In my other posts, about my DIY adventures, I recently had a need to lift floorboards to gain access to the spaces in between the joists to run various cables like TV, Satellite, CAT5e, and telephone around the house.
So using a B&Q bought pipe and wire detector (about 40 quid anyone?) and run it over the floor to check for pipes, as the floor was tightly packed T&G and I couldn't see any pipes underneath through the few gaps that there were. Nothing detected. So I am ready.
So there I am, confident that it is safe to use a 5" hole cutter to make an inspection hole in the middle of the gap between the joists. Drilling through the board like a Bau5, 320watt electric drill, with hole saw attached and cutting like I am a hero. A few seconds later, there is this uncanny odour of cabbages. pull drill out of the new hole, with nice round chunk of wood in the mouth of the hole cutter plus an unexpected piece of shiny copper pipe! and look into the new hole to see a nice shiny copper pipe with a rather ominous gap between the two ends. About the same size as the hole cutter!
OOOOpppsss!
A quick exit, to the gas cupboard, pull the gas shutoff lever and run around the house opening windows.
After a few minutes of venting fresh air, I reenter the property to inspect the damage.
As luck would have it, I had cut into a pipe that fed a disconnected gas fire in the front room, and was destined for removal anyway. So a quick trip to the local hardware shop and purchase a 14mm closure cap and 10 minutes later, job safe. Call a mate of mine who is a gas fitter (corgi thingy registered but with a new name now) who checked it over and gave me a bill for a few pints down the pub and a warning that next time, I may not be so lucky!