Gas Line Installation Edmonton

 

In Alberta gas line installation is mainly done by plumbers/gas fitters with a journeymen ticket for gas fitting.  Not all plumbers can run gas lines in Edmonton.  The reason is because plumbers from other provinces move here for work and during their apprenticeship they only got their Plumbing Journeymen Ticket.

I believe Alberta is the only province that the plumbing apprenticeship includes getting a class B gas fitter ticket as well.

Home Owners Gas Line Installation Edmonton

I have done a lot of work throughout the province and I have had to get a business license for multiple cities over the years.  I believe that Edmonton is the only city that will allow a home owner to pull a home owners gas permit.  The other cities allow permits for plumbing, electrical and other trades to be pulled by homeowners except for gas line installation.

I was on a forum the other day where some guy was bragging about installing his BBQ gas line himself.  Which is perfectly fine, but he left out a few things.  His issues were based on how much a plumber was going to charge him to install the gas line and he did it himself in 20 seconds.  In 22 years of plumbing and gas fitting in Edmonton and other cities I can say I have never done a job in 20 seconds.

Gas Line Installation Prices in Edmonton

Most of the time the standard charge to run a gas line for one fixture is going to be around $600.  If someone calls me, that is what I say.  Of course there are lots of times the price is lower.  In fact the lowest I have ever charged for a bbq gas line installation in Edmonton is $200.

Why such a difference?  This was a job that I was doing other work for so there was no extra travel time as that was already included in the other price.  Also I was able to run the gas line straight off the meter.  The price would have been even lower if the gas company would have placed a tee in the line with a plug in it.

Of course the price is a lot higher if you are running multiple gas lines for a new home, or if you are running a gas line out to your yard that requires more BTU’s than your current house gas line can accommodate.

The first thing any good gas fitter will do is look at the existing gas appliances in your house.  The gas fitter will need to know the size of those existing fixtures to make sure the gas line coming into your house has enough size to handle more appliances to be added to that same gas line.

If the gas line in your house was sized just large enough to accommodate the existing gas appliances then you will need a new gas line from within two feet of the meter for your new gas appliance.  This can add considerable cost to the job.  In fact, I did one gas line installation where the cost came out to over $1200 simply because the line coming into the house was just large enough for the existing gas appliances.

Gas Line Material Used in Installations in Edmonton

In a house that is under new construction the gas lines will often be black iron pipe and either copper tubing or gastite.  Some gas fitters prefer to run a manifold and run gastite from the manifold to each appliance.  The cost of material is considerably higher, but they feel the drop in labour makes up for the difference.  Gastite is a rugged but flexible 304 stainless steel with a protective, UV-resistant polyethylene jacket.

If someone is needing a gas line to a detached garage heater then the line will have to go underground.  The material used to go underground is either copper tubing or plastic.  Unlike copper tubing for water lines the method of joining the tubing is by flaring the ends and attaching an adapter after coming out of the ground to place a gas valve or gas cock onto.

If the gas fitter runs plastic pipe underground then there will also need to be a copper wire run along with the pipe.  The reason for this is so Alberta first call can find the line in the future if necessary.

If you are running this yourself you better make that call to Alberta First Call before you DIG!  I believe the service is still free and is done in a couple of days.

If you need a gas fitter in Edmonton or a plumber for anything please give me a call at 780-264-0878

Thanks,
Kelly

Kramer Plumbing and Radiant Heat