Why You Cannot DIY Gas Pipe Repairs
It is relatively easy to get information on how to repair problems with your residential gas piping without hiring the services of a professional gas fitter.
However, applying this information in the real-life setting might not be as easy as it sounds. Matters related to gas supply lines should always be handled by the professionals and with good reason.
Here are a few reasons why gas line repairs are not DIY-friendly.
Gas Fitting Is a Regulated Trade
The first reason you should not handle gas line repairs on your own is that it might not be legal to do so. In many jurisdictions, the gas piping repair is classified as a regulated trade. This means that it is the kind of activity that requires training, certification and licensing before one is allowed to undertake repair works on residential or commercial gas piping.
The requirement for training, certification and licensing helps to reduce the likelihood of mistakes when undertaking repair or maintenance on gas piping systems. As a law-abiding citizen, you do not want to breach the law by undertaking repair works that are categorized as a regulated trade.
You Do Not Understand the Various Fittings
Residential gas lines might look simple to repair because it all looks like a series of connected pipes. What many people do not realize is that the series of pipes are connected using different types of fittings that cannot be substituted for any other fittings.
Examples of the kind of fittings used on gas piping include elbows, bushings, couplings and adapters. You probably would not know how to differentiate between the different types of connections, meaning you could easily end up buying the wrong one.
A registered gas fitter works with these fittings daily, and they understand where to use which fittings, thereby reducing the likelihood that they will make a mistake.
The Risk of Error
Having established that you are more likely to make a mistake than a professional gas fitter would be, you need to think about the consequences of such a mistake if you still need convincing that gas line repair is not a DIY activity.
The flammability of gases that run through gas piping systems makes them rather dangerous. The slightest of mistakes when undertaking gas piping repairs could easily result in an explosion, which is an eventuality that you do not want to be responsible for.
Reach out to an emergency plumber for more information.
