Building over a gas pipe - please help!

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We are in the process of building a one story extension at the side of our property. All planning etc was approved and the builders started digging the footings yesterday.
Today, they hit a gas pipe with their machinery and we had to call out the emergency gas people to come and cut it off. Not only that but our next door neighbour gas supply has also been cut off due to this!
No-where in our plans was it stipulated that there was a gas pipe there and the builders state that there should be some type of marker to advise them that its there so they see it when digging - which it isnt.
The emergency gas people have suggested the builders will be footed with the bill!
Does anyone know who is responsible for this as we never knew the gas pipe was there? Gas people have also said, there may be an issue with letting us build over the pipe too!! ahh!
We have had all plans approved by the local council and the water board (they also have a pipe running under this build) and we have also paid for all of the materials for the building!
Any advice please?
 
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You need to speak to building control plus your achitect ,he's the one thats paid a lot of money to research these matters
 
It is your Builders responsibility to pay for any damage he causes to services! It is entirely the builders responsibility to ascertain the whereabouts of ANY buried services prior to commencing excavations. Lack of warning markers is NOT an excuse! Service providers are usually quite helpful with arranging to mark positions of their services on request! Also equipment is available to hire that will detect electric cables for example, a C.A.T (Cable avoiding tool). Obviously if you have gas, water and electricity services supplying a building common sense says they're buried outside on the property somewhere....

I would think it likely now the gas pipe will have to be re-routed outside the proposed new build and a new meter box provided, then the gas supply routed from there to join your existing gas pipework inside the property. Outside would be the Gas providers job, i.e. National Grid, inside you will need a 'Gas Safe' registered engineer, all this work is chargeable to you.

If this has happened already my advice would be to check your builder has current insurance before allowing him to carry out any further works. The Council will not be interested in location of gas, water or electricity services, this is a matter between you, your contractor and the relevant service providers.
 
Any builder worth his salt would have asked the relevant questions before putting the digger bucket into the ground.

1. Where is your gas meter?

2. Where is your electric meter.

3. Where is your internal stop cock.

4. Where is the road stop cock and is it serviceable (always make sure it is capable of turning the water off).

5. Do you have any phone lines, cable or fibre optics going into the building.

The builder can ask the customer to survey the ground or at least provide the relevant information, at a cost to the customer. Once the customer has been asked for the information as has given all to their knowledge then it is up to the builder to ensure no services are damaged.
 
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P.S. it is unfortunate that the gas pipe is running beneath your proposed extension, but it can not be built over and the gas will need to be moved. This will be at a cost to the customer regardless of anything.
 
thanks all - They have now re-routed the gas pipes to outside of the proposed build and the gas engineer has offered to move the gas meter to outside the property for less than half price (he will be doing it on the side of his full time job!).

I suppose there is an up side to this happening as we werent aware of the pipes being there so now the builders will have to take it up with the gas people and we will not have the expense of moving the pipes if someone ever noticed we'd built over it!
 
If your builder digs holes he SHOULD be aware of HSG 47.

http://www.hsebooks.com/Books/produ..._name=HSEBooks&category_name=&product_id=3382

Provides guidance by outlining the dangers which can arise from work near underground services and gives advice on how to reduce the risk. Applies to situations where underground services may be found and where work invloves penetrating the ground at or below surface level. Aimed at clients, designers, planning supervisors, contractors, employers, owners and operators of underground services, managers and supervisors and others concerned with planning, organising and supervising work near such services. This includes work by or for the utilities and also roadworks, construction and demolition work. Contents: Introduction; The dangers; Safe systems of work; Precautions for particular services; First aid; Further information.
 
update - it turns out the gas pipe that the builders hit was only 5 inches below the surface and so they are going to contest this! but its not going to be at a cost to us thats for sure!

The gas fitters were shocked to see that we were still running on copper piping and the supply was shared between 2 houses. apparently this should have been changed years ago!

they informed the builders to contest and that they have a good chance of not realising responsibility.

i will keep you informed.
 
The builder should only be paying the cost of the repair and call out fee.

The re-routing of the pipe should be paid by the customer, or, if the job was billed by the gas company 'all-in' then the customer should pay a percentage.
 
Copper piping???

I thought gas used to be cast iron underground until they switched to plastic.

May not be an "official" gas pipe.
 
I can fully understand them contesting the charges with it only being 5 inch below ground level....I know that SOME houses built pre 1970,s that the water,gas,,electric cables,phone cables was just plonked  the ground and covered over with soil...depth depended on the effort and ground condition that was needed to bury.......there was regulations on how deep they was supposed to be but nobody bothered with them..........but although the builder may get scott free he should be using a cat to locate them......
 
The (current) depth of the pipe is irrelevant, though the fact that it was copper makes it all the more easy to damage.
 

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