Plumbing
Gas line installation cost
A new gas line to a range 20 ft from the meter is about $700 — $20 a foot inside and a $300 tie-in with the shut-off, pressure test and permit. Buried outside it is about $26 a foot: $1,340 to a grill 40 ft away. The appliance decides the pipe: a range or dryer runs on half-inch, while a tankless water heater or a standby generator wants one-inch pipe and, with a furnace already on the meter, a larger meter — $1,500 and $2,040. Licensed work, permitted and pressure-tested.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-25 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Gas line installation cost calculator
The appliance, the distance and the meter
Gas pipe is sized by the appliance’s BTU and its distance from the meter, and the meter by everything on it together.
A branch from the meter or the nearest line big enough, a shut-off at the appliance, a pressure test and a permit..
65,000 BTU/h. Typically 20 ft inside.
½ in pipe carries it.
Black iron or flexible CSST run along the joists.
180 of 250 cubic feet an hour with the new one.
Utility gas and a meter.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
A new line to a gas range or cooktop, 20 ft
$700
½ in pipe · $35 a foot all in
Sized by BTU and distance
65,000 BTU/h at 20 ft wants ½ in pipe, which carries about 95k BTU/h there.
Licensed work
A permit and a pressure test.
Gas piping is done by a licensed plumber or gasfitter almost everywhere, with a permit, a pressure test and a shut-off at every appliance. The price here includes them; a quote that does not is not a cheaper quote.
A line to each appliance
At a typical distance, with the meter above.
What the plumber charges for
- 20 ft of ½ in gas pipe
Black iron or flexible CSST run along the joists, through the floor to the appliance.$400 - Tie-in, shut-off, test, permit
The tee off the existing line or the meter, the shut-off at the unit, the pressure test and the permit for the piping.$300
What it costs
National average. 20 ft of gas pipe inside the house to a gas range or cooktop, with the tie-in, shut-off, test and permit. Not included: the appliance, its venting, or patching finished walls.
The appliances themselves: tankless water heaters, gas fireplaces and pool heaters, each with the gas line in its own price.
Worth knowing
- A gas range or cooktop at 65,000 BTU/h, 20 ft from the meter, needs ½ in pipe — it carries about 95,000 BTU/h at that length. A short, simple branch.
- Black iron or flexible CSST run along the joists, through the floor to the appliance. $20 a foot here, plus the tie-in — the tee off the existing line or the meter, the shut-off at the unit, the pressure test and the permit for the piping.
- The meter: 180 cubic feet an hour with everything on it, within the 250 a standard residential meter delivers.
- Gas piping is licensed work almost everywhere: a permit, a pressure test witnessed or recorded, and a shut-off valve at every appliance. It is not a do-it-yourself job.
On this page — 4 sections
By the foot, sized by the appliance
The short version
- A range, 20 ft: $700. A dryer $600.
- $20/ft inside, $26/ft buried, plus a $300 tie-in.
- Big burners need bigger pipe — and sometimes a bigger meter.
- Licensed, permitted, pressure-tested.
A new gas line is priced by the foot from the meter, or the nearest line big enough, to the appliance — along the joists inside, or in a trench outside — plus the tie-in: the tee, a shut-off at the appliance, a pressure test and the permit. What changes the price is the appliance. A range or a dryer is fed by half-inch pipe; a tankless water heater, a generator or a pool heater wants one inch or more, runs back to the meter rather than off the nearest branch, and can push the whole house past what the meter delivers.
$700
Range, 20 ft
½ in, inside
$1,340
Grill, 40 ft
Buried
$1,500
Tankless, 25 ft
1 in + meter
$2,040
Generator, 40 ft
1 in + meter
MaterialsEstimator, Gas line price survey · checked 2026-09-25
BTU, distance and the meter
The fuel gas code sizes pipe from two numbers: the appliance’s input in BTU per hour and the length of pipe from the meter. Half-inch pipe carries about 95,000 BTU/h at 20 ft — plenty for a range — and less the farther it goes. Then the meter: a standard residential meter delivers about 250 cubic feet an hour, and a furnace, a water heater and a range together use most of it. Add a tankless heater or a generator and the utility has to set a larger meter.
| Appliance | BTU/h | Run | Pipe | Installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas range or cooktop | 65,000 | 20 ft inside | ½ in | $700 |
| Gas dryer | 22,000 | 15 ft inside | ½ in | $600 |
| Tank water heater | 40,000 | 15 ft inside | ½ in | $600 |
| Tankless water heater | 199,000 | 25 ft inside | 1 in | $1,500 |
| Furnace | 80,000 | 30 ft inside | ¾ in | $900 |
| Fireplace or insert | 30,000 | 35 ft inside | ½ in | $1,000 |
| Outdoor grill | 50,000 | 40 ft buried | ½ in | $1,340 |
| Fire pit or patio heater | 60,000 | 50 ft buried | ¾ in | $1,600 |
| Standby generator | 250,000 | 40 ft buried | 1 in | $2,040 |
| Pool or spa heater | 400,000 | 80 ft buried | 1½ in | $3,080 |
Natural gas, low pressure, with a furnace and a tank water heater already on the meter.
National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code — pipe sizing tables · checked 2026-09-16
Inside or buried
Inside, the pipe is black iron or flexible CSST along the basement joists or through the crawl space, up through the floor to a shut-off and a sediment trap at the appliance; CSST has to be bonded to the electrical ground. Outside, it is yellow polyethylene pipe in a trench 12 to 18 inches deep with a tracer wire, rising out of the ground at each end in steel. The trench is what makes outdoor lines dearer per foot, and the reason a grill or fire pit far across the yard costs more than the appliance.
| Inside | Buried outside | |
|---|---|---|
| Per foot | $20 | $26 |
| Pipe | Black iron or CSST | Polyethylene, steel risers |
| 40 ft run | $1,100 | $1,340 |
| Before digging | — | 811 for the utilities |
National Fire Protection Association, NFPA 54 / ANSI Z223.1 — National Fuel Gas Code: piping sizing and vent terminations (2024) · checked 2026-09-23
What goes wrong
Before the plumber comes
- The appliance's BTU from its rating plate.
- The route and the distance from the meter.
- What else is on the meter.
- For buried runs, 811 called.
- A licensed plumber or gasfitter and a permit.
01Teeing a big appliance off the nearest ½ in line
It starves: the burner lights badly and the others dip.
Instead — Pipe sized by BTU and distance, often from the meter.
02Forgetting the meter
Everything together can exceed it.
Instead — Add up the house before buying a big appliance.
03CSST without bonding
A lightning surge can puncture it.
Instead — Bonded to the electrical ground.
04No sediment trap or shut-off
Debris reaches the valve, and there is no way to isolate it.
Instead — A drip leg and a shut-off at every appliance.
05Unpermitted work
Insurers and buyers ask; a leak is a fire.
Instead — Permit and pressure test.
06Relighting after a leak yourself
The utility has to make it safe first.
Instead — Leave, call from outside.
- 01Read the appliance's BTUIt is on the rating plate: a range about 65,000, a tankless water heater up to 199,000.
- 02Measure from the meterAlong the route the pipe would take, not in a straight line.
- 03Inside or outsideAlong the joists in a basement or crawl space, or trenched across the yard.
- 04Add up the meterEverything on it together, new appliance included, against about 250 cubic feet an hour.
- 05Size the pipeBy BTU and distance from the fuel gas code's tables.
- 06Get it permittedA licensed plumber or gasfitter, a permit and a pressure test.
A tankless water heater is the appliance most often held up by its gas line and meter — priced with both on its own page.
The appliance that needs the most gas- BTU/h
- The appliance's gas input, on its rating plate. With the distance from the meter, it decides the pipe size.
- Black iron pipe
- Threaded steel gas pipe, the traditional indoor material.
- CSST
- Corrugated stainless steel tubing: flexible yellow-jacketed gas pipe, faster to run through a finished house; it has to be bonded to the electrical ground.
- Polyethylene gas pipe
- Yellow plastic pipe for buried runs outside, with a tracer wire so it can be found.
- Tie-in
- The connection to the existing gas system: a tee off a line or the meter, with the new shut-off and a pressure test.
- Meter capacity
- How many cubic feet an hour the meter can deliver; a standard residential one is about 250.
- 2 psi system
- Gas delivered at higher pressure to a regulator near the appliances, so smaller pipe carries more. For long runs and big loads.
- Sediment trap
- A capped drip leg before the appliance connection that catches debris in the gas.
- Pressure test
- The new piping held under air pressure for a set time with no drop, before it is connected.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to install a gas line?
- About $700 for a 20 ft line to a range inside the house — $20 a foot and a $300 tie-in with the shut-off, pressure test and permit. Buried outside, about $26 a foot: $1,340 for 40 ft to a grill. Big appliances need bigger pipe and sometimes a bigger meter: $2,040 for a standby generator.
- How much does a gas line cost per foot?
- About $14–$30 a foot inside the house, $20 typical, and $14–$45 trenched and buried outside, $26 typical — plus the tie-in, about $300. All in, a short line works out at $35 a foot and a long one closer to the per-foot price.
- How much to run a gas line for a stove?
- About $700 for 20 ft and $1,100 for 40 ft, in ½ in pipe for a 65,000 BTU range. On propane, about $920 with the regulator.
- How much does a gas line for a dryer cost?
- About $600 for a 15 ft run — a dryer is a small load, and ½ in pipe carries it easily.
- How much to run a gas line to a grill or fire pit?
- About $1,340 for a grill 40 ft away, trenched and buried in polyethylene pipe, and $1,600 for a fire pit 50 ft out. The trench is most of it.
- How much does a gas line for a generator cost?
- About $2,040 for 40 ft buried to a 250,000 BTU standby generator — 1 in pipe, and a larger meter when the furnace and water heater are already on it (359 cubic feet an hour against the 250 a standard meter delivers).
- Does a tankless water heater need a bigger gas line?
- Usually. At 199,000 BTU it wants 1 in pipe at 25 ft, where a tank heater ran on ½ in, and with a furnace on the same meter it pushes the house past a standard meter: about $1,500 for the line and the larger meter.
- How much does gas line repair cost?
- About $350 to locate and repair a leak at a joint or a short section, with the pressure test after; replacing 60 ft of corroded line is about $1,500. If you smell gas, leave and call the utility from outside first.
- How much does it cost to move a gas meter?
- About $1,200, most of it the utility's charge, which varies widely — ask them first. A new gas service to a house without one is about $1,500 from the utility, often reduced when a furnace converts: $2,400 with 30 ft of piping to the furnace.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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