So, Sunday night, there's the faint odor of gas by the stove, right?

[Magrittes Pipe]

dolo calls the gas company, who comes out with their sniffers and soapy water. They determine that the origin of the smell is a leaky shut-off valve, and they tell me that I(!!!) need to replace it.

Okay, so they go down in the basement and turn off some valve thingy. Say that doing so shuts off gas flow to the stove, and that I can now safely replace the valve.

Monday morning, we go to the hardware store and purchase a replacement valve. I grab my handy-dandy pipe wrenches and have at that old bugger. Imagine my surprise when I get the old valve off and the 1/2" gas line drops out from the floor and starts blowing gas into the basement.

I call the gas company, dolo calls 911. The fire dept. comes out and shuts off all the gas to the house (3 meters, even though it's a single-family -- don't ask). They get a fan and ventilate the place. Gas tech arrives and tells me that the Sunday crew had shut off the gas flow to the DRYER, not the stove (I kinda figured that, Glen). She helps (woo-hoo) replace the faulty valve, but then finds more seepage in the line. Turns on two of the meters, but not the one for the stove. We still can't cook.

Oh -- and did I mention that around this time the pressure valve on one of the water heaters fails?

Yesterday, back to the hardware store to buy some pipe dope (hee hee) and a new water heater pressure valve. I seal up every last fucking joint on that line, unplug the stopped meter, reconnect it, and turn on the gas. I relight the pilots on the water heaters and boiler. I just took a shower, after three days.

I am not a plumber. I am not a gas man, despite what my friends and family may say.

Gee, I sure hope we don't all die.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. Golly! That's really something...

Keep posting every 20 seconds so we can be assured that you haven't blown up/asphyxiated or something else...

[kick-ass-bob]

2. why should he post slower than normal?

[billyskank]

19. ...

[terrya]

3. Don't you guys dare die!

Needless to say, I hope you find the source of this thing. That's freaking serious shit (well, DUH Terry)

[dolo amber]

4. You forgot the part about

how they're not planning to compensate us for the 890,934,928,028 tons of gas that leaked out, on the meter, due to their employees' incompetence...

[asthmaticeog]

6. WHAT?

ASSHOLES!

[prolesunited]

7. I'm sure you will pursue that one

That's ridiculous. That was their mistake, and you shouldn't be forced to pay for it.

BTW, with all those issues, do you have a carbon monoxide detector in the house?

[Magrittes Pipe]

8. Nope.

Probably not a bad idea, though -- then again, CO is caused by combustion -- if we have a gas leak that catches fire, CO will be the least of our concerns.

[Cathyclysmic]

13. Holy Fuck!

greedy little bastards.

[sundog]

5. sounds like a great honeymoon

[matcom]

9. now you can't have sex

cause after sex you'll wanna smoke

[Magrittes Pipe]

10. We're married now.

We can't have sex anymore, anyway.

[matcom]

12. good point

*whew*

nothing to worry about then

[XNASA]

15. Sure you can.

Just not with each other.

[tigereye]

20. caromba!

ya only been married what, 3 days?

nice job on the pipes, BTW.

[Richardo]

11. .

On edit: hedges copped to it first.

[XNASA]

14. I advised you to buy the house had coal-fired appliances...

...but you wouldn't listen.

Why won't anyone listen to me?

[merh]

16. Get a canary.

[KG]

17. after i do electrical work for people, i call back a couople days later

if their house hasn't burned down by then, it's probably safe.

[XemaSab]

18. That's f***ed up

I'd file a written complaint...

[redqueen]

21. Doesn't being a homeowner RAWK?

[Susang]

22. Shit!

Be careful you guys!

[GirlinContempt]

23. Do you own the house?

[Midlodemocrat]

24. Welcome to home ownership.

If it isn't one thing, it is something else.