Old metal pipe, what is it?

mickmustardly

Hi,

I have an old metal pipe sticking out underneath my stairs, it has been capped, and just wondering if anyone would know what it would have been for? Water, gas or something else?

I was looking to put carpet down underneath the stairs but the pipes in the road so was thinking of just cutting it off underneath the floorboards, but not sure if its safe to do so.

House it built around 1930's and in Belfast.
Took a pic but not sure how to show it in a thread.

Thanks

stephenni1971

mickmustardly wrote: »

Hi,

I have an old metal pipe sticking out underneath my stairs, it has been capped, and just wondering if anyone would know what it would have been for? Water, gas or something else?

I was looking to put carpet down underneath the stairs but the pipes in the road so was thinking of just cutting it off underneath the floorboards, but not sure if its safe to do so.

House it built around 1930's and in Belfast.
Took a pic but not sure how to show it in a thread.

Thanks

It's a gas pipe. Old system was turned off in to 80s.

travellinglight_2

I've got one too. Thought it was old gas pipe too.

dmxdave

Yep that would have been where the gas meter was that you had to put a shilling in......forerunner of the prepay cards!

donnac2558

You had to put 50p in the later ones.

darwin-rover

I can still remember the smell of the old Belfast gas.
Me and my brothers used to fight over whose turn it was to put 50p in the meter.

GlynD

We had town gas out in the sticks too. Many older houses have these capped off pipes. Mostly made of lead if my memory serves me right? I don't know what the crack would be for removing them now but common sense tells me the system would have been flushed when the gasyard closed down. In Belfast the pipe infrastructure was sold off for cable TV and new pipes laid for when regassification occurred. Given that the wrong decision could mean you and your house going a few feet up in the sir though I'd be inclined to check with somebody in the know before getting your hacksaw out.

lemontart

Belfast did not have natural gas in the 1930's they have only had this in the last 10 years or so. Town gas disappeared finally in/around 1987. Best to contact the gas supplier for your area to look at it for you.

GlynD

lemontart wrote: »

Belfast did not have natural gas in the 1930's they have only had this in the last 10 years or so. Town gas disappeared finally in/around 1987. Best to contact the gas supplier for your area to look at it for you.

Nobody's mentioned natural gas, just town gas.

Just wondering why you'd make that comment when no-one has raised the subject and we're all very obviously talking about the old systems.

mickmustardly

If I put 50p in will it just go away maybe!!

I'll get a gas man to check it out before I start chopping at it with the hacksaw, probably take hours of sawing!
Thanks

GlynD

mickmustardly wrote: »

If I put 50p in will it just go away maybe!!

I'll get a gas man to check it out before I start chopping at it with the hacksaw, probably take hours of sawing!
Thanks

Good idea to get the gas man in but I don't think you'll have much of a problem with your hacksaw. Most of the pipes in the old town gas system were made of lead and that cuts like butter. Take the floorboards up round it though and cut about an inch or two below them.