Fitting a new gas meter is a skilled job due to natural gas being a dangerous substance; It is highly flammable and explosive. Just one small spark can be enough to cause huge damage and harm to life.
When having a new gas meter installed, you must use a reputable company such as 1Gas who will ensure the engineer is an OFGEM Approved Meter Installer (OAMI) and they are also Gas Safe registered too. Using cowboy engineers or non qualified engineers is not only illegal, but highly risky. Gas leaks and carbon monoxide poisoning are just some of the risks involved when someone installs unsafe gas pipework or appliances.
Before an engineer arrives to fit a gas meter you should check that there are no obstructions such as skips or renovation debris that would prevent access to the meter position; this could cause a delay or an aborted visit and extra charges being incurred.
Before your meter is installed the engineer will check the gas pipework is suitable, namely that it is secure and not corroded, and the emergency control valve is safe. If the meter is outside, the housing or box will be checked it is suitable. If inside, the floor should be solid (or there should be a place to fit a bracket or shelf). Adequate ventilation to the outside atmosphere is always required to prevent a build of gas in a enclosed space which could ignite.
Subject to the above being satisfactory, the engineer or engineers (sometimes more than one engineer is needed) will fit the gas meter and associated equipment and leave the outlet of the meter capped (which connects to a customer’s own pipework). The whole process takes usually takes no longer than 30 minutes but can longer for larger or more complex meter installation rigs.
