Commercial Gas Certificates and Pipework Testing in Leicester

Who Needs a Commercial Gas Certificate in Leicester?

Any business with gas appliances or pipework has a duty to keep them safe. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 place that duty on employers, and on landlords for the plant they control.

A commercial gas certificate is the record of an inspection by a Gas Safe registered engineer who holds the right commercial qualifications. It shows what was checked, what was found and whether the installation is safe to use. Insurers, landlords, licensing teams and environmental health officers regularly ask to see one.

What Does the Inspection Cover?

• A visual check of the pipework, supports, valves and labelling.
• A tightness test, where required, to prove the pipework is not leaking.
• Operating pressure or heat input at each appliance.
• Flues, ventilation and, in kitchens, the extraction interlock.
• Flame failure devices and other safety controls.
• Emergency isolation, including the location and marking of the emergency control valve.

Anything unsafe is explained to you on the day. You then receive the record digitally. See commercial gas certificates.

Pipework Testing: Strength, Tightness and Purge

Testing proves the pipework. New installations have a strength test, then a tightness test. Existing systems have a tightness test after any alteration, repair or meter change. The procedures are set out in IGEM/UP/1 and IGEM/UP/1A. See gas testing and purging.

Purging comes next. Air is cleared from the pipework and replaced with gas so appliances can be lit safely. Larger volumes are purged with nitrogen first. Every test and purge is recorded.

Food, Textiles and Light Industry

Leicester has a broad manufacturing base. Snack and food production around Beaumont Leys, bakeries and spice processors, dye houses and garment finishers, printers and engineering firms all use gas for ovens, fryers, steam and space heating.

These businesses are spread across Braunstone Frith, Troon Industrial Estate, Freemen's Common, Frog Island and the large units at Meridian Business Park. We install and alter process pipework, connect new plant, and test and purge after every change. See commercial gas installation.

Restaurant Kitchens on Belgrave Road and Beyond

The restaurants and sweet centres of Belgrave Road and Melton Road, the takeaways of Narborough Road and the venues around the city centre all depend on gas.

A catering inspection checks each appliance, its hose and connection, the pipework, ventilation and the interlock that stops gas flowing unless the extraction is running. BS 6173 is the standard. We can fit or repair interlocks, replace worn hoses and issue the catering inspection record. See commercial catering.

Multi-Let Industrial Units and Landlord Responsibilities

Many Leicester firms rent a unit on a shared estate. Responsibility for gas is then split. The landlord usually looks after shared pipework and any plant they provide. The tenant looks after their own appliances and the pipework that serves them. The lease should say which is which.

We often test pipework at the start and end of a tenancy, so both sides have a clear record. When a unit is empty, we can make the supply safe and leave it capped and labelled for the next occupier.

New Installations, Alterations and Commissioning

When you add an oven, replace a boiler or move a production line, the pipework has to be checked for capacity as well as extended. Undersized pipework causes low pressure at the appliance and poor combustion.

After installation and testing, we commission the appliance. That means setting the burner, checking combustion and proving the safety devices, then recording the results for your file.

Warehouse and factory heating is a common project. Warm air and radiant heaters at high level each need a supply that is sized, supported and tested. See commercial heating systems.

You can read more about our full range of commercial gas services, including commercial gas certificates and commercial catering, or see the other areas we cover, such as Nottingham and Coventry. Commercial Gas Certificate works nationwide.

How Often Should Commercial Gas Systems Be Checked?

For most commercial premises in Leicester, once a year is the norm. Catering equipment that is used hard may need attention more often, and some insurers set their own intervals.

It helps to keep inspections on a fixed date each year, so certificates never lapse. Records are issued digitally, which makes it easy to see when the next visit is due.

Between inspections, staff should know where the emergency control valve is, what to do if they smell gas, and who to call. We are happy to walk your team through this during a visit.

Taking Old Gas Supplies Out of Service

Decommissioning is part of most refurbishments in Leicester, particularly where old factory space is being converted. Redundant pipework is isolated, purged to a safe point outdoors, capped and labelled. We then tightness test the pipework that remains live.

If the whole supply is no longer needed, the meter and service pipe are removed by the supplier and the gas network. We can explain the steps.

Who Is Responsible for What Outside Your Building?

Cadent runs the gas distribution network in the East Midlands and owns the pipework up to the emergency control valve. Your supplier or a meter asset manager owns the meter. Everything downstream is yours.

Leicester City Council is the highway authority inside the city boundary. Leicestershire County Council looks after roads in the surrounding districts, including Oadby, Wigston, Blaby and Charnwood. Any excavation in a public road or footway needs a permit from the relevant council.

Do You Work Outside the City?

Yes. We cover Leicester and the wider LE postcode area, including Oadby, Wigston, Glenfield, Syston, Loughborough, Hinckley, Coalville, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough and Lutterworth, where Magna Park is one of the largest distribution parks in the country.

We also travel to Nottingham, Derby, Coventry, Northampton and the rest of the UK.

Out of Hours Faults and Gas Leaks

If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. For the repair that follows, our emergency gas repairs team covers Leicester at any hour, seven days a week.