National Grid.

[JohnP]

Last Tuesday afternoon I reported a smell of gas in the road opposite my flat, 8.30pm that evening arrives two National Grid guys who in the pouring rain proceeded to dig an hole in the road. 10pm they put up some fencing around the hole and leave. Next morning at around 9.30am three different guys arrive and proceed to dig another hole and leave at 3pm. Since then every day including yesterday (Sunday) even more holes have been dug by different guys each time. By now half the road in fenced off and this is making it difficult for traffic as these holes and fencing are right on a busy junction. Early this morning when I looked out of my bedroom window I noticed that one of the traffic lights has been hit by an HGV and what was left of it still working was pointing in the wrong direction causing even more chaos, it was probably hit by one of Tesco's lorries making a delivery to their store close by. At 8.30am this morning I phoned Herefordshire Council to report the damaged traffic light and fair play to them there was a crew here working on that at about 10am, so now they are also having to dig up the pavement to renew the post on which the damaged light was mounted. Now comes the best bit, National Grid arrive at 1.30pm today and proceed to sit in their van and eat sandwiches and read their newspapers. The guys who came last Tuesday had put out signs telling people not to smoke and one of the guys is at this moment leaning against the van smoking and there is still a smell of gas... the mind boggles.

[Guest]

Looks like a good picture opportunity in the offing, make sure you use a long lens if you want to keep your eyebrows though.

[FUJI]

Ah! Ha!

Gas engineer fags are.......non flammable ..........didn't you know that John?

FUJI

[JohnP]

It's now nearly 2.30pm and the two guys have now been joined by a third guy who arrived in a National Grid estate car and they have been wandering about talking for half an hour, I bet these guys go home knackered after a days hard talking. I take back all the bad things I ever said about the old Gas Board...

[JohnP]

Hard at work!!!

 

[FUJI]

John, very similar incident happened very close to my home, also close to an extremely busy junction, the gas leak was very difficult to trace, holes were dug here there and everywhere, probe like gas detectors were driven into the pavements at regular intervals......much later that week it was agreed that the leak was in the deep main right under the main road........a major upheaval with three sets of temporary traffic lights followed.......but all well worth it if they prevented an explosion.

The different teams, are surveyors, diggers/labourers, the all important gas engineers, inspector, then the diggers again, followed by the.....making good .....gang.

I am pleased that they are all very well trained......I know I would want to be if I was expected to stand astride a large diameter leaking live gas main.

FUJI

[Guest]

what are you complaining about John, theres a hole in the road and national grid have three engineers looking into it, what more do you want lol

[NannyFerret]

I had to chuckle when I read your post, John, but I can't see why they actually go off, not having found the leak, when it could be still be dangerous.

Edited January 20, 2014 by NannyFerret

[FUJI]

John! John!

URBAN FRACKING has begun........warn your neighbours quick!

Seriously though........it may not have been natural gas you could smell..........perhaps a sewer has fractured.....plenty if gas there!

FUJI

[JohnP]

what are you complaining about John, theres a hole in the road and national grid have three engineers looking into it, what more do you want lol

 They seem to spend most of the time looking!!!

[JohnP]

John! John!

URBAN FRACKING has begun........warn your neighbours quick!

Seriously though........it may not have been natural gas you could smell..........perhaps a sewer has fractured.....plenty if gas there!

FUJI

 

Definately gas... no question.

 

They are actually working beyond 3pm today... on overtime now I guess.

[Martyn]

Dunno what your problem is, smoking is the quickest way to find a gas leak!

[JohnP]

Dunno what your problem is, smoking is the quickest way to find a gas leak!

 

Quick way to heaven too...

[Leon]

this is not really surprising me, years ago they renewed the pipes down our street digging up the freshly laid tarmac which was maybe 6 months old?  anyway they "forgot" to reconnect my house and next door's, and then told me they were going to dig up my £5000 driveway to correct the problem, I point blank refused, and asked why not just reconnect the old pipe to the new main?

 

after much complaining they sent a "suit" out who agreed to connect the old pipe "temporarily"........ it's still connected!!

 

below is a picture of the workers

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Martyn]

Quick way to heaven too...

 

If that's where you think you're goin'!

[GrahamNfk]

Who was that once said "If we stand around 'ere much longer, people will fink we're workmen."?

[FUJI]

Reminded me of this.......I don't know why? ;-)

http://youtu.be/ZGk4AKOwJbc

FUJI

[JohnP]

Many years ago I was staying in a caravan that my cousin had sited on her farm in Sussex, one of the days I was there I decided to have a days flyfishing for trout on nearby Weir Wood Reservoir, I was chatting to a guy like anglers do and after a minute or so of trying to puzzle out who this familar face belonged to... I suddenly realised I was talking to Bernard Cribbins...

[Martyn]

A man falling out of the sky was passed by a man traveling up into the sky. "Do you know anything about parachutes?" shouted the man on his downward fall. "No," replied the man heading for the stars, "do you know anything about gas cookers?"

[ChrisLumix]

this is not really surprising me, years ago they renewed the pipes down our street digging up the freshly laid tarmac which was maybe 6 months old?  anyway they "forgot" to reconnect my house and next door's, and then told me they were going to dig up my £5000 driveway to correct the problem, I point blank refused, and asked why not just reconnect the old pipe to the new main?

 

after much complaining they sent a "suit" out who agreed to connect the old pipe "temporarily"........ it's still connected!!

 

below is a picture of the workers

 

The "suit" wasn't Miss Piggy in disguise, was it? Nah, couldn't be - you refused point blank and have lived to tell the tale..

[JohnP]

UPDATE DAY 8.

 

All the holes have now been filled in, the permanent traffic lights have been switched off and 3 way temporary lights installed. The National Grid guys started digging more holes on the other side of the junction this afternoon, hopefully they will have found the gas leak and repaired it by Easter...

 

If they dig many more holes it will be holy enough to be called hallowed ground.

Edited January 22, 2014 by JohnP

[Guest]

all they need to do is strike a match and follow the blue flash lol

[JohnP]

I think they will be having their post delivered here before long, they are still out there now 9pm.

[FUJI]

They are looking after your safety john...........you would sue if anything bad happened because they weren't there.......I speak from experience.

Like when a student renting the house next door was stupid enough to pull thee gas cooker away from the wall, she broke the safety chain and the live gas pipe.....instead of keeping her head and turning the gas off, she ran into the street screaming........half a hour the whole row of Victorian Terraced houses ( in a conservation area) were filled with gas, the fire brigade, gas board and police were in attendance.

The fire brigade banged on doors wearing breathing gear, insulting we evacuate and switch off all power......a very scary two or three hours, I wouldn't want to go through again.

We were very pleased to see folks who knew exactly what to do.......having seen the results of gas explosions on TV News I reckon we were very lucky.

FUJI

[NannyFerret]

It certainly pays to be careful.

My daughter had a suspected gas leak when her kids were little.

There was a funny smell when we came back from the shops, so we grabbed the two babies and got them back outside quickly.
Luckily their gas meter was in the hall by the front door so once the little ones were safe my daughter called the gas emergency service from a next door neighbours while I went quickly back to the hall and turned the gas off.

We've also had gas engineers working well into late hours when we had a leak right outside out back gate. I felt safe in the knowledge that they stayed there until they got it sorted.

 

At the moment we are surrounded by scaffolding everywhere that you look on the estate. |They will soon be putting it around our house ready to insulate the outside walls.
It will be a pain, but it will be much warmer than just this cold no fine stuff that our houses are built with.

 I must try and get some pics. You would think we are in a war zone at the moment. lol