You’re buying a new gas cooker, and you’ve just seen the installation costs and are thinking about installing it yourself.
Surely you can install a gas cooker in your home without needing a Gas Safe registered engineer, right? After all, if you already have a gas cooker. Surely it’s just a case of swapping one hose for the other?
However, if you’re reading this, you probably suspect that it isn’t as simple as that. And you’re right.
If you install a gas cooker yourself, you may be breaking the law.
What is the law that states that you cannot install a gas cooker in your home yourself? What a great question.
The Law Behind Gas Cooker Installations
Interestingly no law says you cannot do the gas installation yourself, providing you are ‘competent’. Competent in this case essentially means that you are a Gas Safe registered engineer.
So, if you are a Gas Safe registered engineer, you can install a gas cooker in your own home.
Even if you are the DIY king or queen and very confident using the tools that you need to install a gas cooker, it definitely isn’t recommended.
You need to know how to check your gas cooker for any variants in gas pressure from before and after the installation. You’ll also need to know how to check any appliances or leaks and unwanted emissions such as carbon monoxide.
Even if you are competent enough to do all of this without an engineer’s safety certificate, it’s almost certain that your home insurance won’t pay out in the event of anything going wrong.
According to the Gas Safe Register website, the only work with gas that homeowners can carry out themselves is what is stated in the user instructions that accompany an appliance like a new cooker. Outside what is stated in the user manual shouldn’t be attempted by the homeowner.
Can I Fit a Gas Cooker Myself?
Technically you can install a new gas cooker yourself. However, before you use it, you’ll have to get a Gas Safe registered engineer into your home to check that the cooker is properly installed.
They will check the gas lines and ensure that the cooker is safe to operate. Without that inspection, you will be breaking the law.
So, it actually makes more sense to get a gas safe registered engineer to install your gas cooker in the first place.
You see, they make sure the installation of your gas cooker goes smoothly. They also do all the checks they need to, once they’ve completed the installation. As they are professional gas cooker installers, the installation will take less time, and the checks will be correct. This means your new gas cooker will be safe to use and won’t potentially void your home insurance.
If you are worried about installing a gas cooker by yourself, don’t do it. You have to get a Gas Safe registered engineer into your home regardless of whether you install the cooker yourself or pay them to do it for you.
So, why not get a Gas Safe registered engineer into your home on the day you collect your new gas cooker and have them install it and check it over from the get-go. That way you can quickly use your gas cooker knowing that it’s safe and sound.
You can find local Gas Safe registered engineers by searching the Gas Safe Register website for your postcode.
Getting someone to install your gas cooker will probably cost around £60-100.
We hope this look at installing a gas cooker yourself has convinced you that it’s not a good idea. You can potentially void your home insurance, put your family’s life in danger, and ruin a perfectly good brand-new gas cooker.
If you have any more queries about gas cookers, please explore our website further. Check out our roundup of the best gas cookers in the UK if you’re looking for a new one.
Scott is a writer and a passionate home chef. His passion for cooking began when he was 10 years old. Scott has been writing professionally for over five years now and loves to combine his passion for cooking with his day job.
