Cost of routing gas lines

[qas]

I will be getting some bids to route some natural gas lines through a fossit I made. Just from the looks of it, it will require some flexible tubing (about 10 feet) and then the rest regular gas lines (about 20 feet with 1 or 2 turns in between). What would the typical cost of this be? Do I need a permit? What about doing it myself. How difficult is it. (I have done smaller gas pipes in the past when I replaced a water heater, but I get intimidated at the size of the pipes (they are about 2 inches thick!) Plus I dont want to put my family in danger)

Thanks for all the help!

[JCA1]

No way to give fair price without seeing the job. It's best to hire out gas piping to licensed contractors.

[LazyPup]

Due to variations in codes, material costs and prevailing wages it is impossible to even offer a guess about the cost.

I would not recommend a homeowner run gas lines unless you have a lot of background in gas service,in fact, in many jurisdictions homeowners are prohibited from running gas lines and in some even a plumber, pipefitter or HVAC tech cannot run gas unless they have a gas endorsement on thier license.

Whether or not you could install a flexible section would depend upon what materials are approved for gas in your locality. The common gas connectors that you see in the hardware stores may only be run from the downstream side of an appliance shutoff valve and they may not pass through a wall or floor.

All gas lines run under or through a slab or under a structure are required to be sleeved inside a sched.40 iron or PVC pipe. The sleeve is required to be sealed on both ends and it MUST HAVE a vertical vent outside the structure at least 6" above grade. The top of the vent must then be turned 180 deg so the opening is pointing downward to prevent rainwater from getting in the vent or conduit sleeve.

The International Residential Code has adopted CSST (Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing) which is flexible, but it has a number of specific regulations concerning how the pipe must be installed.

The UPC has not approved CSST although some jurisdictions under the UPC have approved it.

Copper Tubing may be used only if the gas is certified by the supplier to contain less than 0.3grains of Hydrogen Sulfide per 100cu.ft of gas and it requires a written certification from the supplier prior to installing copper or brass piping.

While the national model codes to permit both black iron pipe and galvanized iron pipe, most jurisdictions will only allow Black Iron Pipe above grade.

The codes are also extremely critical of line sizing based upon the BTU load of the demands and length of pipe runs. Most jurisdictions will require the computations before they will issue a permit.

Under no circumstances may a gas line be put into service until it has been pressure tested and most jurisdictions have very specific requirements for who may perform the tests and how the test is to be peformed.

Normally i go into complete detail on how to do a project, but running gas lines is one area that in my humble opinion is best left to the pro's.

[ConnieZ68]

Not sure if this would be the same in your area, but I my gas company will run a gas line for us at $1.40 per ft of line and $70 per hour to install it (they said it takes approximately 2hrs).
Hope this helps.