Mains gas pipe in new house. Telling me it needs moving help!!!

Jack_rnj

Hi everyone. Im new and hope this is where it needs to be. Ive just bought a house in west yorkshire. It wasnt in bad condition but before i moved in i decided to decorate new kitchen bathroom etc. My gas metre is in my kitchen so my fitter rung transco to fix the meter back to the wall upon this the engineer has said my mains gas pipe is 'naught naughty' it runs inside my conservatory, you can see it as theres a hatch on it. Im guessing it needs moving 1 foot to the left. Someone will be ringing me this week to discuss it. The conservatory is 8 years old, and ive had the house 6 weeks, what is the cost, and is there anything that can be said so i dont have to pay it? Surely a person has been out to read/inspect the metre in the last 8 years, and have neglected the problem? Thanks for any advice

Lorian

Plastic pipe? if it's inside now they'll want to be replacing it with copper pipe no doubt.

https://www.gtc-uk.co.uk/docs/default-source/general---householders/building-over-gas-services-and-meter-installations.pdf

G_M

Well now that Transco have been informed i guess you'll have to do whatever they require. Presumably at whatever cost they impose!

But there must be hundreds (thousands) of properties that don't comply due to historic extensions being built before these regs became mandatory.

I've just sold an inherited old (1850s) house. The property has been extended several times over the last 150 years, and the gas meter is under the stairs.

During the 25 years my mother lived there, the meter was regularly read. Various gas engineers accessed it during boiler repairs etc. No one complained.

The buyers this year had survey and gas inspections - no one mentioned the meter's position. Just one of those dated things.

Leo2020

Our gas meter is inside the house in a cupboard near the front door. The house was built like that in the 1950s. Had several meter readings no problem. I have no plans to move it. Don't think you can be forced to move it either just because it doesn't meet current regs.

konark

upon this the engineer has said my mains gas pipe is 'naught naughty'

Is that a technical term?

G_M

I think it was a typo.

Op obviously meant to write "nought naughty" which I take to mean "not naughty."

Davesnave

I think the OP means 'naughty, naughty,' and that it's not the meter position which is wrong, but the fact that the plastic supply pipe is within the conservatory, when it should be outdoors.

However, like many anecdotal posts on here, it's not clear.

martindow

Leo2020 wrote: »

Our gas meter is inside the house in a cupboard near the front door. The house was built like that in the 1950s. Had several meter readings no problem. I have no plans to move it. Don't think you can be forced to move it either just because it doesn't meet current regs.

I don't think there is any issue with the meter being under the stairs. I've just had major renovations with lots of things needing to be changed to comply with current building regulations, but moving the meter wasn't one of them.

I imagine the gas board would like meters to be outside so they can be easily read but it's not a requirement.

AdrianC

Leo2020 wrote: »

Don't think you can be forced to move it either just because it doesn't meet current regs.

Correct. But if ANY work is being done to it, it would all need to be brought up to standard.

So the OP can leave it all as is, or can sort it fully and properly. What they cannot do is just modify some of it but leave the rest as is.

davidmcn

Jack_rnj wrote: »

Surely a person has been out to read/inspect the meter in the last 8 years, and have neglected the problem?

Apart from anything else - I'm pretty sure that meter readers are only trained to read meters, not to go looking for potential breaches of gas-fitting regulations.

G_M

I believe there is now a requirement for meters to be 'inspected' once every 3 years for safety.

edit: ah!

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2015/07/reforming_suppliers_meter_inspection_obligations_final_0.pdf