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Vent: Hit a gas line with a screwgun in a ceiling job last Thursday
Honestly, I was working on a 12-foot ceiling in a remodel in Austin and just going to town with my screwgun. I was hanging 5/8 fire tape over a kitchen island and didn't think twice about the ceiling layout. Next thing I know, I hear this hissing sound and smell gas. Turns out I punctured a 1/2 inch gas line that was running between the joists for a stove they moved. The homeowner called the gas company, and we had to evacuate for like an hour. Cost me half a day and I felt like an idiot standing on the curb. Has anyone else dealt with unexpected utilities hidden in the ceiling? What do you do to check before you start screwing everything down?
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grace_allen11d ago
Makes me think how easy it is to assume what's above and below us is safe, but hidden stuff is everywhere if you don't stop to look first. Have you started checking with a stud finder that can detect live wires and pipes now?
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pat_coleman10d ago
Hah, @grace_allen, you're asking the guy who once tried to find a stud with a fridge magnet, so maybe I'm not the best example. I mean, I bought one of those fancy stud finders after I drilled into a pipe in my own bathroom and learned what a "water feature" really means. Idk, maybe it's just me, but I figure if you're gonna poke around in walls, you should probably at least pretend to know what you're doing.
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