Nicked a gas pipe

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dampsquid

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What started out as a nice Saturday morning job has left me a bit shook if I'm honest.

You probably think I'm being a fanny but I can't stop thinking about the what ifs.

I decided to cut my kitchen cupboards out today to fit a dishwasher. The cupboard next to the cooker.

For some reason I thought that the gas pipe would run basically on the floor but it was more or less hooked onto the back of the kitchen cabinet.

My circular saw thankfully couldn't cut all the way to the end. So I used a brand new 32mm spade bit to make a hole in the cabinet near the back so I could get my jigsaw in there.

Heard a thunk noise and knew I'd hit metal.

Peered through the hole and could see it was a gas pipe.

Turned the gas off pulled the base of the cupboard out and rang the emergency gas number.

The guy turned up and told me how lucky I'd been, said I've just polished it and took maybe 0.001mm off the pipe..looks a bit more than that to me but maybe im paranoid.

He said there is no need to get anyone out to replace the pipe either.

Can't get over how stupid I was. Keep thinking about if I'd pressed down a little bit harder on the drill. Next door have a little girl. My wife and toddler where out.

I know it didnt happen. But how could I have been so thick.

Been on a role with DIY projects and was just getting confident.

Here is the nick anyway

20240413_114327.jpg
 
Well the lesson would be to check properly before carrying out any work.
I'd still get that section of pipe replaced (by a corgi ofc)

Similar happened to me once but it was a central heating pipe. The kink was similar to yours. Even it being a central heating pipe it didn't let me sleep, so I eventually replaced it!
 
jurassic sparkk said:
And are you going to listen to that?
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I'm not sure! His exact words were don't worry you've just polished it!

I asked him 3 times if he's sure I shouldn't replace it and he said it will never leak.

I may well get it replaced anyway he seemed a bit too chilled out to be honest. But then again he is the professional so I'm not sure
 
Well he was from the gas board. Will probably just get it done for peace of mind tbh.

But then how do you know the person doing the replacement is a professional!
 
dampsquid said:
Well he was from the gas board. Will probably just get it done for peace of mind tbh.

But then how do you know the person doing the replacement is a professional!
Click to expand...
If you’re that concerned and are getting it replaced use a gas safe registered engineer, not someone who may have corgi - this was replaced by the gas safe register in April 2009. You can ask for their ID card or check on the gas safe website. Do you know that an odourant is added to gas, so even minute smells of gas are detected by smell. Did the emergency service provider (esp) engineer carry out a tightness test and leave you with some paperwork?

Yes you were lucky, but would need the correct explosive level and a spark fro the power tool to create an explosion, otherwise you’d have just caused a gas leak, which you could manage through the correct advice given by the esp call center.
 
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Sorry to read how bad you feel about your lucky escape, a lot worse things have happened.
To get even half way through the 1.6mm wall of a 15mm pipe the clean cut with a wood drill would be a lot wider.
That said, once someone mentions renewing it, you feel inclined to.
I'd have a look what the rest of the pipe looks like, take some pictures and ask on here how best to proceed.


IMG_4166.JPG

Didn't see the previous post before sending ...
 
CBW said:
If you’re that concerned and are getting it replaced use a gas safe registered engineer, not someone who may have corgi - this was replaced by the gas safe register in April 2009. You can ask for their ID card or check on the gas safe website. Do you know that an odourant is added to gas, so even minute smells of gas are detected by smell. Did the emergency service provider (esp) engineer carry out a tightness test and leave you with some paperwork?
Click to expand...

He left me with a gas emergency report after filled all his paperwork in with reference number etc but it didnt say what he did specifically.

After inspecting the pipes he went round the house with sniffers then left 2 sniffers in the kitchen next to the pipe that was nicked and around the cooker for a good half hour.

Then he did a test on the gas meter sounded like loads of gas came out and he plugged something onto it and spent about 10 minutes doing that. Don't know if that be a tightness test.

I know that gas smells so hopefully would smell it if it leaked. I'm just paranoid because I did it so feel like I should do something to fix it.
 
Sounds like a tightness test was carried out then. If your gas was left on (guessing it was) then all is good.
 
By the way the emergency gas leak people are not necessarily Gas Safe Registered operatives. Their qualfications are different from GSR's, and not even in the same set.

If a GSR left a nick like that on a job and an inspector saw it, the GSR person would be forced to put it right.
But that's not the required standard here.

Is it dangerous now? No.
So does it have to be changed? No
Does the pipe comply with gas pipe standards BS2871(?) blah de blah? No, it's got a saw mark/cut.
If a GSR saw it when say installing a new cooker connection, and access was good, he'd probably take the 10 extra minutes to cut a section in and charge you for it.

But "damage" is a matter of degree, and as you have taken a responsible action to get it checked, and it passes the tests, you're clear.

Could it ever ever ever possibly cause a problem? You could invent a scenario but that's pushing it. So don't push it! Gas pipes can develop leaks for a variety of reasons, but your risk here has been assessed as below the level at which you need to take action.
Have a nice day....
 
I once saw a copper patch soldered to a gas pipe, possibly to repair something similar.
Could that be done to get the op peace of mind?
Or is it some sort of bodge?
 
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