Old Gas Lines Safe?
Hello, I live in the top floor rental of a turn-of-the century brownstone. Recently (after permission from our landlord) I removed the very outdated light fixture in our bedroom, only to hear a slight hissing sound and smell the room start to fill with gas. I immediately put the fixture back in place and called…
Hello,
I live in the top floor rental of a turn-of-the century brownstone. Recently (after permission from our landlord) I removed the very outdated light fixture in our bedroom, only to hear a slight hissing sound and smell the room start to fill with gas. I immediately put the fixture back in place and called our landlord who didn’t think much of it and suggested we have her handyman install the new light fixture if we didn’t feel comfortable doing it ourselves.
Sure enough the handyman was just as skeptical as we were. It is unclear whether the gas line is 100% closed off and there is also old, scrambled electrical wiring running adjacent.
With this knowledge, our landlord is still unconcerned. The handyman closed off the fixture which appears to also act as a cap to the gas line. Now we are left wondering whether this is potentially a very serious safety issue. We are about to sign a new lease and want to make sure the building is safe. What is the best way to find out whether the current set-up is dangerous?
Thanks.
What DIBS said x10. The gas co. will shut down your meter or worse the building until a licensed plumber corrects the problem and gets them back in to turn it on again. Your landlord is not going to be happy. Spray the line with a little dishwashing liquid and water to see if there are any bubbles forming around cap. No bubbles no leak.
National Grid will shut off your gas if they come out and determine the situation is unsafe. Get a plumber to check out these lines. It’s not that big of a job to determine what’s hooked to the main line.
I wouldn’t fool around with this. It is probably OK, but you should call National Grid. Call the emergency gas line. They will come right out. You don’t know what you have there exactly, but they will check it out and you can be relieved. They can determine for you — for free — what needs to be done. They come in 20 minutes and that is their job. You really shouldn’t be taking care of these things – your landlord should be doing it. As the other posters point out, little amounts of gas can be trapped in the pipes from the old gas lines — maybe other posters are more knowledgeable about the required plumbing caps, but if it were me, I would get the utility to take a look at it.
We had the same situation when we lived in Park Slope. Some of these lines are still active!!! So its best to keep the cap on. I would call the gas company anyway and they can give you better info as to whether or not it can de-activated. That’s what we did.
I know that ours couldn’t be so we just left it as is and never touched it again.
That line may be serving your gas stove as well. Your landlord may be willing to leave sleeping dogs lie.
If the pipe has not been cut off at the source, is the landlord required by law to have it done?
this is not that unusual a situation…do not panic… generally the gas lighting in brownstones was run off of a tee in the basement… it is immediately recognizable, because it is a 3/8 inch line… hire a real plumber to cut and cap it in the basement…end of story
You could try calling National Grid and seeing what they advise. Just FYI, I recently had two electricians and a plumber over to look at our place, and they seemed quite sure (and also unconcerned) that the gas is still running in our pipes. Don’t know what to make of that!
But if you do find yourself with a gas leak, open all the windows and doors, leave the building, and call National Grid immediately (the recording will say “stay on the line to report a gas leak”). They will be over within the hour to check it out.
Just talked to my husband who said the handyman was pretty certain the pipe was NOT cut off at the source. I assume this is not the ideal situation…