What’s Involved in Installing New Gas Lines for a Renovation?
‘What's that smell?’, ‘Was that a hiss?’, ‘I don’t like the look of that old pipe in the corner’. When you’re renovating a building, you can come across all sorts of unfamiliar and unexpected things, and way up there on the list of worries will be gas, because this is something you know you can’t mess around with.
The good news is that there is no need to worry as long as you have the right level of professional expertise at your disposal, and that means finding a good gas fitting plumber.
What makes a good one? Qualifications is the logical place to start. For a gas pipe installation or a new gas connection in NSW, find yourself a licensed professional. It is easy enough to do this; if someone is a licensed gas plumber they will advertise the fact. It will be on their website, on their ads in the local paper and on the side of their van.
That is because it’s a good thing to be. It’s a skill that involves study and practice, and because gas can be dangerous, knowing how to deal with it makes a gas fitting plumber a sought-after member of the local trades network.
Word of mouth is a great thing too. See if any family or friends have recommendations. This can be very important with any trade but is particularly so with gas.
Why Is Gas Such a Cause for Concern?
Gas is popular for central heating, hot water and particularly cooking because it has this instantaneous quality. You don’t have to wait for things to heat up with gas. Show it a flame or even a spark and it’s away generating heat. Hence the expression ‘now we’re cooking with gas’.
Cooks like it because once you switch it off it is off immediately, too. If a pan of milk is about to boil over, turn off the gas hob and the milk settles down. Do it with electricity and it’s a gradual process, so the hob will cool down in a while, but not before it has sent milk all over the place.
But it’s the ignition that concerns us here. When something as volatile as gas is involved, you have to know where it is – which is particularly important in renovation jobs, but also crucial if your building is going to be the bright young thing on what is now a demolition site. Bulldozers and drills are not subtle.
They get results by sheer power, and while that can be a great help if there are obstacles to overcome, if one of those obstacles is a gas pipe, there can be trouble.
That is why in Australia a group of enterprising people in the construction industry formed Dial Before You Dig, which is now a nationwide resource where developers can check if there are any gas pipes down there before the heavy machinery rolls in.
This is very important for a new gas connection in NSW, because when things are buried, coming across them can be a nasty surprise.
Upgrading Gas Lines
If there is already a gas line into a property, that may save time and money, but not always. If it is not up to current standards, for safety’s sake it will have to be replaced. Technology has moved on and what was good enough fifty years ago may now be regarded as hazardous and, for instance, old, galvanised gas pipes will have to be replaced by the superior modern copper variety.
You may also face the prospect of converting from LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to natural gas. A licensed gas plumber can handle all this for you.
Inside the property there may be major work to do, again with replacing old pipes, and also removing old appliances that have been there for decades. Obviously, this sort of work has to be approached carefully, and good quality up-to-date hardware installed.
Even if existing gas lines are safe, any kind of renovation or remodelling job will involve putting things in different places, and each step must be done properly and safely.
Similarly, even if the existing gas lines are of suitable quality and in good condition, the disruption of the renovation can cause problems which your new best friend, the gas fitting plumber, can sort out.
By the way, if you want an old-fashioned look to the kitchen, that can be arranged. There are modern versions of the homely old ranges on which, in films, there always seemed to be a pot of stew ready at all hours of the day and night.
If you inherited one of these when you bought the place, don’t get sentimental, get resourceful and find something that looks similarly attractive and soothing but does the job more effectively and a lot more safely.
At Mainline Plumbing & Civil, we’re qualified to help you with everything related to gas. Read more about our gas services here.
