Havard Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Hi..!! Had a great day today.....NOT! Things started yesterday when I got a phone call from the contractor who is doing our drive on Monday asked if he could start today (Sunday). I reluctantly said yes and set about clearing the drive for their arrival. Surely enough this morning they arrived with a big digger and a jack hammer and off they went. Things were going quite well until 2pm, when I was called outside! The contractor said "I'd give Transco a ring if I were you!!" They could smell gas after pulling up the concrete slab at the top of the drive! I rang Transco and an engineer arrived within an hour and did some tests. Well what do you know, we have a gas leak! I wondered if the contractors had damaged the pipe and spent a good hour worrying about how this was going to end up and also how much it was going to cost! The gas people got out a digging team and found the source of the leak. Basically the steel pipes under the drive had corroded and luckily the mixture of clay, plastic sheeting and the concrete had held most of the leak in. It also looks like it has been corroded for a while too....!! They reckon we'd been quite lucky for the gas not to build up under the house which could have been quite spectacular in different circumstances!! Here are some pics from todays events! Suffice to say, we are in a bit of a mess at the moment with no gas, no heat, no hot water and no drive, so our 3 cars are out in a street that you can't swing a cat in!! Luckily the work is not chargeable so that's a bonus! http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5954/pict1098kn6.jpg http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6971/pict1101il0.jpg http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6900/pict1102ca1.jpg http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5530/pict1099rw1.jpg http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/9342/pict1100ii9.jpg I'm meant to be working tomorrow but I will have work people and vans everywhere!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Never rains but it pours does it mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 bugger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I'd say you had a pretty good day. You could have discovered the corroded pipes a different way....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Ian Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well that is an eventful day !! sounds you was lucky with the gas pipe tho gulp !! If you need owt just ring Paul im off work this week Cheers -Ian- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 Well that is an eventful day !! sounds you was lucky with the gas pipe tho gulp !! If you need owt just ring Paul im off work this week Cheers -Ian- I think we'll have enough people here tbh!! Next door is having his drive done tomorrow by a different contractor and they are delivering a skip in the street too..... Some of the NW lads have been in our street and know that it's only about 50 yards long with 10 houses!! We will have 4 vans, a flatbed grabber wagon, a small digger and shit loads of cars!! My neighbours love me!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edge Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Is that you croutching in the corner with your "special suit" on? Does this mean that the gas people have to pay for a new drive to be layed or is it too late? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 Is that you croutching in the corner with your "special suit" on? Does this mean that the gas people have to pay for a new drive to be layed or is it too late? No mate, it was the gas man! I walked outside and saw him with the mask on and said "Fook me, it must be serious if they have to get the SAS involved!! Not sure if he found it funny but I chuckled!! Hmm!! Never thought about claiming for a new drive off the gas company..... They don't have to disturb much of the ground anyway as they are sending a plastic liner up the inside of the original steel pipe! Good job next door is having his drive done as they will have to dig his up too. The liner they are fitting to the main pipe will cut off his gas, so he has to have is pipework connected properly!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Ian Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I think we'll have enough people here tbh!! Next door is having his drive done tomorrow by a different contractor and they are delivering a skip in the street too..... Some of the NW lads have been in our street and know that it's only about 50 yards long with 10 houses!! We will have 4 vans, a flatbed grabber wagon, a small digger and shit loads of cars!! My neighbours love me!! H. No worries matey Cheers -Ian- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraStar 3000 Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 unlucky mate. On the upside. Your safe in the knowlege your house isn't build on a ancient indian burial site and the undead arn't about to take over your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vvteye Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 No heat, no drive and no hot water but hey.. you still have Sky TV Also love the way the gas an has all that suit and piping on but the other end seems to be just left in the box... right behind him As I am to embark in this new drive stuff, what are you putting down and if you don't mind... at what cost (pm ok?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPRALOOPY Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 fooking hell.. if that was my drive i'd be crying..but with my boiler probs it could be the inside of my house very soon? :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 No heat, no drive and no hot water but hey.. you still have Sky TV Also love the way the gas an has all that suit and piping on but the other end seems to be just left in the box... right behind him As I am to embark in this new drive stuff, what are you putting down and if you don't mind... at what cost (pm ok?) I'm having pattern imprinted concrete. It's 3k.. but they are also making the drive wider by filling in a section of garden that we don't use too! May give me 1/2 an extra parking space if we are lucky!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vvteye Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I'm having pattern imprinted concrete. It's 3k.. but they are also making the drive wider by filling in a section of garden that we don't use too! May give me 1/2 an extra parking space if we are lucky!! H. Good choice. I was thinking the same but halving the size of the drive to cut the cost. She'll have to park hers on the road then and I'll never be blocked in What a double whammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil tt Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 At least you found the leak, the gas board are changing all the pipes around where I work in Malmesbury, and blew up three houses, when they didn't spot a leak, and it collected under the house:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 At least you found the leak, the gas board are changing all the pipes around where I work in Malmesbury, and blew up three houses, when they didn't spot a leak, and it collected under the house:( These guys yesterday were only young but were really safety conscious. We'll hopefully be sorted later! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colsoop Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Sounds like someone was watching over you. The neighbours certainly would have loved you even more then if your house leaped twenty feet in to the air The worrying thing is you wouldn't have known about it if you weren't having the driveway done. Have you told your neighbours as maybe their pipes are in a similar state of wear ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 The worrying thing is you wouldn't have known about it if you weren't having the driveway done. Have you told your neighbours as maybe their pipes are in a similar state of wear ! It seems that the whole estate will have the same problem Col. We have been lucky that the clay and conrete has held in the majority of the gas! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 Wooty woot!! Gas back on.... H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Thats going to take a bit of cleaning mate! Glad its sorted anyway and there's no explosions Gaz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 What were they thinking laying presumably mild-steel pipes in moist soil?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 What were they thinking laying presumably mild-steel pipes in moist soil?! The house is 40 years old mate! I suppose it was "trendy" then.... I'll post up a pic of the pipe!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I suppose it's cheaper than stainless, and they would be doing millions of houses I suppose. Perhaps plastics weren't well developed enough in the 60s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoff Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Bloody hell, what a nightmare Paul. Still, at least its been found before you were blown up. Thats the up side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mk47 Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Glad you found it in time though! BTW havard you have email mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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