Gas Line & Water Line Repair

If You Smell Gas, Do This First

Leave the building immediately, avoid flipping switches or sparking anything, and call the gas utility's emergency line from outside. Once the utility has secured the meter, call us to find the leak and make the repair. Utility crews handle the active leak safely, and we handle the plumbing side once the line is confirmed off. This order matters, since the utility is equipped to isolate the leak before anyone approaches the fittings themselves.

Not every gas issue smells like rotten eggs right away. A pilot light that will not stay lit, an appliance that shuts down on its own, or a hissing sound near a gas line can point to a leak or pressure problem worth checking rather than ignoring.

Pressure Testing and Diagnosis

Before touching a fitting, we pressure test the line to find exactly where a leak or restriction is happening. For gas lines, that means isolating sections and watching for pressure drop, pinpointing the failure without cutting into good pipe. For water lines, we check static and running pressure at the meter and at fixtures, since a drop between those points usually means the service line itself is the problem.

Older buildings often have gas piping modified over decades, sometimes with fittings never rated for the load now running through them. Testing tells us what is actually happening before we quote a fix, rather than replacing pipe that was never the problem.

Gas Line Installation and Water Service Replacement

Adding a gas range, dryer, water heater or furnace usually means running a new branch line, sized for the appliance's BTU rating, tested before hookup. Undersized gas piping is common in older homes where an appliance was added without upsizing the branch feeding it, showing up as a burner that will not reach full flame or a furnace that struggles on the coldest days.

Water service lines built from galvanized steel corrode from the inside out, narrowing over years until pressure drops noticeably. If your pressure has been sliding or water runs rusty when it first turns on, the service line is a likely cause. We inspect it and, if needed, run a new copper or approved plastic line from the curb to the house, coordinating the dig, install and backfill as one job.

Why This Work Requires Permits

Gas line work and water service replacement require a permit and inspection under New Jersey code. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and confirm the finished work is signed off. Skipping this step creates real problems later when a property is sold, refinanced or insured and the work cannot be documented as legal, and it can also complicate a future claim if a leak or line failure happens down the road.

• Pressure testing before any fitting is opened
• Permits pulled and inspections scheduled on every job
• Gas branch lines sized correctly for appliance BTU load
• Water service line replacement in copper or approved plastic
• Trenchless options evaluated where code allows
• Emergency response for active gas or water line failures

Frequently Asked Questions