Stuff I don't know

[BigV]

one vote pro.

[glatt]

How hard can it be? Of course, if you make a mistake, the house will blow up. I know the urge to do it yourself, but that's not something I would do.

[ZenGum]

Yeah, just this once, hiring a pro for a few hundred bucks might be a good idea.

Like with a car - I'll fool with the body work and minor fittings, and on older cars even have a go at the engine, but I always got a pro to fix the brakes. Screw them up and I could die.

[glatt]

Hah! Brakes are super easy. I'll do brakes. But I'm afraid of gas pipes. I have a hard enough time with water pipes. Gas is under less pressure, but for God's sake man, it's gas!

[xoxoxoBruce]

It's not very difficult, iron pipe up through the floor, a gas cock(valve), then standard flex gas stove supply so you can hook it up then move the stove in place, and a drop for water trap at the stove or below the floor.

The is very low pressure so you can check for leaks with soup bubbles or a match. I'd recommend the soap.

Now, here's where it can get tricky. You've got three gas eaters, furnace, stove and dryer. Each one has a BTU rating, which requires a certain amount of gas.
The pipe from the stove to the dryer has to supply enough gas so the dryer doesn't run short and flame out.
The pipe from the furnace to the stove has to carry enough to supply the stove AND the dryer.
The pipe into the furnace has to supply the furnace AND the stove AND the dryer.
That's with all three running balls out,(burners & oven on the stove) plus a little to spare.

Since you can't do much with the pressure, it's pretty much down to volume(pipe size). There's a very good chance the guy who installed the piping took that into account, as he did leave a stub for a stove. So unless you bought an outrageous gas hog stove that uses way more than normal, you're probably good.

I'm working on the assumption that when you say, " I called someone to extend the gas service...", it was a pro and not your buddy's niece's boyfriend. Also that the gas company inspected the work, which most require... if they know.

I don't want to freak you out about doing the install, just make you aware of all the players. This may have been clear as mud, but it covers the ground.

[DanaC]

Recently in the UK a house blew up and took half the street with it, killing a little boy that was inside. The guy who fitted the gas boiler is on a manslaughter charge.

Don't mess with gas stuff. Get a professional.

[BigV]

Thanks all, sincerely. The decision has been made in favor of DIY. This is likely to surprise no one, except perhaps the other people on my half of the block. Then again, they got an eyefull of me every day for a few weeks when I put the roof on awhile back. I intend to keep the roof on through this project.

A new DIY thread with a construction photojournal to come. Unless you hear a boom followed by sirens.

At the moment, I have the pipes measured, cut, and threaded. The gas to the house has been turned off at the meter. I've just taken a break for lunch (prepared by Twil, yum!) and now I return to work.

I'll check in as I can. I expect the project to be done by dinner time. There's no hot water until I'm done. See you all soon.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by BigV

<snip>

At the moment, I have the pipes measured, cut, and threaded. The gas to the house has been turned off at the meter. I've just taken a break for lunch (prepared by Twil, yum!) and now I return to work.

I'll check in as I can. I expect the project to be done by dinner time. There's no hot water until I'm done. See you all soon.

I hope V has researched the different kinds of "pipes".
e.g., Steel vs black iron, especially the part about leaks at the connections, etc.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

I hope V has researched the different kinds of "pipes".
e.g., Steel vs black iron, especially the part about leaks at the connections, etc.

I just saw that link. Missed that post before.

As a DIY, I find links like that incredibly frustrating. It actually makes me a little angry. It's obviously written by someone who has no idea what they are talking about. It reads like an essay question on a test where the student doesn't remotely know the answer and just breaks out the shovel and starts tossing the manure.

There are the ever-present pipes underneath the sink or ones leading to the hot water heater. However, an in-depth look behind the walls and underneath the ground reveals that there are enough pipes to wrap around the house several times. There are HPVC, PVC, black iron and steel pipes leading everywhere.

Really? There are pipes under the sink and in the wall too? Holy shit! That's helpful. I think it's the use of "ever-present" that annoys me the most. It's just stupid filler. The pipes damn well better be ever present. You wouldn't want them getting up and walking away.

They list some pipes they have heard about, but don't mention galvanized, copper, or newer pex, which together, probably make up 90% of the plumbing out there in existing homes.

Not helpful at all.

[Lamplighter]

Yes, brief and superficial, but my reference was to this part of the article...

Repairing

• The main problem with black iron pipe
--especially in the home--is leakage at connector spots.
It requires a lot of work to fix these leaks,
which is why many people no longer use black iron pipes.

Steel pipes do not have that problem because it is most often welded.
However, it is more expensive than black iron pipes or PVC.

[glatt]

Yeah. That's even worse. Domestic plumbing pipes are never welded. I don't know what they are talking about there. It's like they are comparing 10% of domestic plumbing situations with some industrial plumbing they heard of. And then they talk about fencing. Fencing! Like someone is maybe going to plumb their house with a bunch of fence posts. They say most houses today use PVC pipe. Ok. That's an actual fact they are giving, but PVC is most commonly used for the waste water pipes, not for the supply pipes. So that makes me wonder if they are talking about old cast iron sewer pipes.

It's just a jumble of poorly organized random bits of incomplete information.

They don't mention copper or pex anywhere in the whole article. Copper was king for a long time and is being phased out because of the cost, but is being replaced by pex (at least around here.) Neither are acceptable for gas, where the materials used by BigV are appropriate.

[footfootfoot]

I usually see Ts close to the tank and individual copper lines to the various appliances. Never seen appliances in sequence

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's for propane, natural gas is often sequenced if it's an efficient layout.

[footfootfoot]

Right. It's been decades since I lived anywhere with natural gas. "...turned off at the meter..." should have been a clue.

[ZenGum]

Heck, move to somewhere with Coal Seam Gas and draw it straight out of your tap water.