Gas Line Services in Hyattsville, MD

When to have the gas piping checked

• Any whiff of sulfur indoors: leave first, then call from outside
• A hissing sound near the meter, a shutoff valve or behind the stove
• Flames that burn yellow or orange, or a burner that pops when it lights
• Black soot on the wall or ceiling near a gas appliance vent
• Headaches or drowsiness at home that ease when you go out, which can point to a combustion problem as well as a leak
• An old gas stub sticking out of a wall or floor where an appliance used to be

Gas piping in Hyattsville's older homes

Hyattsville's historic district is known for late-1880s Victorians and interwar Sears and Arts and Crafts bungalows, and the city's median home was built in 1963, so about half the houses are older than that. Many of these homes were heated by other fuels when they were built and had gas piping added or extended later. That history shows up as threaded iron pipe from several eras, valves that are hard to turn, branches that were tapped for a dryer or a new range without a look at the overall load, and capped lines left behind in basements.

Washington Gas serves Montgomery and Prince George's counties, and BGE serves parts of Prince George's, so a few edge addresses may differ; the bill settles it. Prince George's County states that all plumbing permits and plumbing inspections are handled by WSSC Water, and the city has no permits office of its own. Water heater replacement requires a permit, and WSSC requires gas water heater, furnace and other gas appliance replacements to be done by a plumber or gasfitter holding a WSSC license.

What changes the price

• Access through plaster walls, old flooring or a low basement
• Whether the existing pipe is sized for every appliance it now feeds
• Replacing worn valves and connectors while the gas is already off
• Removing abandoned stubs safely
• The WSSC permit and inspection

What happens when you call

An independent plumber who takes gas work in Hyattsville will ask what you need done, where the meter is and how old the house is. Expect a leak check of the existing piping before anything new is tied in, a pressure test on new work, and relighting of each appliance once the gas is back on.