Old pipework!

[canwefixit]

Decorating a downstairs cloakroom for a friend and noticed after stripping off the old paper that the plaster seemed to be bulging and loose in one corner. Knocked off the loose and what do I find.....piece of old pipe that has gone so rusty it's expanded and pushed the plaster and render away from the brickwork. All of a sudden while brushing it down hear a hisssss,
oh s*d it now I know what it is.....a bit of live gas barrel that was now paper thin!!
Turn off gas and await a homecoming of friend to confess that she has no gas at the moment. Fortunately she knew a gas fitter who was able to come out and run a new supply for her and I came up smelling of roses because she took the view that it was so lucky I found it otherwise it could have started leaking on its own and caused an explosion.

 

[iangh]

you are lucky.
Some years ago my wife's friend's dad, who had no sense of smell, was a DIYer- until one day he cut off a piece of pipe that was in his way when laying floor.
You guessed- it was a gas pipe in an old terraced house. This gassed him and he died.
I am very wary of pipes/wires- treat them like live ammo- with care, until they are proven to be harmless.