Reader Question:

How Do I remove An Old Natural Gas Grill?

Reader:

Good morning,

I hope you can help with a quick question. I have a friend who moved recently to an older house and wants the old, rusted natural gas-fired grill removed. I, of course, have been assigned the task as I am her neighbor-like-a-father figure and therefore she assumes I am an expert in all things metal. She told me the gas company has been over and verified the gas line is no longer working to the grill. I think she means they shut off the line, not removed the line. I have tried contacting the local gas company and looked on the web, but I have not found my answer. The gas line ap pears to come from the back of the house, runs underground and then feeds into the bottom of the grill. Anything special I should know or is it just remove the pieces, parts and unscrew the feeder pipe? Just want to be a little careful when working with gas-feed stuff. Thanks for any help you may provide. There is no rush on answering back, in fact the longer you take to respond, the longer I can tap-dance about "looking into it". As you can imagine, a woman in a new house has plenty of other "fix-up" jobs on her list. 

Response:

Hey Reader, 

I completely understand as my neighbor has been waiting for me to install a peep hole in her front door for quite some time now.  As for the removal, the most important thing it to make sure the gas line is truly turned off. Seeing if the grill will light, or if you can smell gas with the burners turned on will be an easy way to verify this. Once you know for sure the gas is turned off, you can simply unscrew the connections and remove the grill. It's also a good idea to cap off any of the gas lines that are open afterwards. You can do this with the proper Teflon tape and end cap. This will keep insects and water out as well as keep gas in if the line were inadvertently turned on.  I think that should do it. 

Good luck

Reader:

Thanks for the quick reply (on a Sunday, no less) and the info.  It looks like a job I can handle. I'll trade you a peephole for a new mirror and re-wiring her bathroom. Both her brother-in-law, a licensed electrician, and I have told her the combination of her new mirror (think carnival fun-house size) and the new vanity lighting won't fit over her sink. Her reply, "You two will figure something out." She is great on design, but sometimes a little weak on details.