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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Canada, Québec, Brossard
    Posts
    30

    Default Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    Hello,

    I saw a steel pipe going in the ground in duplex built in 1945. Anyone know what it was for? The municipality never had any gas provider.

    The seller talked about the possibility of being an old well. I have big doubts about this..

    Thanks for the help.

    Eli

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    25

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    Maybe an underground oil tank?

    The pipes need to be addressed (removed/sealed) as they are a possible entry route for radon, ect.. You need to do a little more investigating. You dont want to miss a buried oil tank. Did you test with a gas detector or anything? Age of the house, it could be previous oil... A buried oil tank, if missed, can be a huge liability. Are their any additional pipes outside the house (yard area) that come out of the ground (vent piping)? Are there any oil companies in the area that can be spoken to about prior services in the area? Any evidence of previous use of oil? Any black stains anywhere? Any abandoned piping anywhere else in the structure? Ground depressions? Dead grassy area?

    It could be anything DIY many years ago. I would definitely try to rule out an underground oil tank before recommending the pipe be sealed.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    1,828

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    1945 was ripe for galvanized main water lines, having the water meter hanging there in the same location leads me towards that. Oil lines even in 1945 were typically 1/2 " copper but if you are in them thar hills, anything is possible


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Nampa, Idaho
    Posts
    601

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    Looks like the incoming water supply pipe. Is it still in use or is there a new incoming water supply line. I would not expect this to be for an underground oil tank based on the location.


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    25

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    My first thought would be an old well. It also looked to me that the pipe ended at the elbow. The water meter appeared to be associated with the copper tubing in the background. Maybe it was a water main from the city that was put in previously, and for one reason or another, the location was changed and they put a different main in a different location.

    Anytime I see pipes coming from the ground in close proximity to a house, I do everything I can to ensure that there arent any buried tanks anywhere.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    2,560

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    A pipe an entry point for radon in a crawlspace???? Interesting!
    A would lean on an old water supply pipe, not an oil tank. All the oile tanks in my area had small copper pipes (no larger than 1/2").
    Where did the other end of the pipe go?


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    52

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    I have seen this once before in a old house and it was for a fact a well with an above ground pump. When I find an oil tank indoors its usually near an outside wall above the floor, not buried.


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    58

    Default Re: Can anyone tell me the old purpose of this pipe?

    If you wrote it up and said you were unable to determine its use and referred them to a plumber at the minimum, you did your job. Its not really our job to figure everything out and find a remedy or even a cause, its our job to show them areas of concern for them to investigate further with a specialist. If you did that, you did your job in my opinion.


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