National Grid - Help needed with form please

TotallyBroke

Is there anyone here that works for National Grid and can help me.

The more I talk on the phone the more expensive this job is getting and I'm getting annoyed because no one is actually listening to me.

I have infront of me a 'Non Standard Connection & Alteration Application Pack Quotation Charge Information Sheet' and I'm confused.

I'll explain and hope that someone in this world can understand what the hell I am talking about. Please God.

I live in a maisonette (house on top of a house, rather than house converted into two flats) so my kitchen would be classed as 2nd floor. Ground and 1st being downstairs property and 2nd and 3rd being my house.

Now there is a gas pipe that comes out of the ground and runs all the way up the outside wall and enters my kitchen about 7' from my kitchen floor my meter is then connected to the pipe. I am the only property connected to this pipe. The house downstairs has it's own pipe coming out of the ground.

Because this pipe and meter are 7' high in my kitchen my boiler has to be positioned below this, therefore my boiler flue is head height and you have it blowing in your face everytime you walk past it.
All I want is the gas pipe to be cut back by 5' and have the meter entering the property at a lower level so that the boiler can be positioned in at a higher height.

I've had National Grid try and include in a quote for excavation but I think they finally have understood that there is no digging needed up in the sky. So now they want to charge me £4k for scaffolding which is laughable as I have tried to explain to them I walk along the balcony everyday to get in and out of my property the workman can stand on the same balcony and cut the pipe with no risk of injury to him.

They are saying I need to pay for someone to come out and look at what is needed and then give me a quotation. The woman on the phone says that due to the nature of the works it is classed as price band 1 which is charged at £277 not including vat. But I'm confused as I think I do not need to pay anything. To get a free quotation this is what the criteria says;

Property is used wholly or mainly for domestic purposes

Single connection only

Neighbour has gas supply

Pipe to be laid on private land does not exceed 40m

Required load does not exceed 275kW

Where length of new additional pipe required between new and old position is equal to or less than 20m.*

Standard alteration distance is up to 20m between new and old meter position requiring no more than 20m of new additional pipe work.

This is what it says for Band1:

Any Domestic New connection that does not meet the New Gas Connection criteria (see above) and where the load does not exceed 695kW

Any Non Domestic New connection where the load does not exceed 695kW

Single Connection only

Pipes to be laid on private land does not exceed 40m

Neighbour has a gas supply and is within standard distances.*

*Standard distances are where the pipe to be laid is less than 23 metres on public land and less than 40 metres on private land.

Please please if any of you can help me I'd be greatful

Gman0365

Having had a look here: http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Gas/Connections/GasServices/MoveMeter/

it would appear that your situation does require a non-standard quotation.

I understand that the pipe is readily accessible via the balcony outside the property however, in order for the pipe to be "cut-back" the supply will have to be isolated. National Grid when working on chargeable connections work generally do not work on live gas operations, i.e. the supply must be isolated while work is carried out. In order to isolate the supply the service pipe may have to be excavated and a "squeeze-off" applied. The pipe supplying the property may be steel in which case when it is cut-back, it will have to be re-threaded for the new service entry point to be installed. If a steel pipe is located tight up against the wall of the building then it will be difficult to cut a thread onto the pipe. I would expect that this alteration would require that the exisiting pipe is renewed back to the nearest section of P.E. (plastic) service or mains pipe and installed, tested & commissioned as new.

These are all situations that could be assessed during a non-standard survey. It maybe that it is neccesary to install scaffolding in order to install a full new service at the height you require from ground-level if National Grid determine this is what is required.

Depending on the type of boiler it may be possible to fit a flue management kit to the boiler in order to alter the path of the flue gases: http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/our-company/news/condensfit-ii-telescopic-flue-system-with-plume-management-

I hope this helps.

PS: I do not work for National Grid.

aj_the_red

Hi,

Im an engineer and work for wwu,which was part on national grid a few years ago.

A couple of things for you to think about...

1 is the pipe a steel riser? if so then you cant cut it and rethread it will have to be renewed back to the main or back to where the pipe goes from steel back to pe,unfortunatly thats regs no way around it.

2 is it a pe riser? ie yellow pipe inside an outer sleeve? If so then its a lot easier but will prob still req digging because you cant weld inside the sleeve (or at least not meat to),so you dig down cut the pe insert the new length in the new position and reweld under ground, then reinstate.

Everyone thinks that a job like this should only cost a 100 quid or so but it doesnt work like that.A team costs roughly a 100 an hour to run then an engineer will have to call reconnect and purge etc.Its an expensive job so you are usually talking of at least 3-400 quid

hope this helps

TotallyBroke

Thank you to you both you have given me something to think about.

I think the pipe is a steel riser I honestly can't be 100% sure but I have no evidence of it being anything else.

The way this job is costing I will be TotallyBroke again!! Because if you are correct Gman to go back to the supply pipe and put in a squeeze would mean digging up a complete carpark.
I wish aj that it was just £3-400. I was quoted over £1,000 and that was when they thought they were just moving the meter inside the property. Had I have lived up North or in the middle of the country the bill would be between £5-700 but no good old London. Now I'm talking of works outside it's horrendous.
Scaffolding alone they have quoted me as £4k then if Gman is correct and they have to excavate it could be another £4k then actually moving the meter I'll be looking at the original £1k so almost £10k to cut a pipe back 5' which I would not be needing to do had they installed the pipe into a logical place in the first place. I mean what kind of cowboy company places a pipe half way into a wall!

I'm going to ring them again today and hopefully speak to someone else. As the woman on the phone yesterday did say that if I didn't take up the quote given I would get my money back. So I'll check that and if it is the case I'll get the quote and if it is ridiculous then I'll refuse it.