Smell Of Gas In House

itsomana

Hi,

There is a smell of gas in my house which it is being registered by my hand held gas detector.

I contacted the Gas company who came out and and carried out a test. They advised me that I do not have a gas leak from their system. When the underfloor heating is on the gas rises and it has got to the stage we have had to move out of the house while a builder investiages.

Could anyone advise as to who I would need to contact for them to come out and carry out a test to determine what the gas is.

Thanks

Dtp79

itsomana wrote: »

Hi,

There is a smell of gas in my house which it is being registered by my hand held gas detector.

I contacted the Gas company who came out and and carried out a test. They advised me that I do not have a gas leak from their system. When the underfloor heating is on the gas rises and it has got to the stage we have had to move out of the house while a builder investiages.

Could anyone advise as to who I would need to contact for them to come out and carry out a test to determine what the gas is.

Thanks

When you say " gas company " do you mean Bord Gais?

Billy Bunting

itsomana wrote: »

Hi,

There is a smell of gas in my house which it is being registered by my hand held gas detector.

I contacted the Gas company who came out and and carried out a test. They advised me that I do not have a gas leak from their system. When the underfloor heating is on the gas rises and it has got to the stage we have had to move out of the house while a builder investiages.

Could anyone advise as to who I would need to contact for them to come out and carry out a test to determine what the gas is.

Thanks

What is this hand held device your registering this "Gas" on.

itsomana

Hi, Yes it is bord Gas

itsomana

Hi,

Here is the link to the device I am using

http://cpcireland.farnell.com/jsp/level5/module.jsp?moduleId=cpc/430827.xml

Irish Steve

OK, that detector is capable of detecting much more than just natural gas, and if it is detecting gas, there is an issue of some sort.

A lot more detail is going to be needed to even hazard a guess at the cause of the gas.

Is this a new build or an older property?
How long ago was it built?
Detached, semi detached, terrace or apartment style construction?
Are you at ground floor level?
Is the floor solid or timber?
The detector is capable of determining a location, have to tried to locate the source more accurately?
Is this affecting one room or a number of rooms?
Has any building work been done on your site or close to you recently?
Are you connected to main drainage or a septic tank system?
Is the gas only noticeable when the heating is on?
How long have you been aware of the problem?

The sensor you have is a serious piece of kit, and not the sort of thing that is purchased on a whim, what prompted you to get it and start testing?

Sorry for so many questions, there are many possible scenarios, and the Q's are an attempt to narrow the field a little.

CreepingDeath

itsomana wrote: »

There is a smell of gas in my house which it is being registered by my hand held gas detector.

Is the gas boiler exhaust/flu near a window or air vent that you have open?
Especially upstairs/above the flu?

Eg. my gas boiler flu goes out the side of the house.
Now I don't have a smell of gas in my house, but I imagine if I had a nearby window open, I might smell something.

* Note: I'm not a gas/plumber expert at all.

itsomana

itsomana wrote: »

Hi,

There is a smell of gas in my house which it is being registered by my hand held gas detector.

I contacted the Gas company who came out and and carried out a test. They advised me that I do not have a gas leak from their system. When the underfloor heating is on the gas rises and it has got to the stage we have had to move out of the house while a builder investiages.

Could anyone advise as to who I would need to contact for them to come out and carry out a test to determine what the gas is.

Thanks

There is never anything wrong with a second opinion so when the smell is strong call Board Gais again just to be sure, it once took 6 months to find a small leak in a high street, no gasman would ever mind double double checking for you.

I would have the boiler serviced or looked at with the idea of the RGI confirming the boiler is not the source, A good RGI can confirm a lot with the right procedures.

I personally don't trust hand held devices because there's always the small chance they can play up.

itsomana

HI Gary, Thanks for coming back to me. Here are the answers to your questions

Is this a new build or an older property? - It is a new build

How long ago was it built? - It was built 7 years ago.

Detached, semi detached, terrace or apartment style construction? - It is detected bunglow

Are you at ground floor level? - Yes

Is the floor solid or timber? - The floor is a concrete slab

The detector is capable of determining a location, have to tried to locate the source more accurately? - No but I think it is concentrated in the hall.

Is this affecting one room or a number of rooms? - It is mainly in the hall but when the utility doors are opened between the hall and the kitchen you will get it in the kitchen.

Has any building work been done on your site or close to you recently?- No

Are you connected to main drainage or a septic tank system?- Main Drainage

Is the gas only noticeable when the heating is on? Yes and when the underfloor heating turns off and the concrete slabs is cooling.

How long have you been aware of the problem? - I got a faint smell two years ago, however as the underfloor heating was off during the summer I never really got it as it was never a bad as it is now.

The sensor you have is a serious piece of kit, and not the sort of thing that is purchased on a whim, what prompted you to get it and start testing? - When I first got the smell i decided to buy a device that would detect a number of gases as I was not sure what I was dealing with. When I did a test I was getting nothing as I feel that at the time I was testing the gas may have dissipated.

Just to give you an update. The builder has uncovered a pipe that was connected to sewage waste pipe going in and under the house and coming up under our bedroom floor. He has now capped the pipe going under the foundations and vented the other other end. This pipe has been there since the house was built. A few months ago we changed the times for the under floor heating to come on more frequently. With this pipe being there for 7 years the concrete slab is probably saturated with the gas and with the heating coming on more frequently the gas may now rising. This gas makes you cough and irritates your throat thus this is why we have moved out. With the pipe capped we are now trying vent the house and get the gas out of the slab by leaving the heating on as normal but having windows opened.

Irish Steve

Thanks for the update, and happy to hear that the builder has found something that could well have been implicated in the gas coming up.

That was the underlying reason for the long list of questions, just in case you were getting methane or similar from a sewer, or septic tank, or similar, or even a poorly connected foul drain pipe,

An open pipe under the floor would certainly be a prime suspect, especially if it was still connected to the sewer