Gas Line Installation near you

In Ontario, the TSSA says registered fuels contractors are the only businesses legally authorized to do fuels-related work, and its online registry lets you verify a company's registration before you hire it; the technicians it sends must hold TSSA gas technician certification. In Quebec, the CMMTQ states that all work on a gas installation or a gas appliance must be entrusted to a specialized contractor who is a CMMTQ member, and the owner exceptions it describes for some heating work don't extend to gas.

In British Columbia, Technical Safety BC requires a permit to install or replace gas piping and gas appliances; the licensed contractor you hire applies for it, and at least one inspection must be requested within 180 days of the permit being issued. Elsewhere, the provincial safety authority licenses gas fitters and sets the permit rules. Wherever you live, ask for the licence or registration number and have the quote state who obtains the permit and books the inspection.

Your gas meter and the service line to the street were sized for the appliances the house had when gas was connected. A large new load, such as a tankless water heater, a standby generator or a pool heater, can exceed what the meter or the main house piping can supply, especially on a cold day when the furnace and water heater are already running. The fitter should check this before quoting, and if the meter needs upgrading or moving, that part is arranged with the gas utility, which owns the meter and service line.

An undersized system often shows itself as appliances that falter or burn poorly when others start. If you expect to add gas appliances over the next few years, plan them together: sizing one main line for a range, a barbecue and a future generator is simpler than adding branches one at a time, and a capped, tested outlet can wait for the appliance.

Lines to a barbecue, pool heater, detached garage or generator often run outside, along a wall or in a trench. Before any digging, public utilities must be marked: Ontario One Call says requesting a locate is free, required by law and should be done at least 5 business days before you dig, and in Quebec the Régie du bâtiment du Québec asks excavators to file a free request with Info-Excavation at least 4 business days before work starts.

Public locates stop at the meter. Ontario One Call notes that a privately owned gas line running from a house to a barbecue or pool heater needs a separate private locate, so keep a drawing of where your new line runs and how deep; whoever digs a fence post or garden bed later will need it. Buried piping has to be a material approved for burial, and exposed piping outdoors needs protection from impact, corrosion, falling ice and snow-clearing equipment.

Natural gas has an odorant added so leaks can be noticed, with a smell often compared to rotten eggs. If you smell it, Enbridge Gas says to go outside or leave the area immediately and call its emergency line or 911, and not to turn appliances or lights on or off, use phones or electronics near the leak, smoke or start vehicles. Énergir gives the same advice: leave the building quickly, don't operate any device near the leak, not even a phone or light switch, and call 9-1-1. Never assume someone else has already called.