Quick answer
If you're fitting a like-for-like gas hob — same footprint, same kW rating, the worktop cut-out already the right size, and no existing gas leaks – This would be classed as a small installation and charged at our minimum rate of £187 plus materials. However, as you will read below, this work has the potential to escalate in cost if the original installation was not fully compliant with Gas Safe Regulations.
The slightly longer answer
Installing a gas hob safely isn't just a case of connecting the gas pipe to the hob, there are a number of safety tests that need to be completed first.
- Gas tightness test. This is a test of your existing gas installation that looks for any leaks before the work starts. (Small leaks can go unnoticed for months — you might have one right now and not know it.) Any leak found during this test has to be fixed before we can start installing the new hob.
- Ventilation. A room with a gas cooking appliance needs a minimum amount of ventilation for the burners to operate safely without creating dangerous levels of carbon monoxide — sometimes this can be as simple as a having a window or door that opens directly to the outside. Kitchens without either of these are treated as
internal kitchens
with their own, stricter rules around ventilation. We will be able to advise you on the requirements for your specific appliance when we arrive. - Minimum clearances. Every hob comes with a installation manual that details the minimum clearances required from the hob to another surface to prevent heat damage/fire. If these minimum clearances are not achieved, the hob cannot be installed. (Quite often DIY kitchen fitters fail to read this installation guide and cut the worktop incorrectly, meaning a new section of worktop is required before the hob can be installed.)
- The worktop. Is the cut-out the right size and in the right place? For solid wood, we can enlarge a cut-out on site for an additional fee — composite and stone worktops are a different matter. and I'll explain why below.
- Connect & pressure test. Once the hob is installed and connected, the next test it to test the gas pressure at the appliance. If the pressure drop between your meter and the hob exceeds the allowed limit, the gas pipe will need to be disconnected and a larger pipe installed before reconnecting the gas supply.
- Registration. The completed installation is registered with the Gas Safe Register while we are still on site, and you'll receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate through the post at a later date.
Composite and stone worktops need specialist cutting equipment
Cutting into engineered stone, resin or natural stone worktops releases respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust — fine enough to breathe deep into the lungs. HSE guidance links exposure to this dust to serious, irreversible lung disease, including silicosis, lung cancer and COPD.
HSE's own guidance is clear: sink, tap and appliance cut-outs should be done off site, in a properly equipped workshop, before the worktop is ever delivered to your home. Where a modification genuinely can't be avoided on site, it has to be carried out in a segregated, well-ventilated area with restricted access, using water suppression or extraction and proper respiratory protection.
We don't carry that equipment, so we don't offer a cutting service for these worktops — and if anyone offers to cut your composite or stone worktop with nothing more than an angle grinder and a dust sheet, that should tell you everything you need to know about how seriously they take your safety. If your worktop needs cutting, even just a small adjustment, that job needs to go to a specialist stone fabricator with the right dust control in place. This isn't only about protecting the person doing the cutting: uncontrolled dust settles and recirculates through your home for a long time afterwards, and everyone living in, or visiting the property is breathing it in.
Click here to read the HSE guidance on installing stone worktops →
Is Exclusive Trades the company you want?
The first thing you need to know is, you will find a cheaper company elsewhere, meaning if you are specifically looking for the cheapest company in town, we are not the company you're looking for.
Upon completion of any work, we welcome an inspection form the Gas Safe Register, the Local Water Authority or the local Building Control to verify our work fully complies with all relevant regulations.
Obviously we understand that nobody wants to pay more than they have to for work in their home, but at the same time you probably don't want your gas appliances exposing you and your loved ones to Carbon Monoxide do you? (At low levels Carbon Monoxide causes tiredness and headaches that clear when you leave the house, at higher levels it can lead to hospitalisation, possible permanent brain damage or death.). You probably also don't want to expose yourself and your loved ones to waterborne pathogens such as leptospirosis, giardia, norovirus and legionella, which can be contracted through the plumbing installation in your home if certain regulations are 'overlooked' to keep costs down.
We would rather be known as the Expensive Company
in town, rather than a company that put you or your loved ones in hospital because they wanted to give you a cheaper price!
If the safety of everyone in your home is important to you, keep reading the next section to see if we are the type of company you want to have working in your home.
Before You Contact Us. . .
Assuming you. . .
- Want the work to comply with all regulations.
- Want the work carried out to a high standard.
- Accept we will not be the cheapest company in town.
. . . then there is just one last question to determine if we are the right company for you? . . . Would you object to having 'Freddy' in your home while the work takes place?
If you have no objections to Freddy being in your home while this work takes place, contact us using the button below to schedule your appointment now.