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News Release from: Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors | Subject: Competent persons schemes - sanitary pipework
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 December 2007
Substandard sanitary pipework
installations
APHC report that since the launch of competent persons schemes which cover sanitary pipework, it shows that some sanitary pipework installations are falling below building regulations' standards.
This is a situation that could endanger human health The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC)'s Technical Services Manager, John Thompson, comments: "I think there is a lack of understanding about current practice"
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 14 Nov 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"There have been significant changes in legislation since many plumbers qualified years ago and on top of that, it would appear that some plumbers are simply not applying what they know".
"I suspect this is because the perceived risk of getting it wrong is not in the same league as getting a gas installation wrong, for example".
"But while the risk may be low, the consequences are nonetheless unpleasant and a potential health issue".
APHC has issued guidance on this issue to its members and wishes the wider industry to be aware of it.
Many installers place sanitary pipework systems low on their agenda of priorities.
This must change, to ensure that public health is not compromised and the risk of prosecution by the authorities is reduced.
Only recently, APHC warned that LABC, the representative body for Local Authority Building Control Departments across England and Wales, was being encouraged by Government to enforce Building Regulations more rigorously.
Fines of tens of thousands of pounds have already been issued for failure to comply with Building Regulations and installers must make sure they are not next on the list.
With the ever-increasing complexity of modern bathrooms, there is growing scope for pipework being installed that is insufficient to cope with the demands put on it.
And with the cost of bathrooms also rising in line with their sophistication, putting a job right will become increasingly expensive for the plumber or his/her insurer.
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