gas leak ?

nicka99

we have a room downstairs that has a peculiar smell thats been there for several months but I havent been able to fathom it.

its a kind of musty smell but there is no damp. We're clearing out the room so there is no furniture to make a smell. you have to keep the door shut for a few hours for the smell to 'concentrate' to a level anyone who doesnt know its there would even smell it.

All I can think is perhaps a very minor gas leak though it must be very minor as its not distinctive smell like leaving the gas hob on ! the room backs onto the understairs cupboard which houses the gas meter. a pipe comes through the wall just above the skirting then disappears into the floor before going outside then coming back in further down the wall to supply the gas fire in living room. there is an elbow joint after coming through the wall turning the pipe 90 degrees that shows signs of having been repaired/replaced due to the burn marks on the wall / skirting. my thoughts are its leaking from there.

when we had the boiler serviced I mentioned this to the gas engineer. he turned off the supply then measured for a pressure drop in the pipework but there was none. he didnt think the room smelled of anything.

is it possible the leak is so small it doesnt register on this sort of test ? if I bought a detector from amazon like this - would it be able to detect a really low level leak or not ?

I heard about using washing up liquid bubbles to make a test but how does this work exactly ?

any thoughts ?

thanks,
nick

HappyMJ

If you think there is a leak then call the emergency gas leak number and they'll be there in a jiffy...

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help/gas_emergency.aspx

It's free to call and the repair is free. They won't spend long on it so if it is a gas appliance that is leaking they will cut it off.

nicka99

here is the pipe in question... link

looks dodgy doesnt it ! However Ive had my nose right up to it and it doesnt smell (or at least no more than the background smell of the room)

I presume if its found to be leaking, the gas company wont fix it (even for a fee) ? it will be up to me to find someone (I didnt trust the last chap) - problem is there is no way to isolate the pipe without turning the mains off so we'll have no heating/hot water.

Ive been in this room for an entire day before (when it was 'home office') and didnt get a headache or anything.

Canucklehead

Hi.

The gas pipe should be sleeved through the wall to prevent corrosion of the pipe. If it's not then you might have a problem.

Dig out the making good around the pipe and see if it is sleeved or what condition the pipe is in.
Can you get to the other side of the wall where the pipe is?

Might be worth waiting until tomorrow in case you need to call someone out.

National Grid will just cap you off, unless the leak is on or around the meter on part of their pipe which is their responsibility.

Natural gas won't give you a headache. Carbon monoxide will.

GSR.

nicka99

thanks Canucklehead - yes, I can access the pipe on the other side in the understairs cupboard. its sleeved from the cupboard side where it goes into the wall but not where it comes out. the wall was originally an exterior wall so is quite thick (cavity wall) so I cant really tell where the sleeve ends. digging out the 'making good' (not that there is anything good about that bodge) I cant see any sign of the sleeve.

its waited this long so Im sure another day or so wont matter since it must be very minor (if at all). for peace of mind maybe Ill just get that section of pipe replaced anyway and sleeved the whole way through.

what should I expect to pay for that ? roughly a foot of pipe copper (plus sleeve), an elbow joint each side, chopping out and resoldering and the routine gas safety check afterwards ?

how do you clear the gas from the pipe before soldering and blowing the place up ???

gas4you

If you think you can smell gas call 0800 111999 immediately. Period.

National Grid will be there within 1 hour.

Open doors and windows to ventilate and do not operate any electrical switches, on or off.

No other advice concerning a possible smell of gas should ever be given.