Commercial Gas Engineers in Manchester

Do I need a tightness test for a fit-out?

Yes, in almost every case. If pipework has been installed, extended, altered or disconnected, it should be tightness tested before gas is restored. New pipework also needs a strength test.

The same applies when a unit has stood empty and the gas has been off. The incoming tenant needs to know the pipework is sound before appliances are connected.

Testing on commercial pipework follows IGEM/UP/1 or IGEM/UP/1A. You receive a written record, which building control officers, landlords and insurers often ask to see.

What happens during a gas purge?

Once the test has passed, the air in the pipe is replaced with gas. This is done in a controlled way, with the purge vented to a safe place outside and checked with a gas detector.

On larger pipework, nitrogen purging is used between the air and the gas so the two never mix. City centre sites need particular thought about where the vent point goes, because openings, air intakes and neighbouring buildings are usually close by.

Our gas testing and gas purging page explains the process in more detail.

Who needs commercial gas services in Manchester?

Restaurants, bars and food halls

The Northern Quarter, Spinningfields, Ancoats and the Curry Mile in Rusholme have a high turnover of food businesses. Kitchens are regularly stripped out and rebuilt, often on tight programmes.

We handle pipework, appliance connections, interlock checks and commercial gas certificates through our commercial catering service.

Offices and mixed-use buildings

Many office and mixed-use schemes have a landlord gas supply feeding central plant and ground floor retail units. Clear labelling and sectional isolation valves make later tenant changes much easier.

Mill and warehouse conversions

Ancoats, Castlefield and the areas around Piccadilly have many converted mills. Pipe routes can be long and awkward, and redundant pipework from earlier uses is common.

Universities and hospitals

The Oxford Road corridor contains two universities and a large group of hospitals. These estates run major boiler plant with extensive site pipework, usually tested in stages.

Industrial and logistics sites

Trafford Park remains one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, with food producers, chemical firms and engineering companies. Sharston, Wythenshawe and the area around the airport add logistics and light industrial units.

Typical systems include process burners, steam boilers and warehouse heaters. We install and maintain commercial heating systems as well as process supplies.

Can redundant pipework just be capped off?

Not safely. A capped pipe that is still connected to the live supply is a dead leg full of gas, and it can easily be cut into during later building work. We see this regularly in Manchester mill conversions.

Proper gas decommissioning means isolating the section, purging the gas out, cutting the pipe back to a live valve or tee, capping it there and updating the records. This should be done before strip-out starts, not after.

What about new commercial gas pipework?

We design and install commercial gas pipework to IGEM/UP/2. Projects range from a single supply to a new appliance, to full plant room installations and buried polyethylene mains between buildings.

For routes below ground, see our underground pipework service.

Who do I contact about digging in the road?

Within the city, Manchester City Council is the highway authority. Street works across the ten boroughs are managed through the Greater Manchester Road Activities Permit Scheme, so a permit is required before excavating in a public road or footway. A section 50 licence is normally needed where new private apparatus is placed in the highway.

Trafford Park falls under Trafford Council, and sites at the Quays come under Salford City Council. The M60, M56 and M602 are managed by National Highways.

Work that stays on private land does not need a highway permit. A utility search and ground scan should still be carried out first.

Who owns the gas supply up to the meter?

The gas network across the North West is operated by Cadent. Cadent owns the service pipe as far as the emergency control valve, and the meter belongs to your supplier or meter operator.

If you need a new connection or a larger supply, the request goes to Cadent or to a registered utility infrastructure provider. We work on everything after the meter.

If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

What if there is a leak on our own pipework?

The emergency service will make the site safe, which usually means turning the supply off. The repair itself is the responsibility of the owner or occupier.

We provide emergency gas repairs for commercial premises across Manchester. After the repair, the pipework is tested and purged so the supply can be turned back on. Our team works seven days a week.

Coverage beyond the city centre

Gas Main Installation covers every Manchester postcode, from M1 to M4 in the centre out to Didsbury, Chorlton, Wythenshawe, Cheetham Hill and the airport in M90.

We are not limited to the city itself. Our engineers also work in Salford, Stretford, Sale and Altrincham, and in Stockport, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan and Ashton-under-Lyne. That takes in the SK, OL, BL and WN postcode areas as well as M.

Because we operate across the UK, we can also look after clients with sites in other regions.