Enbridge conumdrum...

[DeimosBeros]

So enbridge sends some sub contractor to do a meter exchange in my house. Then as he's relighting the pilot in the water heater and checking the furnace he notices a couple of problems:
Some wood framing is within 6 inches or too close to the aluminum duct work, and capable of combustion if the aluminum heated up.

Writes me up in my own ****ing house and tells us we got to arrange to have the two violations removed within 76 days. I argued, very calmly, but very pissed off since the house was bought as is, we haven't touched anything since buying it 4 years ago. Then I proceeded to show him the notice sent by enbridge telling me the gas meter had only to be exchanged, no where did it say some inspection of my houses infrustructure was going to happen and get penalized for something that I would have thought was legal and non conforming.
For god sake, while I understand the need for safety, you can possible make me believe that painted wood only 2 inches away from duct work is going to catch fire, in the cold basement to boot!

Another notice comes today in the mail yesterday asking for some follow up to the violations. Basically have to fax some clearance tag signed off by a authorized gas technician, that repairs were performed or enbridge charges $65.00 + GST for a follow up inspection. Funny thing is, I removed the violations myself damaging sections of the walls in the process and they still need to schedule the inspection. I will upload pictures soon.

Morale of the story: Don't let any utility companies or government for that matter, enter your house, meter exchange or not.

[Hangar18]

So enbridge sends some sub contractor to do a meter exchange in my house. Then as he's relighting the pilot in the water heater and checking the furnace he notices a couple of problems:
Some wood framing is within 6 inches or too close to the aluminum duct work, and capable of combustion if the aluminum heated up.

Writes me up in my own ****ing house and tells us we got to arrange to have the two violations removed within 76 days. I argued, very calmly, but very pissed off since the house was bought as is, we haven't touched anything since buying it 4 years ago. Then I proceeded to show him the notice sent by enbridge telling me the gas meter had only to be exchanged, no where did it say some inspection of my houses infrustructure was going to happen and get penalized for something that I would have thought was legal and non conforming.
For god sake, while I understand the need for safety, you can possible make me believe that painted wood only 2 inches away from duct work is going to catch fire, in the cold basement to boot!

Another notice comes today in the mail yesterday asking for some follow up to the violations. Basically have to fax some clearance tag signed off by a authorized gas technician, that repairs were performed or enbridge charges $65.00 + GST for a follow up inspection. Funny thing is, I removed the violations myself damaging sections of the walls in the process and they still need to schedule the inspection. I will upload pictures soon.

Morale of the story: Don't let any utility companies or government for that matter, enter your house, meter exchange or not.

Is there not an inspection tag on your furnace from when it was installed? Perhaps that can provide some traction?

[Ockham]

The way the law of the land works, if a certified gas technician notices a Gas Code violation he/she is obligated to report it or risk losing their license. While I empathize with your situation, you must have an unsafe situation in your house and for your sake should rectify it. Keep in mind the Utility doesn't have to provide you with service - it isn't in the Charter of Rights or anything.

[ynot]

Is there not an inspection tag on your furnace from when it was installed? Perhaps that can provide some traction?

The infractions were likely put in place after the furnace was installed. So the answer is likely no.

[ynot]

If the gas meter is outside, why did the tech come in?

[pintobean]

So enbridge sends some sub contractor to do a meter exchange in my house. Then as he's relighting the pilot in the water heater and checking the furnace he notices a couple of problems...Writes me up in my own ****ing house and tells us we got to arrange to have the two violations removed within 76 days...Another notice comes today in the mail yesterday asking for some follow up to the violations. Basically have to fax some clearance tag signed off by a authorized gas technician, that repairs were performed or enbridge charges $65.00 + GST for a follow up inspection. Funny thing is, I removed the violations myself damaging sections of the walls in the process and they still need to schedule the inspection. I will upload pictures soon.

Morale of the story: Don't let any utility companies or government for that matter, enter your house, meter exchange or not.
Sorry, but I'd agree with Enbridge on this one.

The bottom line is that their rep discovered something unsafe and is ordering you to get it fixed. If it is a fire hazard or explosion hazard, then not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you are also putting your neighbours at risk. That's not fair. I know I would be royally pissed if my neighbour had a fire or explosion that damaged my house and it was later discovered that the incident was caused by a known defect that they had been ordered to repair and they refused to do so.

For future reference, you should have asked the subcontractor to let you correct the problem right away in his presence, and thereby save you the costs of a future inspection.

If the gas meter is outside, why did the tech come in?In order to install the new smart meters, they sometimes need to shut off the gas. When they shut off the gas, the pilot lights on the furnace, water heater and gas fireplaces go out. This means that after the meter has been exchanged, they need to enter the home and re-light the pilot lights.

I actually have a story about this...

My parents have a 20 year-old house that has a gas fireplace. When Enbridge came to install their new gas meter, they shut off the gas, and the pilot light in the fireplace went out. When the guy turned the gas back on, he tried to re-light the fireplace's pilot light, but it wouldn't light. He tried for about 20 minutes, and then gave up saying that they'd need to get a repair technician in.

When my Dad called Enbridge to arrange for the repair tech's visit, they said that he'd be charged $100 for the service call, plus the cost of any repairs. My Dad raised hell, saying that the only reason the fireplace wouldn't come on now was because of the fact that they shut off the gas to begin with. In the end, Enbridge relented and sent out a repair tech out for free.

The tech looked at the fireplace and within seconds declared that the fireplace's ignition switch was dead and would need to be replaced. He also said that a flame sensor was broken, and would have to be replaced if my Dad ever wanted to use the fireplace again. The tech said that the broken ignition switch could be worked around by simply using a match to light the fireplace...but the flame sensor was a safety device and could not be bypassed. Basically the flame sensor was designed to shut off gas flow to the fireplace if the pilot light went out - since it wasn't working, the gas would just keep flowing to the fireplace even when the pilot light was out. Obviously, this could lead to an explosion. So the tech quoted $600 for the parts and labour, saying that it was so expensive because the parts for a 20 year-old fireplace are hard to come by.

My Dad was livid. He is 72 and retired, so it's not like he just has $600 sitting around to spend on something that worked perfectly fine a few days earlier. He tried to explain to the tech that the fireplace had been working perfectly fine before the gas was shut off, but the tech just stuck to his story. He said that the ignition switch and flame sensor may have broken years before and that my Dad didn't notice because he simply left the fireplace's pilot light lit all year round. He said that my Dad was lucky that they discovered the problems (especially the flame sensor) because if these defects it had gone un-noticed, and the pilot had just blown out on its own one day, the gas would have just kept flowing and there would have been an explosion.

In the end, I told the repair tech that we'd have to arrange for a second opinion. I then called up a guy that I had used for previous natural gas work, and he came out and looked at the fireplace. He confirmed Enbridge's findings, but said that he could fix the fireplace for $250. So we paid him, and today everything is working fine.

The moral of this story: just because an Enbridge rep tells you that something needs to be repaired or replaced doesn't mean that they're lying... Sure theire repair services may be more expensive than other companies, but in the end, they really are tasked with looking out for users of their product (natural gas).

[DeimosBeros]

Is there not an inspection tag on your furnace from when it was installed? Perhaps that can provide some traction?

There is on the water tank. The furnace is one of those old monsters that doesn't have one.

The infractions were likely put in place after the furnace was installed. So the answer is likely no.

I live in York region here in Toronto and alot of houses here do not have their meters outside yet. I'm told it's a pressure issue with existing gas lines outside.


I called in for an inspection earlier today. Might as well get it done.
Oh and next time when buying a house, pay for an inspection!

[BuildingHomes]

Some wood framing is within 6 inches or too close to the aluminum duct work, and capable of combustion if the aluminum heated up

I need some clarification on this point..

Wood framing too close to aluminum duct work? Did they actually say aluminum?

Is this a hot air duct or an exhaust duct?

Do you have a picture of this?

[Techhead]

I would have to agree with Endbridge. You should count your blessing that the tech wasn't a real prick and shut your gas off completly til you complied.
Any violation of gas codes usually results in the gas being shut off and tagged till you have the issue resolved, inspected, then they will remove the tag and turn your gas on.

This has happen to me twice in two different homes I've owned.
Once was the previous owner filled the chiminey with old bricks.
The other was becasuse my furnace had a cracked heat exchanger.