I drilled through a gas pipe in my living room. I had an engineer out today who chased the wall and replaced the section of pipe. He was very nice but seemed to get distracted by chatting on. He ensured me that the whole system had been checked but after he left i got thinking. I didn't see him testing the new piece of pipe for leaks. Would he do this at the pipe or at the meter? He left a machine ( I presume measuring the pressure) attached to the meter for a while so would he test for leaks at the meter? He is coming back on Tuesday to finish off plastering the wall but don't want to sound like a control freak by saying that I didn't see him doing it!! Then again I value my life!!

Mark, September 2009

sounds like a nightmare customer to me not trusting in a professional!.

redsaw, February 2010

He could of spot tested the new section with some leak detect spray (posh soapy water!), this would have been fine, however he chose to test your whole gas carcass at the meter, this is a more comprehensive test as it would test all of your gas carcass rather than just the new piece.
It is what i would have done, its fine.

Blackcatgas, September 2009

He left the meter attached for a while whist he nipped off to get some plaster. I presume it has to be connected for a length of time to see if the pressure drops?? How would he know what the pressure was beforehand as he did not test it on his arrival (due to a big hole in a pipe coutesy of yours truly!!) If the joint was not sealed properly would the pressure the gradually drop? I always like to watch people when they come and do any work in my house because I am a control freak but also very curious about things. I saw him do everything which he explained but I nipped upstairs and did not see him check the joints. God I am getting paranoid now!!!

mark, September 2009

The gas man is pressure testing your system for leaks - if the pressure recorded on the gauge drops then there is a leak. He should also have tested any joints that he has made with a soap spray solution to check for leaks there. Worry ye not - unless you can actually smell gas.

John, September 2009