Gas Line Repair & Installation in Portland, OR
Get safe first, then get one price before any gas fitting is opened.
Smell Gas? Get Safe Before Anything Else
If you smell rotten eggs or sulfur, hear hissing near a gas line, or a CO alarm is going off, stop reading and get everyone out of the house, pets included. Don't flip a light switch, use a phone, light anything or start a car in an attached garage, and don't go looking for the leak. Once you're away from the smell, call 911 and NW Natural's 24 hour emergency line at 800-882-3377. That advice comes straight from NW Natural's gas leak safety steps, and it's the right order: the utility or fire department makes the house safe, then the damaged piping gets repaired.
Leave and call from outside if you notice any of these:
- A rotten egg smell inside or near the meter, even a faint one
- A hissing or blowing sound at a pipe, fitting or appliance
- Bubbling in a puddle or blowing dirt over a buried line
- A line that got hit while digging, even if it looks fine
- Headaches, dizziness or nausea that ease when you step outside, which can point to carbon monoxide
Other signs can wait a day or two but still need a look: yellow or orange burner flames instead of mostly blue, soot around a burner or fireplace insert, a pilot that keeps going out, or a kinked or corroded flex connector behind the dryer or range. If NW Natural turned your gas off at the meter, leave it off. They ask customers not to turn it back on themselves.
Repair a Leaking Line or Run a New One
Gas line work is usually one of two jobs. A repair fixes a leaking fitting, a damaged section of pipe or a worn appliance connector after the gas company has found a problem. A new line brings gas to somewhere it doesn't reach yet: a gas range in place of an electric one, a dryer, a fireplace insert, an outdoor grill or a new water heater.
A new appliance often needs more gas than the old pipe was sized to carry. Swapping a tank water heater for a tankless unit is the common example, and it's why a tankless install starts with a check of the gas line size. When a line is too small, part of it may need to be replaced with larger pipe back toward the meter as well as at the appliance.
What you can safely do yourself is limited on purpose. Find your shutoffs so you know where they are, keep the area around the furnace and water heater clear, and take photos of the pipe, fittings and appliance label. Loosening, cutting or reconnecting any gas fitting is a job for a licensed contractor, even when it looks like a quick swap, because a small leak at a joint inside a wall won't leave a puddle to warn you.
Who Can Legally Do Gas Piping in Portland
In Portland, gas piping falls under a residential mechanical permit, and the city requires every contractor doing that work to hold an Oregon Construction Contractors Board license that is listed on the permit. A homeowner can pull their own permit only as the recorded owner, not through an LLC. Propane piping is a separate track that needs an LPG license from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Before you hire anyone for gas work, ask four things and check the answers:
- What is your CCB number? Look it up on the Oregon CCB site and make sure it shows active.
- Will you pull the mechanical permit and schedule the inspections?
- Is the permit fee in the price, or extra?
- Will I get one price in writing before you start?
Wild Pine Plumbing is licensed, bonded and insured under Oregon CCB #249970, and you're welcome to look that up before we come out. Gas work in Portland should always go through a permit, so ask any contractor whether theirs includes one.
Planning a new range, dryer or water heater on gas?
Call (503) 594-4779. We answer 24 hours a day.
What Happens on a Gas Line Job
Most jobs start with photos. Send pictures of the pipe, the fittings, the appliance label and where the new line needs to go, and many times we can give you a price before we come out. Either way, you get one price before work starts, and it's the same price at the end. As our owner Brandon Sprute put it on KPTV FOX 12, "One price up front and that's what it is at the end of the job."
- Gas off. For a small repair that may only be the valve at the appliance. Bigger work can mean the meter valve, so plan on the stove, dryer or water heater being off for a few hours.
- Look at what you have. We check the pipe type and routing and whether the trouble is the pipe, a fitting or the connector, then explain your options in plain language so you can decide.
- Do the work. New lines get sized for the gas the appliance burns.
- Leak test. Oregon code requires new, altered and repaired gas piping to be tested for leaks, and the city inspector observes the test. It's how a hidden leak gets found on day one instead of months later.
- Inspection. The city inspects new piping before walls are covered, then does a final inspection to close the permit, so a long run can mean two visits.
- Relight and check. Appliances come back on, and flames should burn mostly blue and steady.
We fix what you called us about. If we notice something else, like a rusty connector on another appliance, we'll show you and you decide. It never shows up on the bill on its own.
What Drives the Cost of Gas Line Work
There's no single price for gas work because the jobs vary so much. The main things that move it up or down are how far the pipe has to run from the existing line, how hard the route is to reach through a crawlspace, attic or finished wall, how much gas the new appliance needs, whether older pipe has to be upsized back toward the meter, and the permit and inspection visits. A short, open run to a nearby appliance costs far less than a new line across the house to a backyard kitchen.
If a bigger gas project is more than you planned for, we offer financing through Wisetack, and military members, first responders and seniors get 10% off. You can see the rest of our plumbing services for Portland homes if the gas work is part of a larger project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about gas line repair & installation in Portland
Do I need a permit for gas line work in Portland?
Yes. Portland Permitting & Development requires a residential mechanical permit to install, repair or alter gas piping, indoors or outdoors, between the meter and your appliances. New piping gets a rough-in inspection before walls are closed and a final inspection to close the permit. Ask any contractor, us included, whether the permit fee is in the quote.
Can a handyman run a gas line for my new range?
In Portland, any contractor doing mechanical work, including gas piping, must hold an Oregon CCB license, and that number goes on the permit. A homeowner can do their own work only if they are the recorded owner and not an LLC. Before you hire anyone, look up their CCB number and ask who pulls the permit.
What should I do if I smell gas but it seems faint?
Leave anyway. NW Natural says to go even if the smell seems mild, without using light switches, phones or a car near the house. Once you are away from the smell, call 911 and NW Natural at 800-882-3377. Call us after the utility has made the house safe and the piping needs repair.
Do you work on propane lines?
This page covers natural gas piping. Propane (LP gas) work in Oregon needs a separate State Fire Marshal LPG license, so if you are on propane, ask your propane supplier for a licensed LPG fitter.
Get a Gas Line Price Before We Start
Call (503) 594-4779 any time. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 and NW Natural at 800-882-3377 first.
Ask about our 10% discount for Military, First Responders & Seniors.