Garage extended forward over gas meter / service pipe - please help!

[grimem]

Hi all, thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

My gas meter is currently situated in a recessed box on the outside of my house, just in front of the current garage entrance. Service pipe entering the meter looks to me to be white plastic.

As part of some building work, my garage is being extended forward. We are not doing any work to the floor of the garage, so this simply means that the external wall of the garage (ie the one that is not the side of my house) is being built forward by a few metres and the garage door moved further forward too.

This does, however, mean that the gas meter and service pipe would now be behing, rather than in front of, the new garage door - ie inside the garage.

Does anybody know whether this is OK or is there a risk that SGN may subsequently ask me to move the meter back in front of the garage door to the outside? I don't want to resurface the drive and then subsequently find that I am asked to have it dug up to shift the meter a couple metres further on.

I have had a quote from SGN to move the meter and the cost of this is not an issue, the issue is more that it could delay my build as we are not far from first fix.

I am hoping I can just leave the meter where it is but does anybody know better?

Thanks so much!!

Mike

 

[ChrisR]

I wouldn't let it hinge on what some bloke on a forum said. Policies may well vary between districts too. Better ask SGN.

 

[Hairymelon]

A built over plastic gas service is not allowed as the plastic pipe will melt in the event of a fire and is uncontrollable as it is upstream of the meter emergency control

 

[dilalio]

Service pipe entering the meter looks to me to be white plastic.

That's likely to be the hockey stick that sleeves the mdpe from underground up to the transition coupling.

 

[grimem]

I wouldn't let it hinge on what some bloke on a forum said. Policies may well vary between districts too. Better ask SGN.

I wouldn't let it hinge on what some bloke on a forum said. Policies may well vary between districts too. Better ask SGN.

As much as I value the advice of blokes on this forum, this is probably good advice

 

[grimem]

A built over plastic gas service is not allowed as the plastic pipe will melt in the event of a fire and is uncontrollable as it is upstream of the meter emergency control

That’s what I assumed, thank you!

 

[ChrisR]

For the consumer side of the gas meter, on domestic industrial commercial or catering gas, some of us are qualified to advise, but the "Network" side, they seem to use varying standards. I've got some buried plastic gas pipe leading to my meter...

 

[muggles]

For the consumer side of the gas meter, on domestic industrial commercial or catering gas, some of us are qualified to advise, but the "Network" side, they seem to use varying standards. I've got some buried plastic gas pipe leading to my meter...

Advice really isn't that varied. A built over plastic service is classed as At Risk according to the Unsafe Situations document, and must be rectified.

 

[dilalio]

Advice really isn't that varied. A built over plastic service is classed as At Risk according to the Unsafe Situations document, and must be rectified.

At risk but not turn off and label.

 

[muggles]

At risk but not turn off and label.

Correct, because there's no way to turn it off before the meter, and turning it off at the meter would not remove the risk

 

[dilalio]

Correct, because there's no way to turn it off before the meter, and turning it off at the meter would not remove the risk

Exactamundo

 

[cdbe]

Does this apply to a plastic pipe partially "built over", eg where an underground plastic pipe feeds the meter at the back of a house via a driveway and a section is subsequently covered by a garage or side extension - the section of plastic pipe that rises above ground to the meter remains outside as it always was.

I was under the impression that the issue is not really building over a plastic supply pipe but is where that exposed length of plastic between ground and meter becomes "internal" and will melt in the event of a fire in garage or extension and become the source of an uncontrollable gas fire. I believe it's a fire risk rather than a leak risk given that steel service pipes(which are fireproof but not leak proof) are common inside buildings.

 

[muggles]

Yes it absolutely covers that. Any part of a plastic supply pipe which has a building over it is deemed to be At Risk

 

[dilalio]

It's at Risk, but switching off, or capping, the meter will not remove the risk hence a report is made but nothing else.
It's not just fire, an explosion could ensue if the pipe were to be damaged by ground/building movement and insufficient protection of the pipe lead to a leak from it.

 

[ChrisR]

Advice really isn't that varied. A built over plastic service is classed as At Risk according to the Unsafe Situations document, and must be rectified.

It is from my experience of "Network" people. "At Risk" and the Consumer side "Unsafe Situations" book does not apply their side of the meter, and they seem to make up the rules for their own convenience. If you're building over the your-side-of-meter pipes, then yes, standard consumer domestic, industrial etc rules apply.

So if the meter's staying in the garage and you're building a new wall over the supply pipe you can't assume too much. I've known them decide it had to be replaced because it wasn't deep enough, though it was "outside" before and a case of one needing special bridging because they'd changed policy with certain soil types..