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We've owned this home for 5+ years now, and these pipes have been bugging me. Even moreso now that I'm looking to do some landscaping right over one of them.

The house was built in the 60's in a Philadelphia PA suburb. We have city lines for natural gas, water, and sewer. The pipes wiggle a bit with a touch, but don't pull out. They're very firmly capped. 811 hasn't ever marked them when we've had them out before, and I intend to have them out before I do anything, but I want to know if anyone can ID them ahead of time so I can call a specific utility.

One of the pipes is in the front side yard, near the driveway but far away from the street. The other is in the backyard next to our patio.

woman's hand next to a capped off metal pipe capped off metal pipe, no hand visible woman's hand next to a second capped off metal pipe second capped off metal pipe, no hand visible

Niall C.
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Marisa
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8 Answers8

25

Even though 811 ignored them doesn't mean they are not a private utility. It is possible they are natural gas or waterlines, or were an electrical conduit however they are most likely just pipes driven into the ground as support for a past fence.

To rule out private utilities you can call an HVAC contractor licensed in PA to work on gas (most installers and maintenance companies have employees who are) to come out and verify it. They will likely uncap it and use a special meter to detect gas. If there is water or electrical lines they will be able to tell you and give you guidance on your next steps. They will need access to the home and it will be easier for them and you if you clean out any areas in the home where pipes or electrical lines could be concealed behind exterior walls or crawl spaces on the side of the property the pipes are on.

Absent any utilities, you can dig down to the base or use a pipewrench on the pipe and unscrew the pipe and pull the unscrewed pipe up. If it is welded to a spade or something weird, you'll have to dig down all the way or cut the pipe off below grade.

If you have never worked with natural gas I don't think it would be responsible for you to take any advice walking you through dealing with a suspected gas line other than to call a licensed and trained professional.

JackOfAllMasterOf2
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It's impossible to tell as these are just generic threaded steel pipe. If this were mine and I wanted to know, I'd dig down and see what's there. That will likely answer your question.

jwh20
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6

If no underground utilities can identify them then it is very likely they were installed without a permit and so no service has record of their location or for what use. Do as jwh20 suggests and dig down. Their placement suggests they are auxillary water taps.

I had similar pipes all around my 50's era home. It turned out they were taps into water service (between meter and house) placing locations for spigots on all sides of house where there was originally just one located on the wall.

3

You could get lucky checking if these unknown pipes connect to known water or gas system using the continuity function on a multimeter.

If no continuity, then no useful information (as there could be several reasons for this). The 9 volt battery in the meter should be safe.

You will need to attach a long wire to the pipe, then take other end of wire to near water/gas pipes/faucets/spigot and use meter.

For a long wire you could use a normal extension cord.

You get an assistant to hold the earth pin on an extension cord on the pipe while you play with the other end.

Can also check if the two pipes are connected to each other this way.

If this is not clear, ask questions and helpful people will reply.

Polypipe Wrangler
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They may be property corners. If so, please do not remove them! :-) We surveyors need them to protect your property rights.

user180618
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That end cap looks very similar to this.

enter image description here

1-1/4" Galvanized Malleable Iron Pipe End Cap Threaded Ends, 300 Liquid & Gas psi, 150 Steam psi https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/36990166

This sort of cap is designed to resist high pressures. Whatever is in there, you don't want to risk it coming out in case you can't get the cap back on again.

chasly - supports Monica
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As others have said, it's impossible to tell without following the line, so be careful. I've seen unused sprinklers capped like this, and it could also be capped electrical lines for yard lights.

David Ehrmann
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they may not belong to official utilities and i suspect they do not. They may be places where electrical lines were ran from the house to support lighting. Perhaps they were never actually carried forward to completion of actually installing the lights but had the idea that perhaps someday and in preperation burried the pipe either with or without wiring inside ready to go. You can pick that kind of pipe and endcap up at any hardware store and all you would have to do is run a wire retriever down the pipe, they come on spools of different lengths, and attach the wires and then pull the tape back with the connected wires if there isnt wires already there. scope cameras are pretty cheap these days as well 12$ for one that hooks to your phone . make sure the power is off maybe before putting anything down there though if your worried about getting shocked but I dont see how that would happen.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fiberoptic+camera&source=lmns&tbm=shop&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS932US933&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS1vyu9v3tAhUGlJ4KHU6QD_wQ_AUoAXoECAEQAQ#spd=13279337161738709542

https://www.amazon.com/Yaetek-Electrician-Wires-Cable-Puller/dp/B06VSPGJDN

XCATHADOR
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