Gas Saga

Our natural gas saga continues. It started when we smelled gas in our backyard. I inspected the pipe from the ground to the elbow that goes into the house. I found a pinhole leak. It looked to me like the pipe was worn thin by years of the weed eater hitting it. I cut an old water hose from our Jeep and clamped it over the leak. That stopped about 80 percent of the leak, but I still smelled gas. On Monday, October 19, I called Centerpoint, our gas provider, to ask what we should do about this leak. Two gas service trucks showed up at our house within 20 minutes. They confirmed the leak, shut off the gas at the meter, and then removed the meter. The guys told us our next step was to contact a plumber to replace the pipe with the known leak and test the lines. He added that CenterPoint has a program that lets us relocate the meter next to the house for $350. Since we chose not to pay the little extra on our gas bill to insure our pipes, that may be the better option.

The next day, the plumbers came out, removed the bad pipe, and set up to pressure-test the gas lines in our house. That test passed. Then they tested the pipes from our house to the meter. That test failed. We got the quote from the plumber for $4,400 to replace that line and get our water heater up to code. The city will need to inspect their work before they can turn the gas back on.

Jennifer and I talked it over, and we decided to move the meter up to the house, knowing it could take a few weeks. That was an easy decision: pay $4,400 or pay $350 and get a quote from the plumber to bring the water heater up to code so the city will pass our house. Our house has all gas appliances: water heater, stove, washer & dryer, and central heating. So, we are without all those conveniences right now. Fortunately, when we built the garage in 2002, we chose electric appliances: a water heater and central A/C. The central A/C failed just before the flood; we never got it working again. After the flood, I replaced the electric water heater in the garage because I was living in the house while it was being rebuilt. I used the garage bathroom while the house bathrooms were under construction. Now we all shower in the garage bathroom. Jennifer did a great job cleaning the garage bathroom, so it feels more home-like than industrial. Jennifer took all our dirty clothes to her sister’s house on Saturday to wash.

Yesterday, I felt frustrated that we were without these conveniences and hadn't heard from CenterPoint about when they would come out to move the meter. I called and left several messages over a few days but haven't heard back. Jennifer received an email saying our work has been assigned to a contractor who will handle the meter move. They should send someone out to survey the path, then schedule a day to install the gas line and meter in 2 to 3 weeks. So now, we wait for those next steps.

Jennifer said that she is thankful that we have electricity and water. Our house is secure, and we have food. The gas lines inside the house passed the pressure test. She said that as we were recovering from the flood, she learned to be thankful for what we had instead of focusing on what we didn't have. That mindset is what is helping her now. She is absolutely correct! When I thought with gratitude about what we have, not what we don't have, the frustration disappeared.

For now, I have ordered a space heater for our bedroom since, at this time of year, we could get a cold front any day. I plan to install a door on the garage bathroom so that, on cold days, taking a shower would be more comfortable.

We will have gas fed to our house one day. Until then and always, we are grateful.