Gas lines
Gas piping in Matthews, NC
A gas smell near the range, a new line needed for an outdoor kitchen, or a tankless water heater that needs a bigger feed than the house currently has, gas work gets pressure tested and permitted.
When gas work needs a permit, which is almost always
Any new gas line, any line extension, and most repairs beyond a simple fitting get permitted and inspected in Matthews and the surrounding towns. That's not us being cautious for its own sake, it's what protects you if the house is ever sold or an insurance claim ever touches that line. We pull the permit as part of the job and schedule the inspection around the work, not as an afterthought.
Black iron pipe is still the standard for gas inside most homes here, and older sections of Matthews and Pineville sometimes have runs that predate current code, undersized for a modern range or a tankless water heater added later. Adding a tankless unit, a gas range, or an outdoor kitchen off a Weddington patio often means resizing part of the existing run, not just tapping into it.
Common gas piping jobs
- New line runs for outdoor grills, fire pits, and outdoor kitchens
- Gas line sizing and extension for tankless water heater conversions
- Range and cooktop connections, including switching a house from electric to gas
- Repair of an existing line found to be leaking or undersized during another job
- Leak detection and pressure testing on lines suspected of a slow leak
- Reconnection and testing after other trades disturb a gas line during unrelated work
Wanted a gas line run out to a new grill on the patio. They pulled the permit, ran it under the slab edge, and it passed inspection first try.
Homeowner, Weddington · Sample
What drives the price on a gas line job
| Length of the new run | A short line from an existing tee to an indoor range is a smaller job than a run out to a detached patio kitchen in a Weddington backyard. |
|---|---|
| Pipe sizing needed | Feeding a tankless water heater or a full outdoor kitchen setup often means upsizing part of the existing black iron run, not just tapping into it. |
| Access and route | Running a line under a slab edge or through a finished ceiling costs differently than an open crawlspace route off Lawyers Rd. |
| Permit and inspection scheduling | Every new or extended line gets a permit pulled and an inspection scheduled, which is built into the timeline, not an extra step tacked on after. |
Questions we get on the phone
I smell gas near my stove, what should I do?
Leave the house, do not flip any light switches on the way out, and call from outside once you're clear, whether that's us or the gas utility's emergency line. If you can safely reach the meter outside, shut it off. Do not go back in to search for the source yourself.
Do you need a permit to run a new gas line for a grill?
Yes, in Matthews and every town we serve, a new gas line gets permitted and inspected regardless of whether it's for a grill, a range, or a water heater. We handle pulling the permit and scheduling the inspection as part of the job.
Can my existing gas line handle a new tankless water heater?
Often not without resizing. Tankless units generally demand more gas flow than a tank heater, and older black iron runs sized for a house's original appliances sometimes need part of the line upsized to feed a tankless unit properly, which we check before quoting the install.
How do you test a gas line for leaks?
We pressure test the line, sealing it off and monitoring for any pressure drop over time, which reveals even a small leak that a sniff test at each fitting could miss. Any repaired or newly run line gets pressure tested before it's put into service.
How much does gas line work cost?
It depends on length of run, pipe size needed, and how much of the existing line, if any, can be reused. The plumber looks at the actual run and what the new appliance requires, then tells you what the job costs before any work starts.