Natural gas main - how deep?

[sammy_h]

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I started removing a concrete path that runs across the front of our house, and I discovered a bright yellow plastic pipe running *right* underneath the path.

I can only assume this is the natural gas main, as it runs in a direct line between the gas meter and the street, and there is nothing else it could be.

So the question is, how deep should this pipe be?

When I say it was running underneath the path, I mean I lifted a section of path, and there it was. No digging required. The concrete must have been laid right on the pipe.

I now have a problem. I plan on replacing the concrete path with a crushed gravel path. Obviously this pipe is now in my way. Is it the supply companies responsibility to lay this in a sensible manner, or is it mine?

Sam

[bugsy]

there maybe a sticker in your meterbox, telling you who did the work.
Or ring your gas company.
Check with them before doing anything

[juan]

My plumber told me the min depth is 500mm

Cheers

[bricks]

At least 450mm cover ( includes thickness of concrete.)

[bpj1968]

I'd say teh original builder / plumbers are responsilbe. Supply companies are only to the boundary


My last house was on a slope down from the road and it had a brick path 700 mm wide running across teh front, then a 1 mm high retaining wall. had the power cable under just under the brick path running across the front of the house, and a metre from where it was supposed to be. It may have been teh minimum 450-500 when it started.

THe water main was lying on the sand under the bricks.

At the end of the house there was a dirt mound higher than the path. When i was relaying the path I started to dig up this mound to the same level as the path. On the way down i passed a yellow pipe, grazing it with the crowbar, and continued down a further 300 mm to the path level.

[Terrian]

gas supply from the meter to the house here is almost 100mm below ground level, nice gal pipe (errr, when it was new it was a nice gal pipe, it has a decent rust surface now), damn glad I found it before the back hoe levels the front yard tomorrow.

The house was built in the early 1960s', so I am guessing it was quite normal to have gas & water pipes only inches below ground level :(

[sammy_h]

Hmm, well mine was right underneath quite a thin slab. I reckon the slab was about 80-100mm thick. Thin enough that one swift smack with the sledgehammer turned it into a set of mini-slabs.

Guess i'll have to phone a gassie and get a quote for getting it deeper under terra-firma.

[the dude]

Hi sammy, i dont know about canberra but sydney that pipe (gold line) is installed by contractors employed by the gas company(AGL,Agility) in a similar fassion to your testra service cable.
My advice is call them up and tell them to send a contractor out and dig it down deeper (inside your boundry is 300mm deep outside your boundry is 450mm deep thats in Syd.)
But as with telstra they are a law unto them selves.
** If by chance you cut through that pipe it can be quite easily sealed off by folding the pipe over same as you would do with a garden hose and this will create a gas tight seal.

[bricks]

If It's the gas supply main Before the meter the Gas company have to do it. And they better do it for free.