Sounds like an ad for flatulence. Very classy this blog has become. Very Yoda I am talking like. Very weird I am at any moment.
I’m in one of those moods tonight. One of those dye-my-hair-pink-and-make-an-overload-of-chocolate-baked-goods-while-dancing-naked-in-the-backyard kinda moods. I’m sure that I’m not the only one. (DEARGODTELLMEI’MNOTALONE! err…maybe tell me I am alone since I may or may not streak my pregnant cellulite in the moonlight.)
All that to say…this post may be one of the weird ones. chalk it up to pregnancy hormones running amok. and paint fumes from our kitchen reno. it’s probably not the fumes since we went with no-VOC. so let’s just blame the fact that I am 34 weeks pregnant…and we have done absolutely nothing to get ready for the baby and our house is literally one Toucan Sam away from being totally fruity and loopy. that might make sense only to me.
Back to the gas. I betcha you have never been so relieved to read that sentence 🙂
So in our backyard there is a pipe. A long one. It just randomly sticks outta the house. At first we thought it was for either a giant grill or a hot tub…and the later we guessed it might be for a gas supply tank (because I guess you always need a backup Napoleon?)
It has been there sticking out of our house for a while. Will would be tempted every so often to bang it with a stick to which I would freak out and expect the house to explode. Literally. I ran into the woods. I didn’t even bother to warn Jeremy. Kablooheey.
So when I heard that my brother (who is a licensed master plumber) was coming to visit over Labor day, I begged him to come by and remove it for us. We don’t do gas.
Well…not that kind 🙂
Jeremy and I prefer life.
Brad began by shutting off the gas supply to the house. I love that Braden was there for each step – learning to be a little DIYer 🙂
Then Brad unscrewed the pipe outside from the elbow that was inside.
That shorter piece next to it in the grass was the elbow and the bit he removed to get to the joint.
Then he used a bit of tape (anyone know the name of it to save me the time of googling?) and put on a cap.
He hand tightened and then he wrenched.
Then came the most technical and difficult part. It involved bubbles. I’m not kidding.
After turning the gas back on, he poured a cap full of bubble soap on the joint to test for leaks.
This is what it looks like when it has a leak. (Brad unscrewed it a little for me so that I could take a photo for all you…and because everyone wants to know exactly what gas bubbles look like).
And this is what it looks like when there is no leak.
Pretty nifty, huh?
Of course, we HIGHLY recommend hiring a professional to do this sort of DIY project. Removing drywall will not kill you. Painting cabinets might make you want to commit suicide but in general, you’ll survive. Gas can blow up. Gas can catch on fire. Gas can asphyxiate you. Gas leaks can cause carbon monoxide in your home. Real dangerous stuff.
Off to go run around in my backyard. Don’t tell my neighbors.
p.s. Need an awesome teachers gift or holiday present? Amazon has a years worth of Better Homes and Gardens
on sale for $5! I already have gotten mine renewed but I’m thinking of giving a subscription to my sis for her one year anniversary 🙂
It’s so nice to see everything step by step . I guess your house renovation is just like eating an elephant – you do it one bite at a time. Showing all the small things helps us all to realise that changes do not just happen – there are many things that have to happen before we get to the ta dah moment and hopefully it is helping us all plan our own changes much better .
Love all your work . I hope you are off making brownies somewhere , and since you can’t do it in your kitchen because it is in pieces , I hope you aren’t naked in someone else’s .
I think your brother used teflon tape, at least thats what i always called it.
Ooo! I know! It’s teflon (PTFE) tape.
Ready for this…the tape is called plumbers tape! Can be called teflon tape, but if you ask for plumbers tape, this is what youll get. 🙂
Take Bean-o before you buy a home and they’re be-no gas.. line. Fun project!
ok…you’re not alone…because this LITERALLY made me laugh out loud “our house is literally one Toucan Sam away from being totally fruity and loopy. that might make sense only to me.” 🙂 have fun running around in your backyard 🙂
Looks like thread seal/plumbers tape. It lubricates to allow pipes to be screwed together easier, but then sort of disentigrates and creates a seal.
Great post! That tape is called Teflon tape (guess it’s made of Teflon?) It’s the same stuff you use when changing out a shower head or faucet.
It’s probably Teflon tape. It squishes into the gaps between the threads to create an airtight seal. It is so handy to take advantage of family tradesmen… I am always asking my electrician dad to take care of electrical things at my house, when it gets beyond swapping out a light switch or receptacle. That’s another thing you want to leave to the professionals!
Haha It’s teflon tape. I had to use it when I replaced my kitchen faucet last year. I got it in pink. 🙂
Its called plumbers tape or thread seal tape 🙂 praying for an easy next 6 weeks.
Bhahahah….you are too funny.
I need a handy brother, I swear you all could take over the world with all of your knowledge and cool people in your lives. Speaking of, promise me you will show off your mama’s holiday decorating this year. And are you doing another awesome Halloween entry?
Great post, very informative!!!
We have always called it plumber’s tape 🙂
I love your blog and have read it for years, but this post made me stop in my tracks when reading the last paragraph. Suicide is not a joke. You don’t want to die by suicide because you’re bored painting your cabinets. Suicide is the result of a serious mental illness such as depression. Also, suicide is not a crime, so we need to get away from saying “commit” suicide — instead you could say die by suicide or take one’s life. I lost my dad to suicide, and I’m tired of not speaking up when things like this bother me, so there ya go. I’ll still be a loyal reader (and I’m excited to see the finished kitchen project!), but I just wanted to let you know.
Haha… great stuff. I just gotta say, I look forward to reading your blog every day. Out of all of the ones I follow, yours is by far one of the most entertaining ones, even if it is just crazy pregnant brain… I am highly entertained. Great stuff and look forward to reading more!
Thanks for the BHG tip… I will be going to Amazon immediately!
The tape is “plumbers tape” 😉
You can’t call it ‘Teflon’ tape because ‘teflon’ is atademark of 3M and they have been know to have their lawyers wrtie nasty letters to people demanding that they take down that reference to a product that is not theirs.
It is PFTE tape. I see that Brad used the white tape – any reason why he didn’t use the correct yellow tape (it is hicker and designed for use on gas lines)?
Glad it was an easy fix!
Hmm I’m confused. Where was the gas pipe coming from, a town supply? Where I live, gas is used to heat homes, stoves, dryers, etc. You have to call the utility company to move, remove, install or uninstall it — basically you can’t even look at it without their approval, but that’s because it’s hooked into the public infrastructure, like the sewer and water supply. I’m assuming yours was a tank, and the thanks gone?
I have oil heat in my house (HAATE IT) but we have gas to our stove and dryer. I can’t wait until the oil furnace goes and I can get the gas heater hooked into the ducts for the whole house. Never have to worry about buying for the season or being on a payment plan again, hallelujah!
So…why was the pipe there if it made no difference with it gone? Just wondering…
Teflon tape 🙂 It’s a plumbing staple – you also use it when installing a shower head.
Glad the weird pipe is gone and it must be handy to have a plumber in the family!
I have Toucan Sam living at my house. If you want to borrow him. Just sayin’. : )
Hey, at least you could chalk the naked dancing up to hormones and it’s entirely plausible. With my luck the day I decide to go ‘airy’ would be the day my snow-bird neighbors come back!
Exactly. We have no idea why it was there.
xo kb
Our supply lines come in from the street and go to the side of our house so this was a line out. Weird huh?
xo kb
He used what he had in his truck I’m sure.
xo kb
I’m so sorry to hear about your dad Shelli…that breaks my heart for you and your loved ones. I have friends that no longer have their daughter and know how that pain will be there always. My exaggeration was not intended to hurt so I’m so sorry for that painful reminder.
xo kb
I don’t know! Maybe!
xo kb
34 weeks?! Where did the time go?
Teflon tape.
haha!! Katie, you are awesome. I’m always in one of those moods and I can’t blame hormones/a baby growing inside me!
Dancing around naked in the backyard isn’t normal? Hmm.
Thank you for always posting about the magazine sales! I always hit them up when you alert us to them. I love me some BHG. I already renewed mine too but may have to gift one to someone else.
Hahaha you made me laugh out loud with yoda stuff, you are hilarious 🙂
Next time you have the gas shut off, I’d recommend swapping out the white PTFE tape (for most general plumbing applications) for the yellow PTFE tape specifically for gas. The white tape is probably not “to code”.
Score one for Brad! Now THAT is a handy skillset to have in the family.
I dated my car mechanic for a while but then married a computer guy. Yeah….I have become super, super lazy about things like installing the printer on my new laptop…I have my own personal I.T. department for that kind of thing.
Also, hey, my baby sister is due around when you are (her third) and they are racing the clock to finish the basement! The pictures look fantastic, though. She would totally join you naked in the backyard all jacked up on pregnancy hormones. Or, she probably wouldn’t go all nuker, but then again, she lives in the North. It is cold at night up here!
Hey, Shelli, I just wanted to say I am sorry to hear you’ve lost your dad. I am sure it is very difficult for you to have him gone.
Just wanted to say that. ((((SHELLI))))
…speaking of naked pink haired pregnant women running around their backyard (what?) – might I ask about maternity pics?! Have you been snapping them monthly and hiding them from us? the nerve… 🙂
Could they have been planning an outdoor kitchen or something? I can’t think of any other reason for a gas line out of the house in that type of position!
I was really hoping for a post full of chocolate recipes… this one was good too, but not as good as chocolate. I guess you’d need a kitchen for that eh? 😉
haha…I snap them every 5 or 6 weeks…I just have so many other topics to talk about that I haven’t gotten around to posting them 🙂
xo – kb
Thanks for the tip on Better Homes and Gardens! I just bought it and is it sad how excited that it made me?
That pipe may have been for an outdoor grill. When we moved into our new house we had one just like that and the gas company said the previous owners had it hooked up to their grill. Also, the gas company came out and got rid of the pipe and capped it off for free. After seeing them do it I’m sure we could have done it ourselves… but I didn’t want to take the chance of blowing up the house 🙂
That was our original guess…glad to hear everyone is not blown up 🙂
xo – kb
Hey Katie…would your brother personally know of an honest plumber in the Nashville, TN area? My husband travels for work and therefore I have been at home with the kiddos and have had some unfortunate experiences with plumbers (trying to overcharge me…and argued with me about it!). Anyway, we don’t know anyone in the area to ask…so I thought I would ask you! Your honestly is very refreshing. Thanks and hope the rest of the pregnancy goes quickly for you!
Man! I was really hoping for some weekly/monthly updates too!!! You know we all we want the gories and glories of your pregnancy!
*honesty*
Unknown pipes scare the crape out of me. Glad it got did. 🙂
Don’t know if you know about camelcamelcamel. It tracks prices for stuff on amazon and lets you know when it hits a certain price you’re.looking for. I thought that strike you’re digging looked cool, and tracked it. It’s at a low point right now.
Trike. Meh for autocorrect.
some houses have gas lines to the backyard to hook up to an outdoor grill. a friend of mine ahs that.
You crack me up! I was having a this-pregnant-lady-wants-to-chop-all-her-hair-off-and-then-cry-about-it days last week.
But dancing with pink hair sounds much more appealing. 🙂
Brad here, sorry I’m late in responding. The tape I used is Teflon tape, also used t-555 pipe dope. The red or yellow gas tape is what people use when they don’t want to buy both pipe dope and tape. Completely legal and to code. If it’s not, I feel bad for all the homes, churches and schools I have put them in;)
Thanks for piping up Brad. haha…punny…knew you’d appreciate that 🙂 Now get off my site so I can make fun of you behind your back…also, heard you were snuggling an english bulldog today…does your puppy know that you were cheating on her?
Love you. k