natural gas line - cost to install

[KCarGuy]

I used Black Pipe inside my Garage and Inside my Basement, but used the CSST Tubing inside underground Plastic Tubing to connect the Two.
I did all the labor and dug my own trench and piping and hookup.
As long as you take your time, do your research, plan it out and test it under pressure for any leaks...You can save yourself ALOT of Money.
I saved myself over $1000 doing it myself.

 

[levimorris85]

I guess i cant fuss anymore. I received a bid for mine and he will be here today with the heating guy coming on Friday. I dug the ditch by hand which saved me 150 and he will do the rest. tie in at at meter, 50' burried, up the side of the shop 10' and then through the attic about 10'. All said and done according to them at the time of the bid is 300 counting tax but its all steel pipe.

 

[CNGsaves]

Above two posts ... they "May Work" ..... but NOT the right way to do it based on gas company standards today. CSST is lightning risk along with rustout risk. Steel pipe (and I hope you mean black pipe) that is buried WILL RUST out in short time period when considering home ownership, as I'm virtually certain that you won't be adding an anode to prevent rust.

Proper method for buried Natural Gas or Propane between buildings is yellow polyethlene plastic pipe, with risers on each end that transition the plastic to steel above ground.

Why save a few bucks, only to rust out or blow up your house?

 

[levimorris85]

Ok, its done. The plumber showed up and did the job at lunch. He quoted pipe with coated risers to black pipe but ended up using yellow polyethlene plastic pipe instead which i am happy with. all in all he used 60 ft of plastic all the fittings, black pipe up the side and through the attic (about 30') and tested everything and charged 300 bucks. I guess i got a great deal looking at some of the bids yall have received.

 

[mikec35]

My gas company said they could put an extra meter on my detached garage for a $10 monthly fee plus the monthly gas usage bill.

 

[volaredon]

I am very leery of that plastic **** underground; I would rather take chances with CSST, it will last longer... and being underground within a plastic "sheath" pipe to run the CSST thru besides I dont see how lightning could get anywhere near the stuff. I only have 10 feet between the garage and the house.

 

[goneflyin2002]

When I did mine, it was 1" yellow IPS Gastite plastic line, 250' run, with steel 30" Gastite risers using the new push and lock quick connects. Worked really easy and I did it myself. Materials cost was $400.
I had a friend dig the trench with his tractor with a mini bucket. Cost me another $400.
I also piped each end except the final tie-in to the meter at the front of the house. The gas fitter guy did that for $150, including time to check everything over and do the initial fire-up on the boiler.
You need to first decide on the furnace/boiler you're going to use in order to select the proper size line based on your run.
I agree with you in thinking the quotes you are getting are way out of line.

Don

 

[koditten]

Whatever way you go, plastics or direct bury black iron, try not put another meter in. Tie into your existing system downstream from your meter. Big savings there. I used 1" plastic to run 145' from house to shop. Cost around 250 bucks for pipe and risers. I put all utilities in same trench, just different depths. I rented a mini hoe to dig the trench.

I have the house furnace, water heater and a 14k generator plus mymy 60k shop furnace running off the original house meter. I have never run short of gas pressure.

If we have an extended power outage, I really don't see myself worrying about running the shop heat anyways. That floor heat in the slab keeps the shop above freezing anyways.

The has line running is cheap compared to other things. You can do it.
LOt

 

[CNGsaves]

I am very leery of that plastic **** underground; I would rather take chances with CSST, it will last longer... and being underground within a plastic "sheath" pipe to run the CSST thru besides I dont see how lightning could get anywhere near the stuff. I only have 10 feet between the garage and the house.

That's your perogative to do what you want as a homeowner. Just like I could decide to run aerial 220v electric using my gutter as handy method to get wire over to the garage. "Hey it might be only 10 feet" using your logic. It would work, but not safest method that is standard practice in today's environment!!

State-wide natural gas providers like Kansas Natural Gas, Oklahoma Natural Gas, etc. all ONLY install the "yellow plastic ****" that you refer to above, when they connect houses or detached buildings to their network. Drive down to local equipment yard of your gas company and see the rolls of yellow plastic pipe that they're using . . . bunch of sizes from residential up to commercial. Talk with the new construction manager and see what he tells you about using CSST instead of yellow polyethlene plastic pipe.

It's pretty likely you have tree in your yard. Lightning strikes tree, then follows it to the ground. Lightning in ground gets into your CSST and following until it reaches either house or garage blowing out a connection, then BAM!

Go ahead and call your local gas company and let them know what all you've got buried in ground there. They might want to know if fire department ever needs to visit the property. Also don't forget to tell your real estate broker or potential buyer when later marketing your house to be sold. They will want to know so it can be tore out, and redone properly.

 

[rinker1]

Ok, its done. The plumber showed up and did the job at lunch. He quoted pipe with coated risers to black pipe but ended up using yellow polyethlene plastic pipe instead which i am happy with. all in all he used 60 ft of plastic all the fittings, black pipe up the side and through the attic (about 30') and tested everything and charged 300 bucks. I guess i got a great deal looking at some of the bids yall have received.

Levi, What state are you in? I like the price you paid.

 

[ejk52d]

CSST is for trac houses its not a premium product...its a labor saving method that is starting to have problems..such as lightning and proper bonding. It is not rated or approved for underground or wet locations by the manufacturers or by UL. HDPE is the most trouble free underground piping system. 300 is dirt cheap did this guy do it on the side for cash as the material cost is close to that....Eric

 

[brewchief]

CSST is for trac houses its not a premium product...its a labor saving method that is starting to have problems..such as lightning and proper bonding. It is not rated or approved for underground or wet locations by the manufacturers or by UL. HDPE is the most trouble free underground piping system. 300 is dirt cheap did this guy do it on the side for cash as the material cost is close to that....Eric

Both wardflex and tracpipe have instructions for underground installations in their installation handbooks, tracpipe has a special presleeved csst product designed for underground use.

I've seen one house with a bunch of gas leaks caused by a lighting strike, almost every joint in the black pipe was leaking, csst isn't alone with regard to lightning strikes.

On a long run HDPE is much cheaper then csst but on some shorter runs csst may have the advantage.

 

[FRS FAN]

$1400 is what i was quoted. Thats trenched, installed, and all materials across a 25' long back yard from house to garage.

 

[ejk52d]

Both wardflex and tracpipe have instructions for underground installations in their installation handbooks, tracpipe has a special presleeved csst product designed for underground use.

I've seen one house with a bunch of gas leaks caused by a lighting strike, almost every joint in the black pipe was leaking, csst isn't alone with regard to lightning strikes.

On a long run HDPE is much cheaper then csst but on some shorter runs csst may have the advantage.

Yes it can be installed through a conduit underground but not direct buried and at that point the extra labor and materials makes it moot. Use the proper materials for the job.
Any chance the house with multiple gas leaks after the strike had imported pipe and fittings?

 

[S4PLAY]

Hi all, this is my first post, I have been trolling for a while now and I just got quoted $3800 for a 100' run from the house to the garage all tied in with me digging the trench and buying a heater. I nearly fell off my seat. How in gods name have you guys been getting quotes near $1000?

 

[ptgb]

I guess it pays to have friends in, around, or with experience in the gas business

35' long, 4' deep trench using mini-excavator = $50

40' polyethylene pipe with 3/4" above ground risers & install = $275

Approx 60' of 3/4" black pipe, fittings, etc & install = $375

Total cost to fire up my heater = $700



I provided the heater, but got a 45K unit on sale, so I am still be right around $1K total in the whole thing, heater and everything.

Just ask around and you would be surprised to find many with tons of experience in stuff like this that are willing to help you out at a reasonable cost. I am not talking about handymen and the like, but people in the gas passing business who do stuff on the side.

 

[levimorris85]

Levi, What state are you in? I like the price you paid.

Texas panhandle. 30 miles outside Lubbock

 

[mrpowderkeg]

It cost me $380 for the line direct from the utility company, it's the same stuff they use. this was 140 feet of 1 inch. The utility company came and measured out my trench, they cut the line, installed the risers, pressure tested and delivered it to me and also supplied the tracer wire. Once I had it installed in the trench, they also came back and hooked it up to my house service line, all I need to do is plumb it from the riser to the heater in the shop, it's already on a regulator.

 

[shadowpuck]

just thought i'd provide an update.

i never could get a bid under about 2k to install the gas line. i couldn't get anyone to give me a bid on just making the final connections if i ran everything else.

i ended up going with electric heat - radiant heaters up near the ceiling. i've been very happy with it so far, and the running costs have been about what i expected.

i keep the t-stat low and only turn up when i want to be out there for a while. we insulated pretty well, and the building holds the heat. it's a subtle heat, and it will warm up the space pretty quickly, but it works best if you can wait a bit for it get going.

the debate i'm having is will it be cheaper to leave the baseline temp higher (say 52) or lower (say 42) and then bring things up to about 60. i'll do some experimenting and see what works best. another thread for another time, though.

thanks everyone for the input - interesting to see the different answers/results from around the web.

 

[James-W]

I am glad you have heat now, although it isn't exactly the type of heat that you had wanted.

When we built our new detached garage we wanted it to be heated, and we wanted to heat with natural gas. We have natural gas going into our house for the furnace and the water heater, and we thought we could tap off our existing gas meter and run it to the garage. But it is all concrete around where the gas meter is, so we would have to branch off the gas line in the house and then run a new gas line out thru a wall, bury the gas line out to the garage, then bring it back up and into the garage.

Then too, the gas line running from the meter to the house wasn't large enough to handle the needs for the house and the garage, so that gas line would have to be replaced with a larger one. All this could have been done, but it isn't real cheap to do, especially when you hire someone to do it. I imagine I could have done it myself but it would have to rent the equipment and then hire it checked to be sure that the work meets all the local codes. The last thing I would want is to do something wrong and have to do it over again, or worse case scenario, blow up the house or the garage and us along with it.

Anyway, the cost would have been quite a lot to branch off the existing gas service, so we decided to have the gas company run a new gas line from the street to the garage. They will run up to 100 feet for free, but then you have a pay a meter charge of not quite $10 per month. I suppose $10 doesn't sound like a lot of money, and I guess all things considered it really isn't, but when you think about it, over the long run it will cost more this way than to branch off the existing meter. But that thinking also assumes we will live here for a very long time, which may or may not be the case. If the wife and I should decide to sell the place in the next few years and move to a condo someplace warmer, then I doubt we would really care about whether or not it would have been cheaper in the long run to branch off the existing gas line.

 

[shadowpuck]

james,

i know exactly what you are saying. i ran so many different calculations, etc. once i found the break even point for my situation, then it became an easier decision. i'm not going to rule out the possibility of someday switching or changing things up, but for now i'm happy and the shop is usable - which was my concern.

i learned a lot reading here about what to expect from the various heating solutions, so, fortunately, i wasn't disappointed. As I said, it's a different type of heat and I could see some folks being upset with the product (be that gas or electric).

 

[Higgins]

I'm looking at a piece of property down in TN. There is a main gas line ~ 1,500 ft from the property. As I'm the only one on our little street, the local gas co. never ran in a 2" line to my street.
As there is only one home on our block, they are not willing to install the 2" main down the block and guess where we are! At the end of the block.
So i'm trying to get some estimate as to what the cost could end up being .....
As for the residence connection the GC will cover the cost from the main to the residence along with the meter etc. As the local company isn't forth comping with any information ...

Locally they are charging $7 / ft for 3/4" and $15 a Ft for 1". So I have no idea of what a 2" would cost. Even a wild guess....

AL

 

[6768rogues]

In our area, the gas utility will run 100 feet of service at no cost. I had them put gas to the house, which was about 80 feet of service. Then they extended it another 105 feet to the garage and installed a second meter. I paid for 5 feet of service for that "second" customer. Now I have two bills and I can keep track of how much is used at each meter. I have to pay a small meter fee in the summer when I don't use gas in the garage, but I had to install nothing and if there is ever a problem with the piping they own it and will fix it.
Last year I had another building I own hooked up to natural gas. It is 600 feet from the road and an hour from home. I had a choice of installing the line myself or paying them $3000 to do it. Due to the logistics and lots of tree roots in the path, I paid the money and had them do it. It took one day and I don't regret it at all. My huge propane bills are a thing of the past.

 

[jp828108]

Way cheaper than what I was quoted in Southeast Ohio. I would have to look into obtaining an easement for the utility. I am landlocked by a nasty neighbor, but I have an easement to come and go. Columbia gas gave me a rough quote of 60 dollars a foot. Maybe I misheard or the person I talked to misheard their coworker, and that was supposed to be 6 dollars. I may have to give them a call again, and look into natural gas. Beats the heck out of propane, and electric. Currently heat with outdoor wood furnace, heat pump, and resistance heat.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ NWIH (no way in hell) is that $60 a foot !! ..

If it's any length at all, it's got to be $6 a foot . . . as 1,000 ft would be $60,000 !!!

 

[jp828108]

^ ^ ^ NWIH (no way in hell) is that $60 a foot !! ..

If it's any length at all, it's got to be $6 a foot . . . as 1,000 ft would be $60,000 !!!

I know. I am about 1000 feet from the nearest line. would love to find that they meant to say 6 dollars. It would still be pretty expensive, but not like having to finance a starter home to get natural gas.

 

[6768rogues]

Way cheaper than what I was quoted in Southeast Ohio. I would have to look into obtaining an easement for the utility. I am landlocked by a nasty neighbor, but I have an easement to come and go. Columbia gas gave me a rough quote of 60 dollars a foot. Maybe I misheard or the person I talked to misheard their coworker, and that was supposed to be 6 dollars. I may have to give them a call again, and look into natural gas. Beats the heck out of propane, and electric. Currently heat with outdoor wood furnace, heat pump, and resistance heat.

Main piping costs more than service piping. Whoever wrote your easement did not do you any favors. I have several of them and they always include ingress, egress, and utilities. $6 is about right. My 600' cost $3000 and 100 feet of it was free. My NG bills for heating that building last winter totaled a little over $300. I used to use $700 to $1000 of propane per winter and I had to go there, an hour from home, to plow the driveway or the propane truck would not enter. Then hope it does not snow before they come.

 

[jp828108]

Main piping costs more than service piping. Whoever wrote your easement did not do you any favors. I have several of them and they always include ingress, egress, and utilities. $6 is about right. My 600' cost $3000 and 100 feet of it was free. My NG bills for heating that building last winter totaled a little over $300. I used to use $700 to $1000 of propane per winter and I had to go there, an hour from home, to plow the driveway or the propane truck would not enter. Then hope it does not snow before they come.

It is a poor set up all around. Written in the 1950s or 1960s originally and expanded on as more land was sold. Currently share the driveway with nasty neighbors and 2 other houses. No maintenance agreements in place. My house was built in 78. Water and power already ran. So last thing i would really like to add one day if they meant 6.00 and not 60.00 is natural gas. I will look into it in the future.

 

[ljhhontx]

If you end up paying for main be sure and request they issue a refund contract that pays you back for a portion of the expense if another customer ties on to the line you pay for within a specific length of time.

 

[Factory48]

This thread is very interesting as I'm in the process of trying to decide if I want to run NG to my shop. Its crazy to see how wildly different the costs are for this in different locations. I just had the gas company out here yesterday to give me a quote. Its about 420ft from the current line to the shop. The total quote was $540. All I do is get the permit. The city trenches and runs the line. $1ft to dig and run line and $120 to cover meter hookup etc.. Not sure what the permit cost is.

I wouldn't want to trench 420ft in this rocky clay soil for $1ft!! They must make all of their money off of the monthly service charge?