Hi,

This is for my personal property, but I figured I might get some good advice here.  I am converting from oil to natural gas which is going to help me save a few grand each winter. I have a friend who does industrial HVAC who will be helping me put in the new unit.  The only thing is he hasn't done gas plumbing and neither have I.  We were going to learn to do it ourselves seeing its required to be inspected by the county anyway before my meter goes in, but we both have a lot on our plates now.  Can anybody share any of there experiences doing similar projects.  It really is only about a 20ft run or so.  How much would you expect me to pay?  Does anybody have a recommended plumber in the Wilmington/Newark area?

Thanks,

John

$200-300 per drop.

Cost me $250 to add a branch line into an existing gas system a few years ago.

There's nothing particularly tricky about this.  If its galvanized type pipe, be sure to use black pipe.  Inspectors look for that.  And use the proper kind of tape on the joints.  Check for any leaks with soapy water.

Originally posted by @Jon Holdman :

If its galvanized type pipe, be sure to use black pipe.  Inspectors look for that.  

 not sure there is such a thing as galvanized black pipe. you either have a steel pipe that is galvanized (coating of zinc) or steel pipe that is black (no coating of zinc) for e.g. gas

These days there are flexible gas lines that might be allowed by code. But before the gas company will hook up the meter in my area, they want a pressure test to be certain there are no leaks. 

@Jon Holdman  you can't check for leaks using soapy water until the gas is being fed by the gas company; if there is no existing gas meter, an air pressure test will be required. 

http://www.tracpipe.com/ or the like is the way to go, it's legal in most jurisdictions and is much easier/faster than black iron pipe. It's pretty idiot-proof. Ask the inspector what he wants to see up front and save yourself the hassle of doing it wrong. You'll need a sediment/dirt trap at the unit too, which is a just a change of direction in the pipe (you'll have switched to black iron for the last bit and added a shutoff valve) with a 6" leg to catch any dirt in the line. You also need the correct thread sealant (pipe dope) for gas pipe, "Rectorseal" is the preferred brand of most contractors. 

If it's a straigt-forward run across your basement, $300 should cover it to have someone else do it. You can probably do it yourself for $50 in materials and 2 hours of your time. Again, if you're going to do it yourself and it's getting inspected, ask up front what the inspector wants to see for a pressure test if required, if you're ok to use tracpipe, etc. 

Yeah, sorry.  I just meant black pipe rather than galvanized.

You can pressure test by hooking up an air compressor, if its a complete new installation.  A complete new installation would be quite a bit more than $250, too.  As for water or sewer, trenching is going to be required to bring a line from the main to the house.