Gas line installation and repair in Tampa

Gas work is licensed, permitted and inspected for good reason. Everything below assumes the job is done that way, because the alternative isn't a cheaper version of the same thing.

What we do

• New gas lines for ranges, water heaters, dryers, pool heaters, outdoor kitchens, fire pits and generators.
• Line extensions when an appliance is moving or being added.
• Repairs to damaged, corroded or failing line.
• Leak investigation and pressure testing.
• Appliance connections, including shut-off valves and flexible connectors.
• Sizing corrections where an existing line can't supply what's been connected to it.

Sizing, which is where most problems start

A gas line has to deliver enough volume for everything connected to it, at once. Add a tankless water heater or an outdoor kitchen to a line that was sized for a range and a dryer, and the result is appliances that underperform for reasons nobody can explain.

This comes up constantly with tankless water heaters. They draw substantially more than a tank unit at full output, and an undersized supply line is one of the most common reasons a new tankless installation disappoints its owner. We work out total demand before quoting, including anything you're planning to add later.

Signs of a gas problem

• The smell. Natural gas is odourless, so the distinctive rotten egg smell is an additive put there specifically so you notice.
• Hissing near a line, meter or appliance.
• Dead or discolored vegetation in a line over a buried gas line.
• Yellow or orange burner flames where they should be blue.
• Soot marks around an appliance.
• Appliances underperforming together, which can point at supply rather than the appliances.

Carbon monoxide deserves separate mention, because it has no smell at all. Headaches, dizziness or nausea that improve when you leave the house are a reason to get out and get the appliances checked. A working CO alarm is cheap.

How a job runs

1. Survey the existing system, meter capacity and total connected load.
2. Size the line for everything it will serve, including anything planned.
3. Permit. Gas work is permitted and inspected. We handle it.
4. Install in approved materials, correctly supported and protected.
5. Pressure test the system and prove it holds.
6. Inspection, then connect appliances and commission.

Generators and hurricane season

This is the seasonal version of this work in Tampa. Standby generators running on natural gas need a properly sized supply, and the time to sort that is well before a storm is forecast rather than in the week everyone else has the same idea.

It's also worth knowing what your gas appliances will and won't do in an outage. Many gas water heaters and ranges need electricity for ignition or controls, so having gas doesn't automatically mean having hot water. If that matters to your household, it's worth checking which of your appliances actually work without power before you need the answer.