Gas Leak Detection in Smithville, ON — Inspected, Sealed and Tested

If you can smell gas right now, leave the building and take everyone with you. From outside, call Enbridge Gas on 1-866-763-5427 or dial 911. That line is open 24 hours. (1) While you are still inside, do not use a phone, a light switch, or anything electrical.

The utility company will make the property safe. Finding the fault and sealing it is our part, and this page covers how that works.

We are TSSA certified, and no line goes back into service until it holds a pressure test.

The Signs of a Gas Leak

Natural gas has no smell of its own. The rotten egg odour is added on purpose, so that a leak reaches you through your nose before it reaches anything else.

Smell. Rotten eggs or sulphur, anywhere in the house or near the meter.

Sound. Hissing near a pipe, a fitting, a meter or an appliance. A leak under pressure makes noise even when it is too small to smell.

Sight. Grass or plants dying in a line across the lawn. Gas escaping from a buried pipe kills roots along the run, so the dead patch traces the leak.

Flame. A pilot light that keeps going out, or a burner flame that has turned yellow instead of blue. Both mean the appliance is not getting what it expects.

On rural properties the buried line from the road is long, and nobody may have a record of where it goes. The outdoor signs matter more here than they do in town.

A Carbon Monoxide Alarm Will Not Detect a Gas Leak

Most people believe their CO alarm covers both. It does not, and Enbridge says so: “A carbon monoxide alarm will detect unsafe amounts of CO in your home. It does not detect a natural gas leak.” (2)

These are two different gases and two different dangers.

Natural gas escapes from a pipe or a fitting. It smells of rotten eggs, and the risk is fire.

Carbon monoxide comes from fuel that burns without enough air. Enbridge describes it as “a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas that can be deadly,” and the risk is poisoning. (2) Any fuel-burning appliance with a fault or a bad installation can produce it, including furnaces, stoves, fireplaces and vehicles. (2)

You need an alarm for each. One will not do the other’s job.

Early carbon monoxide symptoms are easy to miss: a slight headache and shortness of breath. Higher exposure brings severe headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness and confusion. (2)

We find most CO problems in older Smithville homes on their original venting, where a furnace that is not venting as it should has been running that way for years.

What Happens After Enbridge Leaves

Enbridge’s job is to make your property safe, and that means shutting the gas off. Their technician will not repair your pipe, and the company states that it does not repair or service natural gas appliances. (3)

So the heat and the hot water stay off until somebody certified finds the fault and fixes it. Ontario reserves that work for TSSA certificate holders, which rules out a handyman and a general contractor without the ticket. (4)

That is the call people make to us: Enbridge came and left, the gas is off, and they need someone today. We trace the fault and handle sealing the pipe once we have found it.

How We Trace the Leak

A pressure test comes first. We seal the system, bring it up to pressure and watch whether it holds, which confirms there is a leak before anyone starts looking for it.

Then we isolate. Closing off sections one at a time narrows the drop to a single stretch of pipe, and from there we test the joints and fittings along it.

Buried lines take longest. There is nothing to see, the route may never have been recorded, and on a property with a long lane the locating is most of the work.

The whole system gets tested again before the gas goes back on. Testing only the section we repaired would leave a second fault sitting there undetected.

Small Leaks Still Matter

A leak too small to smell is still putting gas into your house. It does not stay small either, because whatever caused it is still doing its work: a dried joint, a corroded line, or a knock from a shovel.

The gas bill can show it first. If your usage has climbed and nothing about the house has changed, that is worth a call.

Do not wait for it to get bad enough to smell. Most of the small leaks we find turn up during a yearly check of every gas appliance, before anyone noticed anything was wrong.

What Affects the Cost of Gas Leak Detection in Smithville

On leak detection the cost is almost all in the looking, and how long that takes depends on your property. Five things decide it.

Where the line runs. Exposed pipe in a basement is quick to test. Buried pipe is not.

How much line there is. A longer run means more sections to isolate before the leak is cornered.

Whether anyone knows the route. With no record of a buried line, we locate it before we can test it.

Access. Finished walls, concrete floors and crawl spaces you cannot stand up in all add time.

How soon you need it. Gas already off, or a deadline attached, moves you up the schedule.

Rural properties vary the most, and for the same reason every time: the buried line between the road and the house.

Common Questions About Gas Leak Detection in Smithville

Will a carbon monoxide alarm detect a natural gas leak?

No. Enbridge states that a carbon monoxide alarm detects unsafe amounts of CO but does not detect a natural gas leak. (2) They are different gases with different dangers, so a house needs an alarm for each.

Who do I call if I think I have a gas leak?

Call Enbridge on 1-866-763-5427 or dial 911, from outside the building. (1) Enbridge makes the property safe and shuts off the gas. Call us after that, because Enbridge does not repair gas piping or appliances. (3)

How serious is a small gas leak?

Serious enough to deal with today. A small leak is gas in your home, and the fault behind it gets worse rather than better.

What are the first signs of a gas leak?

The smell of rotten eggs comes first, then hissing near a pipe or appliance. Outdoors, look for grass dying in a line across the lawn.

What should I do if I smell gas outside?

Move away from the area and call the same number from a safe distance. (1) Do not dig, and do not go looking for the source yourself.

Can you find a leak on a propane system?

Yes. Propane is heavier than air, so it sinks and collects in basements and low spots rather than rising and spreading. That changes where we check first on a rural property.

If You Think You Have a Gas Leak

If you can smell gas, call Enbridge or 911 first. Once the property is safe, call us and we will find the fault and repair it.

We are TSSA certified, we pressure test the whole system before signing anything off, and we have been a trusted family business in Niagara since 2014. You can also read about new gas lines, repairs and appliance hookups.

References

1. Enbridge Gas, Smell Gas?, enbridgegas.com
2. Enbridge Gas, Carbon Monoxide Safety, enbridgegas.com
3. Enbridge Gas, Safety Violation, enbridgegas.com
4. Government of Ontario, O. Reg. 212/01: Gaseous Fuels, ontario.ca