Cadent came knocking today - apparently I have to move my gas meter?!

[kingandy2nd]

Hi all,

First time in weeks I had to go out for work, and while I was out the other half answered the door to someone from Cadent. Unfortunately my missus is less that useless with retaining and passing on information (unless it's gossip!), but was given the letter attached.

However, it's what the Cadent person said verbally to my missus which seems more concerning to me (and not referenced in the letter). Apparently:

"Our gas supply to the meter needs to be replaced, and the gas meter must be relocated to an external wall".

To put this in context, the meter has always been inside the garage (next to the electric meter) since the house was built in 1978. The supply comes through the concrete floor slab in a metal sheath, but I don't know what the actual gas pipe is made of.

We're currently in the middle of an extension build where the original single garage is being replaced with a double garage. Concrete floor slab has been poured, ground floor walls are half built. Meters untouched.

I don't really want to be digging up my new floor slab, and equally I'm not in a position (or want) to have the meter on the exterior wall as there's currently no way to run a gas pipe back to where the current supply goes into the house - as the roof isn't built.

How would such a supplier normally go about replacing a pipe under a slab? Would they bring a new supply out of the ground outside and just go low level into the garage to the existing meter using suitable materials - or would the really insist on moving the whole meter?

I will be calling the chap on the contact details tomorrow, but would be interested to know what my 'rights' are before the conversation, so any feedback gratefully received.

Thanks in advance for your help
Andy

You can see the meter feed in the picture below - meter is in the wooden box for protection from the elements during the build.

 

[bernardgreen]

If the service pipe to your meter is plastic and in good condition then it is very un-likely that the meter will need to be moved.

The service pipe will be cut under the highway to disconnect from the old main and then jointed to a new section run to the new main.

This picture of what happened in this village show how it is normally done,

The green pipe is the service pipe to a house and the red is the connection to the old metal main that was cut, The orange is a new pipe from the new main. The green was connected to the orange to connect the house to the new gas mainorange was

 

[kingandy2nd]

Thank you for your very helpful reply Bernard - I will need to take a look in the cabinet and see if I can see a plastic supply pipe. Fingers crossed

 

[Tigercubrider]

When a mate had his gas pipe renewed they used a mole and dug a couple of small pits in the process.
My gas meter is ancient - what does a modern one look like?
My electric meter looks more like a central heating timer than the old Leccy meter of old?
You may not need a massive box

 

[kingandy2nd]

When a mate had his gas pipe renewed they used a mole and dug a couple of small pits in the process.
My gas meter is ancient - what does a modern one look like?
My electric meter looks more like a central heating timer than the old Leccy meter of old?
You may not need a massive box

Not sure how useful these pictures are, they're from last time I did a meter reading.

Looks like the gas meter is from 1995 if that's a year of manufacture...

 

[Tigercubrider]

Also, I walk past some serviced apartments some days. The meters are half buried in a brown angled box

 

[kingandy2nd]

Also, I walk past some serviced apartments some days. The meters are half buried in a brown angled box

Yeah, I was thinking about the buried box - if they'd called 2 weeks ago I could have build one into the wall of the extension, but it's now too high... and as I mentioned, the wall is there now at 1.5m high, but no roof so no way to get a pipe back to the house at the moment...

 

[Tigercubrider]

http://www.watret.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Honeycroft-House-ground-works-2.jpg

 

[kingandy2nd]

http://www.watret.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Honeycroft-House-ground-works-2.jpg

Ah I see. Thanks, but we've got space for a 96 wide path down the side of the extension as the plot narrows a lot towards the rear, so wouldn't really want one of those sticking out in the path... I'd break my neck in the night tripping on it

 

[kingandy2nd]

96cm*

 

[Old Salt]

I voluntarily had my meter moved from under a kitchen cabinet to an external wall. They dug up the old tarmac drive to expose the supply and grafted in a new piece to the new meter location. Once the meter was installed another engineer arrived to connect to the existing gas appliances and carried out the relevant safety checks. The next day another team arrived to reinstate the drive and remove any spoil.

The new meter is in a box mounted on the wall and accessible from the drive.

 

[Old Salt]

Forgot to mention that these buried metal mains supply pipes are being changed as a result of gas explosion that iirc ocurred in Glasgow with the loss of 3 lives. This was the second occasion of an explosion being caused by cast iron gas pipes fracturing in the cold. In the first event no lives were lost but the HSE inqury recommended all such pipes were replaced. Inaction caused the second event and the resultant £26 million fine concentrated Transco minds on replacing the old pipes with new materials. Since the opening of the market others such as Cadent, SGN etc are now replacing all of their pies. Lol should read pipes!

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If the gas supply is the further of the 2 coming up into the meter housing in the picture, then it looks very much like a steel service. (Has a union halfway up the vertical section?) Had the existing meter been outside, the common practice would be to dig down and find the bend where the service turns upwards, cut it there, and insert a new plastic service through the steel, then reconnect to the meter.

I think you may have 4 possible options here, but obviously you'll have to discuss with Cadent as to what they will be prepared to do.

1. Dig a hole at your existing meter position and let them do an insertion as described above. Will allow meter to remain in situ.
2. Run new plastic service to a mutually agreed point, fit meter there and run supply pipework back to a suitable point to couple onto existing gas carcass.
3.Dig down and find the steel service outside the footprint of the building, and resite meter somewhere near. Run new feed from new meter position to couple onto existing gas carcass at a suitable point.
3. Dig down and find the service externally, provide plastic insertion to point outside building, convert to steel pipework, run that into building to couple to existing meter position.

I still have a steel service coming into the house, and despite many attempts to get it changed, Transco/National Grid/Cadent have refused, saying until it starts leaking, they wont alter it. Street main was replaced with plastic prior to my occupation, so pre 1999. For some reason not all the service pipes were changed at the same time.

 

[kingandy2nd]

Thanks to all for the replies

Yes @Hugh Jaleak it is the pipe furthest away with the union on it.

I think realistically the only option I have is the fourth one, and they can’t be digging through my reinforced slab - in fact the area around the gas/electric feeds was left untouched as the concrete is so thick and makes up part of the raft of the original house. As I mentioned, relocating the meter anywhere else is a non starter as currently there’s no route back to the house until they leave pipes floating in the air.

My house is one of many alike in the street that will all have the same meter posting - the only difference is that we’re building at the moment.

I really appreciate everyone’s comments. Thanks again

 

[Alec_t]

As I mentioned, relocating the meter anywhere else is a non starter as currently there’s no route back to the house until they leave pipes floating in the air.

Couldn't you knock up a temporary structure to support the pipe?