

[accykeef]

I agree with you Trev, some of the points raised appear to be how much money can we screw out of the English guy on the hill type reasons. They want a tank protecting from possible collision damage but it is ok to have pipework clipped to the side of the house. Does this pipework have to be protected from collision damage from careless drivers or is that not considered a risk? Were these restrictions in place when the bungalow was built or have the regs been given a major overhaul since?
Where on the system has to get to 100deg C before the valve shuts off?

If I was you I would be fitting a gas consumer unit with 13A gas fuses to be on the safe side and all electric feeds would have non return valves fitted to the live wire.

[trevnhil]

Re..." If I was you I would be fitting a gas consumer unit with 13A gas fuses to be on the safe side and all electric feeds would have non return valves fitted to the live wire. "

I wonder if I put that in a letter to them, what would be their reply.

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I am having a major rethink about all the things that they require for the Gas Health an safety issue.
Firstly the big 500lt tank and the supply to the Gas Heating Boiler outside, seems to be almost OK.
They want a pressure gauge fitting and they say the tank has to be emptied every 5 years and go away for pressure testing. However the tank is leased ,so that should NOT be my problem. Though how they will empty the tank is puzzling.

However, there seems too many things that have to be done, just to supply gas to two hobs.
Copper pipes have to be routed around the outside of the house to two separate locations on either side of the property.
These pipes (presumably at or near ground level) will then have to go up the outside wall for about 2 foot and be routed through two walls and interior cupboards to the gas hobs (2)
I also have to have these special cut off devices / valves that will cut off the gas supply at about 100c

My thinking at the moment is to abandon the idea of supplying the hobs with gas from the large tank.
I may as well get two small cupboards made to sTand outside each kitchen. Inside them I can put an 11kg portable gas cylinder and a neoprene type pipe through the wall.

As I say, I will await the letter from H&S and price things up.

Trev..

[accykeef]

Have you contacted the people who supplied the tank, surely they are up to speed with the current regs.

Running pipes around a house rather that through it sounds like someone is taking to wotsit. Are the experts who inspected it mature, experienced gas installers or wet behind the ears, college boys with newly printed certificates?

I have had experiences with 'experts' who know nowt about owt in a former life. I used to install sound systems in pubs and restaurants and one 'expert' from building control was inspecting some wiring I had installed across a suspended ceiling. He was adamant that the 3 core round flex I had installed had to be replaced with T&E and encased in trunking. I felt the best person to deal with this was the electrician on the site, a guy who I knew well and was a moody owd git on a good day. I asked one of the labourers to go and find him and he turned up annoyed that his tea break had been interrupted. I introduced him to the building inspector and asked the inspector to explain the problem. I have never seen a man in a suit cringe so much as the electrician forcefully explained that 100V speaker lines do not need T&E or trunking. The inspector left and the electrician told me that the inspector had criticised a lot of his work too. The electrician was close to retirement and he was qualified to wire commercial, domestic and even maritime stuff. He served his time in the Royal Navy and was one guy who knew his job backwards.

'Spilling Police'
Get 2 cupboards to sand - that will give you something to do in the evenings.

[trevnhil]

Sorry abou- missing ou- one of -he impor-an- le--ers in my las- pos-

- rev..

[accykeef]

Is your keyboard like moon?

[trevnhil]

May 26, 2013 9:18:22 GMT accykeef said:

Is your keyboard like moon?

Well it's not cheese with holes in it.

Trev..

[accykeef]

Wey hey - ain't life a gas - oops sorry!

[trevnhil]

Well I have been missing for a day or two, because my FIL is in Hospital, but seems to be recovering OK.

However my reason for posting is to relate the following story to show how things are different here.

My FIL was taken to hospital at lunchtime on Monday. He was seen in A&E and after a lot of waiting various tests were done. X rays, Scan, Blood tests and a Lumbar puncture..... Nothing positive was found.

He was admitted to the ICU ward and Hilary and I got home around 10-30pm.
I kept my mobile phone at my bedside in case we got an urgent call in the night.

At about 8-30am Yesterday the Hospital phoned. They told me that they needed me to go down there as a blood sample they had taken needed taking to the courier in Paphos to be transported to Nicosia (2hrs away)
So I had to collect the sample from the blood lab, take it to the courier. and pay for the package to go to Nicosia....... Strange NHS here.

Trev..

[accykeef]

People moan about the system we have here but at least we don't have ludicrous things like that to contend with. I would have thought they would have sent it themselves, even if they issued you with a bill later.

What do they do with transplant organs, print a barcode on them, put them through a franking machine and then put them in a post box?

Hope FIL is on the mend and soon back at the hill top retreat.

[mpprh]

I am amazed when I hear stories about the NHS.

I see my GP every 3 months. The morning before I go for a blood test, collect the results in the afternoon and ... when I get to the Doc the following morning he already has the same results. He is a one man band in the next village.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Sorry to hear about your FIL Trev. Hope he's on the mend soon. Sounds like a challenging system you have there. What would happen if you weren't able to transport the sample?

Maybe I should be more grateful for the NHS although we've had some frustrating experiences lately with myself, Coachman and two daughters. At times I've felt like tearing my hair out in frustration.

Your GP sounds amazing by comparison Pete. One thing had worried us about the prospect of moving to France and that was how we would go on with the health system, both having regular medication and check ups; but maybe it wouldn't be as bad as we fear. Maybe even better than here.