For a new or changed gas line, call a contractor who does gas piping regularly, which can be a plumbing company or a heating company. In Washington, the plumber certificate does not cover fuel gas, so ask about the permit and the pressure test instead. Call PSE about the meter, and leave the house first if you ever smell gas.
Gas Line Questions, Answered
Should I call a plumber or an HVAC company to run a gas line?
Either can do it, as long as the company does gas piping and pulls the permit. Plumbers like us run gas to water heaters, ranges, fireplaces, fire pits and generators, while HVAC companies usually handle the furnace. PSE itself names a plumbing or heating contractor as the help for inspecting and repairing buried gas piping past the meter.
Does a gas line installer need a plumbing license in Washington?
No. Washington’s plumber certificate covers water, drain and medical gas piping, and fuel gas is not part of it. What matters for paid gas piping work is a registered contractor, and the city or county permit that brings an inspection. Seattle adds a gas piping license of its own, so that question is worth asking for Seattle work.
Who owns the gas pipe between the meter and my house?
You do, from the meter onward. PSE’s responsibility ends at the meter, so the piping into the house and any buried line to a hot tub, pool, shop or standby generator is yours to maintain. On metal pipe underground, that means checking for corrosion over the years and fixing leaks as soon as they are found.
What should I do if I smell gas in my house?
Leave first. Get everyone outside without flipping switches, using phones inside or doing anything that could make a spark, then call PSE’s 24-hour line or 911 once you are outside and away from the house. PSE sends someone to make it safe, and the repair on your side of the meter comes after that.
My generator or gas fireplace will not start. Do I call a plumber or the appliance’s service tech?
Start by confirming the gas supply. If gas reaches the appliance at the right pressure, the fault is inside the appliance, which is a job for its service technician. In Graham this May, Devin had propane at a standby generator’s connection the moment the flex line was loosened, so the trouble starting it was not the gas line.
Who do I call before digging near a buried gas line?
Call 811 at least two business days before you dig. PSE marks its own lines from the street to the meter at no charge, but the lines past your meter are yours, so they need a private locating service. Near any buried gas line, the digging itself should be done by hand, not with a machine.
Is it cheaper to tie a fire pit into an existing gas line?
Often, if the existing pipe can carry the extra load. When a Parkland homeowner asked us this spring about gas for the backyard, Charles looked at tying into the line already serving an outdoor fireplace instead of a new run of about 150 feet underground. A short tie-in means less digging, but only a sizing check says whether it works.
Our Recommendation
Call whoever is already doing the related work. If a new water heater, range, fireplace or generator is going in, the plumber setting it can run the gas to it as part of the same job, and if a furnace is being replaced, the HVAC company setting it can handle its connection. Either way, ask three questions before work starts: who pulls the permit, how the line will be sized, and how it will be tested.
Planning a Gas Line
Whether it is a new appliance, a backyard project or an old line you no longer trust, call us or request service, and we will tell you whether it is a plumbing job before we quote it.
More: gas line installation and repair · water heater replacement in Tacoma · water heater repair and installation · plumbing in Tacoma
