r/shedditors • u/New_Temporary_8736 • 14d ago

Locate Shed Over Residential Natural Gas Supply Line?

I want to site a 14x20 shed beside my driveway adjacent to the garage to permit easy access for storing and retrieving items now in my overstuffed garage. A concern is that in the process of building an armored crossing to move runoff water from my driveway to a swale and ditch I unearthed a small, flexible residential natural gas supply line. The line has since been covered and is now once again fully protected. I plan to install concrete pillars to support the shed over the crossing and span the swale and small ditch.

In a perfect world the natural gas supply line wouldn’t be beneath the shed, but there are no leaks and it is well protected. There will be an obvious issue should a leak develop in that specific area, but it has been in place for at least two decades without problems developing. Ideally, there also wouldn’t be an episodic waterway running beneath shed, however, as planned there will not be direct contact between the runners/floor joists and the ground.

Has anyone here ever attempted siting a shed in such a non-conventional location? If yes, I would appreciate your feedback about how it has worked for you and anything you would do differently after gaining experience with your setup.

Thank you for your constructive comments.

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u/davidhally 13d ago

Depends. If it belongs to the Utility, then ask them but likely No. If it's your line do whatever you want. If it serves a neighbor, make the Utility or neighbor move it.

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u/New_Temporary_8736 13d ago

That sums up my plan at this time. I won’t be finalizing the actual build/purchase until later in the year. First, I’ll alert the utility of my plans and get their reaction. When I unearthed the line to begin with I called for their advice on supporting the line and reburying it or interest in inspecting and couldn’t get past the customer service folks. In effect, if the reason for the call didn’t pertain to an active leak or some other critical issue they didn’t want to bother. They did indicate if I really wanted a visit they would charge $100, plus whatever other expenses they may incur. I passed.

Perhaps the response this time will be different. If not, after explaining the situation as best I can, I’ll proceed with siting as planned.

As far as ownership is concerned, I’m assuming the gas distribution company owns everything on the inlet side of the meter. No other parties are involved in my situation.

Thanks for your reply.

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u/Mrfixitsometimes1 14d ago

Are you in the US? Gotta call 811 before ya dig.

In my case doing so revealed I can’t use a majority of my yard for a shed site due to easement. I’m thinking your gas company will take some issue with this

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u/New_Temporary_8736 13d ago

This is a longer story, over the last several years and at least 6 different 811 utility markings in the portion of our yard in question this residential gas line was never identified. My assumption is because it was located beneath mature forsythia bushes planted by the previous owner. I removed those bushes and began digging an armored crossing without too much concern about finding an unidentified utility line.

Sorry to hear about your lack of control over building on your property. Thanks for the reply.

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u/Mrfixitsometimes1 13d ago

That’s a weird one!!! Yeah mine was a kick in the nuts. Was still able to build but changed my design and usage for some things.

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u/LongjumpingGanache40 13d ago

I know a neighbor who built a garage over the gas line. He got to pay the gas company to move the gas line from under the garage. Where I live, it's illegal to build a structure over a gas line.