Imagine that you have just purchased a new wooden kitchen floor ? it cost a bit more than you were comfortable spending, but the chap down the road offers to fit it for you for half the price you were quoted by the carpenter. You take up his offer but within a few days you notice that the joints are not quite tight, the edges have been badly cut, and then in a few weeks the whole thing starts to lift in the middle. You approach the kindly neighbour who is not prepared to do anything about it and in fact takes offence that you believe his workmanship is not quite up to scratch ? what can you do? In all honestly you will probably have to repurchase the wooden floor and pay to have it properly fitted. You end up paying far more in the end.

The same goes for anything you have fitted in your home. However, when it comes to fitting appliances it is not just a risk of money badly spent but of endangering life.

There are many people who believe that they can fit a gas appliance, but you really are risking your own wellbeing and those of your family if these items are not fitted by a qualified tradesperson. With DIY on the increase, it is not uncommon for people to try to fit an appliance themselves, give advice on installation or offer to install a gas appliance when they should really leave it well alone.

If you are unsure how to find a registered tradesperson or company ask your supplier, check in your local directory or check on the CORGI website, but always check that they are registered and qualified to do the job that you require them to do. A legal and above board tradesperson won't mind showing you their CORGI card or qualification credentials.

Carbon monoxide is omitted by gas appliances and these need to be fitted by a qualified CORGI registered gas engineer. Carbon Monoxide is a highly poisonous gas that has no colour, taste or smell. It is therefore hard to detect and you could be quite unaware that there is any carbon monoxide in your home.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause death but can also cause many physical ailments that your GP many not associate with this type of poisoning.

Symptoms vary from head aches to nausea, drowsiness to flu type illness. Should you go away from your property for, let's say a holiday, and feel better whilst away and then poorly once you return, you could well be suffering from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Once an appliance has been fitted you would be sensible to get a CORGI engineer to check it periodically (usually annually). When moving into a new home with existing gas appliances fitted, it would be wise to get these checked as soon as possible. To protect yourself and your family further there are carbon monoxide detectors that can be fitted or placed near any gas appliance. Carbon monoxide is not just caused by gas appliances, it also occurs with burning fuels such as oil, coal and LPG.

Landlords have to by law ensure that gas safety checks are carried out on their properties annually by qualified engineers and therefore if you are a tenant you should be aware that this should be carried out. The engineer gives a copy of the gas safety certificate to the landlord and also the tenant.

To save a few pounds by not using an appropriately qualified engineer you are may be subjecting yourself, your family and those who live with you to unnecessary danger.

Is this really worth the risk?

At we recognise this issue and would urge our customers to be aware of the seriousness of this matter.