Gas Line Repair & Installation in Santa Cruz

Signs you have a gas leak

Natural gas is odorless on its own. The rotten-egg smell is an additive called mercaptan, put in specifically so you can detect a leak. Trust it.

• The smell of rotten eggs or sulfur, even faintly, near an appliance or along a wall.
• A hissing or whistling sound near a gas line, meter, or appliance connection.
• A gas bill that climbed without a change in use.
• Dead or dying vegetation in a line over a buried gas line in the yard.
• Physical symptoms — headaches, dizziness, or nausea that ease when you leave the house.
• A pilot light that will not stay lit, which can point to a supply problem.

What we handle

• Leak detection and repair. We pressure-test the system to locate the leak, then repair or replace the affected section.
• New gas lines. Running a line to a new range, cooktop, water heater, dryer, fire pit, pool heater, or outdoor BBQ.
• Line extensions and reroutes for a remodel or a relocated appliance.
• Appliance connections and shutoff valves done to code.
• Capping and removal of a line to an appliance you are taking out.
• Earthquake shutoff valves — see below, because in this county they matter.

Earthquakes and automatic shutoff valves

Santa Cruz County sits on active fault systems and lived through Loma Prieta. Gas lines and earthquakes are a bad combination: a ruptured line after a quake is one of the main causes of post-earthquake fire.

An automatic seismic gas shutoff valve closes the gas supply when it senses shaking above a set threshold, so a broken line downstream is not still being fed. Some jurisdictions and many insurers look favorably on them, and for an older home on a hillside or near a fault they are worth serious consideration. We install and service them.

Permits, testing, and doing it right

Gas work is not a place to cut corners, and it is not a DIY job. Gas piping requires a permit and a pressure test in Santa Cruz County, and the inspection exists to confirm the system holds and every joint is sound. We pull the permit, do the work to code, and schedule the inspection. When we are done, the system is tested and signed off — not something that becomes your problem at resale or after the next quake.

Frequently asked questions