Public Service Announcement: If you EVER smell gas in your house, call the gas company ASAP. It's FREE so don't think, "how much is this going to cost me?"
Two years ago we had a little gas leak and at the time John's uncle Danny lived only 5 minutes from us and came over right away and fixed the problem. I have always been paranoid about smelling gas in the house ever since. But today I was right. We left as a family for the Y and I commented that I thought it smelled gassy in our basement. John smelled it too but thought maybe it was just the laundry or a tiny tiny leak. When we got back from the YMCA it was evident from the moment the garage door opened that we had problem. We came in, actually took the time to make lunch (what were we thinking??) and then got around to calling the gas company since Uncle Danny no longer lives so close. By this time the gas smell was well into our house, in the living room, kitchen and hallway. We kept thinking it might just be stuck in our noses. But once John called the gas co they told us we needed to get out of the house and that we shouldn't turn anything on that wasn't on already.
Ok, now I'm a little freaked. I loaded the boys and headed for Grandma and Granddad's to hang out. They were at work but I figured the boys could nap there. (yeah right. Like that worked.) Anyway, John stayed and hung out in the driveway. The gas co guy told John there was a significant leak and it had spread all over the house into every room. The pipe was cracked near the same spot it was last time. The culprit: a cracked beam in the ceiling of our basement that was putting pressure on the pipe. He said we were lucky that we called when we did. Eventually that pipe would have completely broken and being so close to the pilot light, would have likely caused an explosion. HOLY COW! They got it fixed and the house is aired out now but the beam is still broken and still possibly causing pressure. So guess what John's project for the night is?
Moral of the story. DON'T WAIT TO CALL IF YOU SMELL GAS!
Two years ago we had a little gas leak and at the time John's uncle Danny lived only 5 minutes from us and came over right away and fixed the problem. I have always been paranoid about smelling gas in the house ever since. But today I was right. We left as a family for the Y and I commented that I thought it smelled gassy in our basement. John smelled it too but thought maybe it was just the laundry or a tiny tiny leak. When we got back from the YMCA it was evident from the moment the garage door opened that we had problem. We came in, actually took the time to make lunch (what were we thinking??) and then got around to calling the gas company since Uncle Danny no longer lives so close. By this time the gas smell was well into our house, in the living room, kitchen and hallway. We kept thinking it might just be stuck in our noses. But once John called the gas co they told us we needed to get out of the house and that we shouldn't turn anything on that wasn't on already.
Ok, now I'm a little freaked. I loaded the boys and headed for Grandma and Granddad's to hang out. They were at work but I figured the boys could nap there. (yeah right. Like that worked.) Anyway, John stayed and hung out in the driveway. The gas co guy told John there was a significant leak and it had spread all over the house into every room. The pipe was cracked near the same spot it was last time. The culprit: a cracked beam in the ceiling of our basement that was putting pressure on the pipe. He said we were lucky that we called when we did. Eventually that pipe would have completely broken and being so close to the pilot light, would have likely caused an explosion. HOLY COW! They got it fixed and the house is aired out now but the beam is still broken and still possibly causing pressure. So guess what John's project for the night is?
Moral of the story. DON'T WAIT TO CALL IF YOU SMELL GAS!
Yikes! Glad you are all safe:-)
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