Building a drive and gas meter

[Ozzy49]

We are thinking of building a drive in front of our house. However there is just one snag our gas meter is currently located at the bottom of the entrance to our property and this would have to form part of drive entrance. It will make it tight to get the car in and out and I may be worrying unnecessarily about if we accidentally crashed into it and caused a leak. I have tried to see if our gas company would install a smart meter and take away the old meter but they have informed me they can’t do this as the gas pipe would need digging up and relocating closer to the property and our regional gas network would be responsible for this and it would cost around £1,000. I am loathe to folk out to have the gas meter moved but I just wanted to check we wouldn’t fall foul of any regulations or health and safety requirements. I am sure others may have experienced the same problem so would welcome any advice.

 

[bobasd]

post pics of whats existing

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

I dont think there are any regulations as such governing your situation, but bear in mind, if someone was to hit the meter and/or supply pipework, then you are in the lap of the Gas Transporter, who are the only people who can work on that side of things.

Weigh up cost for routine works to move meter and supply alterations as required, (tell them they wont need to reinstate if you're having the drive done, which may make it cheaper), versus emergency call out if it gets hit, and there's a gas leak. Then any required excavation to replace damaged section of pipework, and then they might as well move the meter position anyway to avoid a repeat....

 

[ianmcd]

you would be best advised to have it moved before doing your drive, changing to a smart meter wont make any difference in any way, they will simply put the smaty meter where the original meter is . Another thing to remember is that the quote to re-locate the meter box might not include the cost of re-connecting the outlet of the new meter position to your home, sometimes they will quote for this part but not always

 

[Ozzy49]

Thanks so far for the responses, to help I have attached various pictures to show the front wall from the street, the location of the meter on the inside of the wall, the meter and it’s current brick casing - which we may need to make smaller

 

[mrStat]

I personally would advise you get that moved, BS6400 6.9.1.3(c) states a meter cannot be located in a position where it could be exposed to accidental damage. And 6.9.1.3(d) states that it cannot cause an obstruction. Of course, if you can integrate it into a corner pillar where a vehicle strike won’t damage it, then you could probably leave it.

You may also need to consider the pipework depth supplying your property, pipework needs to be inline with BS6891 8.15 - 375mm deep minimum for vehicular traffic on concrete, once you take the top layers off (standard soil depth is also 375mm), you may find you need to sink the pipework further. As well as any surface pipework has to be mechanically protected from damage, the example given in BS6891 8.15.2 is a carport, but this would likely apply here too.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

That does put a different slant on things, not what I expected to see! +1 for advice above.

 

[bobasd]

bollards or posts have sometime been introduced into garages - esp commercial garages - to protect fragile or vital equipment.
you could consider steel bollards but moving the meter would be, as above, the best option.

 

[Ozzy49]

Thank you all for your advice but I think for now we will hold off having the drive done. I am not convinced the cost of having it will added sufficient value to the property to make it worth while and we are planning to move maybe in the next few years so while it would be nice to have I think I would rather put the money to investing in a new bathroom or kitchen in which we might recoup some of the cost when we sell. Of course having off street parking would be convenient and nice as nearly everyone has dropped their curb so getting to park outside our front is often a nightmare but maybe one I can live with for now