My home currently has natural gas service. (Stove, Furnance, Water heater.) However, the dryer is electric and I do not have a gas line that runs to the laundry room.

Purchased a (new to me) 1-year-old dryer and was able to buy it for 1/3 the cost of a new unit. My prior dryer is 20 years old and I've done any/all the repairs on it myself over that time.

So I need a gas line installed from the garage to the laundry room. about 25' horizontal and up to the 2nd floor, maybe 12-14' verticle.



Options:

1) I could run the pipe or hose myself. The total run would be around 30 feet. Across a crawlspace and up to the 2nd floor where the laundry room is. Then get a contractor to connect the new pipe to the existing source and add a valve in the laundry room. (I'm handy enough to do it myself, just figure that I could do the grunt work and save money. Let the contractor do the connections)

2) just contract it out.


The problem: I'm not a natural gas supply expert.

- I don't know if I need to use a steel pipe, copper tubing, or some sort of modern plastic hose. I can cut and thread pipe, get the correct goop for the treads and do that.

- The stove is vertically in line with where the dryer is at. So in theory a line could be run down through the wall to the crawlspace and then insert a T splice to connect there. Or if that isn't acceptable run it 20-30 feet over to the garage where the feed to the furnace and water heater is located.


I know the simple but more expensive answer is to have a contractor do it. Unfortunately, I'm not making bank any longer as I'm training for a new career. Thus trying to find the best way to be safe but save money.

You need to let an expert do this.

NG is nothing to eff around with if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Get a good plumber, they can run what’s called CSST which is a flex stainless steel tube that’s covered in a black rubber jacket. When I got natural gas installed in my house in 2017, the HVAC guy ran what’s called TracPipe CounterStrike CSST to my heater and water heater.

Call the man, lic. Bonded, insured.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
You need to let an expert do this.

NG is nothing to eff around with if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Get a good plumber, they can run what’s called CSST which is a flex stainless steel tube that’s covered in a black rubber jacket. When I got natural gas installed in my house in 2017, the HVAC guy ran what’s called TracPipe CounterStrike CSST to my heater and water heater.

More often CSST has a Yellow jacket...Just sayin'

The natural gas supplier where I live have employees who do work like this. Contact them and see if they do it or can recommend a contractor.

The meter has to be rated for the total useable BTU of all sources. If it falls too low, you can have serious issues with efficiency or function of appliances, incorrect burning (gas/air ratio), loss of flame and resulting gas leak/build up.

As stated. "Call the man."

My dads a plumber, he runs his own stuff for propane and NG. When he ran a line in my kids house, dad was telling me about how the meter is gauged for the amount of all the items using gas at the same time. Someone else said that above in the comments.

Unless you’re a plumber….Call the man. Pay the money and then you won’t have to worry about killing yourself or your family.

Donot do yourself.... Call the man.... check for local permits..... Check with homeowners insurance carrier if allowed another gas applaince added without their knowledge because if something bad should happen and things go wrong they might void your coverage............................ Just my 2cts. .... drill sgt.

There was an attorney who used post here P239 something or another. He once asked about using epoxy to fix a leaking gas pipe he had. I think my advice to him was doing gas lines yourself is like when a regular person represents themselves in court instead of hiring an attorney. You can do it yourself, but you’ll lose out on the knowledge, experience, and peace of mind that hiring a pro can provide.

Your home, when sold, also needs to provide safe occupancy for the new owner. Not having a licensed installation is problematic.

The savings on the dryer are now likely eliminated by the cost for the gas line. However, the drying process would be improved.

In addition to meter supply, there can be an issue if you are tapping into existing line that isn’t big enough to supply everything.

Don't save a buck, call your gas utility company and ask them to have someone run the line.

Get it done by the book, by someone who knows the book.

DIY natural gas is a newspaper headline in the making.

I ran a new line myself about twenty years ago. I did it in black steel pipe. Honestly, by the time you bought the pipe threader, pipe vice, and other tools, you’re money ahead to just have someone run CSST.

Thank you, everyone.

Decision made, contractor to do the work.

trapper189

quote:

There was an attorney who used post here P239 something or another.

After reading your reply, I believe I remember you posting that prior.

quote:

Originally posted by SOTAR:
Decision made, contractor to do the work.

Wise decision. Good luck, hope you find an excellent and timely contractor.

quote:

Originally posted by SOTAR:
Decision made, contractor to do the work.

Excellent choice

In this case, I'd suggest letting the pro do it, just because he might balk at being responsible for the whole system while only installing the valve. Might be more hassle than cost.

That said, I ran 24' of CSST in my shop - it wasn't that hard, except I got a bad o-ring out the box. More likely, someone else nicked it & traded one out. I had the guys that installed my boiler look at it before I closed the walls up & they said it looked fine.

Me and a buddy did it, mostly him. I did some calculations on consumption when running the range, furnace, etc., to make sure there wasn't a capacity issue. We have an old school hardware store nearby, they cut the pipes to specs, tapped all the fittings.

I did learn one thing I wasn't aware of. You know how they always say put soapy water on the fittings to check for leaks? Well, it turns out that is not simply to find minute leaks with a magnifying glass at fittings you didn't quite snug up enough. It's to find major leaks on loose fittings you neglected to tighten...at all. Quit one evening and next morning all was together, but found one of those. My bud was more knowledgeable than careful.

My brother and I ran a new gas line, upgrading a half inch to a full
inch, in order to support a tankless water heater. It wasn’t hard, though my physical situation was very simple and straight forward… only surface level runs in the garage.

This was several years ago with no issues.

I've done black pipe and CSST. After using CSST I'll never use black pipe again except where required by code. Take the little online course for CSST install (this stuff is pretty much fool proof compared to black pipe) - pull the permit - get the inspection (leak down test here) and done.

edited to add I've also had my meter moved and completely redid the gas plumbing in the house at that time.