Gas cooker installation in London

Since April 2009 the Gas Safe Register has been the legal register for anyone working on gas in the UK, replacing CORGI. Connecting a cooker is gas work, and having it done by someone unregistered is both illegal and a genuine safety risk.

For landlords it is more pointed still: an appliance connected by an unregistered person will not pass the annual gas safety check, and the gas safety record covers every gas appliance in the property, not just the boiler. A cooker fitted informally is the sort of thing that surfaces at the worst possible moment.

One thing worth checking before buying is whether the existing gas supply can carry the appliance. A cooker point installed in the 1990s for a modest four-burner hob may not be sized for a large range cooker with a wok burner and two ovens, and an undersized supply shows up as burners that will not reach full output when several are running together.

Pipe sizing is the reason. A 15mm run that was adequate for one appliance can be marginal once demand rises, and the working pressure at the appliance needs to hold at about 20 mbar under full load. That gets tested rather than assumed, and where the supply is short we will tell you what upsizing involves before you commit to the cooker.

A freestanding cooker connects with a bayonet fitting and a flexible hose of the correct type and length, and it needs a stability chain or bracket so it cannot tip when a loaded oven door is opened. Hobs are hard-piped and need the connection made and tested behind the unit before the appliance is seated.

Ventilation matters and is often overlooked in small London kitchens, particularly in converted flats where the room is tight and the window is small. The installation gets a tightness test at the end, which is what proves the joint is sound rather than assuming it.