Shallow gas pipe

[Bob_A]

I’ve got an area to the front of my house where the ground is only 40mm below the dpc.
It’s been like that since it was built in the 1930’s, it has never been a problem so it has been left.




Recently I removed part of the path outside the front door to put a rainwater gully in and exposed the gas pipe.
I was astonished to find the pipe was only just under the ground and the distance between the top of the pipe entering the house and the dpc to be approx 100mm.




Not sure how deep the rest of the pipe as it leads back to the road but due to being on a hill it will probably be deeper


Well it’s been like that for 70+ years so there’s no rush to get it sorted.
However some time in the future I'll be having a new drive and will have be having a proper 150mm dpc.
When this happens I suppose I could leave the pipe as it is. That’s assuming that most of the entire length of pipe is buried deep and it’s only shallows by the front door (see first photo). If that’s the case then the shallow part of the pipe can be covered by a step to the front door.
Or is this an opportunity to get the pipe replaced with a modern plastic one.
Would the gas board charge me for this or could I use the argument that although it was 70+ years ago the pipe has always been dangerous.

[rab1]

is that denzo tape wrapped around the pipe?

[Bob_A]

Not come across it before but I think it might be.
It's been there since day one and it does look like this.
http://www.satcure.com/tech/denso_tape.htm

[Bob_A]

If you're a contractor then the obvious thing to do is to get the homeowner to pay the gas board to sort it out.
But what if it was your house, would just pay up or would you have a strategy that may avoid payment?

Or would you not bother getting the pipe changed?

[mickg]

if your going to be doing the driveway in the future then now is the best time to renew the pipe rather than when the new driveway has been laid

i can only suggest you get in touch with your gas supplier to see if there are any charge for replacing the pipe

*cough* was you thinking of damaging the pipe by any chance Bob ? ???

[Bob_A]

It did cross my mind but was wondering if the gas board would just simply charge me for the damage.
Also might look suspicious if it happened after they told me they were going to charge to replace.

Just wondering what others would do.

Is there any rules or regs I can quote that their pipe is dangerous?

[mickg]

when removing the existing driveway and additional earth to a depth of 250mm, if the electric cable get damaged and its less than 14 inches in depth there is no charge to reconnect the cable, so I can only assume its the same for gas

[msh paving]

british gas -national grid or what ever they call themselves now,state in there code of practice gas service should be between 375-450mm below ground leval, i have had 1
court claim on this infomation and 2 others gave up b4 court
MSH

[Bob_A]

So how's this for a plan
(1) Call them out and tell them that you consider the pipe to be dangerous. If they agree and they'll replace it for free then all well and good.
(2) If they want to charge then decline. Then give it a month and loosen a joint.

or omit (1) and just loosen the joint

Just to be lawful
This is a hypothetical thread any comments made are strictly for fun and banter purposes only. cough :laugh:

[47p2]

Looks rather rusty to me, and I'm sure that I could smell gas as I walked up your path

[mickg]

omit 1 is the plan

they cant take a chance with the smell if gas and someone has to act on it, don't forget to wrap a towel round your stilsons ???

[cookiewales]

when removing the existing driveway and additional earth to a depth of 250mm, if the electric cable get damaged and its less than 14 inches in depth there is no charge to reconnect the cable, so I can only assume its the same for gas

boys hit the electric cable in knutsford friday afternoon 4 pm 100mm below old drive boys came out to fix started at 5 30 pm wow overtime asked me to move bit of dirt to one side and whats that hissing noise very old drain off for gas pre northsea hence job stopped till gas man comes out up shot 2500 pound between the two of them had to pay under prediges or get taken to court and loose companys credit rating ps i do have insurance

[lutonlagerlout]

so you or your employees had to pay for this cookie?
there seems to be no level playing field here
LLL

[cookiewales]

so you or your employees had to pay for this cookie?
there seems to be no level playing field here
LLL

i had to pay

[Injured]

Are you claiming off your insurance or will they not pay out?