what is this? your guess is as good as mine

[Gramps]

I have an old home, from the 50's. I removed some flooring and found this:
What you are looking at is a piece of 1/4" copper coming out of a concrete slab, the same gauge as my furnace humidifier supply line, that seems to be going into the slab for some reason.
There also appears to be a "trench" of some sort leading under my subfloor.

The surface was scarified last week by a contractor (not well). I planned on covering the whole thing with flo-coat concrete, and some cheap floating tile on top
what do you think this is? I wasn't sure if i should cover this

 

[Smooky]

It may have been a gas line to a gas heater at one time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cer...4FJPnsAT0w4KwAw&ved=0CEsQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=553

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Cacher_Chick]

It also could of been a line going to a tank for a fuel oil burner.

 

[Gramps]

It also could of been a line going to a tank for a fuel oil burner.

interesting idea.
the house used to be heated with oil many years ago, but the furnace room is on the other end of the house. There is a thick cast iron steel grate that is still in the furnace room.
Was it common to store oil tanks in the other end of the house (under the stairs) than near the chimney?

This house also has combined systems with weepeing tile and dranage together which is of course no longer to code, but it is legacy. I wonder if the trench is related to this.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

The tank was normally located where the fuel truck could best access it.

 

[Gramps]

this is definately not closest to the road. the pipe must have ben used for something else

 

[Jadziedzic]

I'd second the vote for a fuel oil line; my parents' house from the fifties here in the States had an identical setup. If you cut the copper flush to the floor and run a small piece of flexible wire down it you may find remnants of oil.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

I used to see houses with fuel oil tanks buried next to the house too. They were not all inside.

 

[Bill Shack]

I used to see houses with fuel oil tanks buried next to the house too. They were not all inside.

It is an oil line.