If your home doesn’t have natural gas service, or if you need to extend gas to a part of the property that doesn’t have it yet, Wahl runs the line. Most new gas service installations in our service area coordinate with Peoples Gas, the primary natural gas utility for Pittsburgh and surrounding Allegheny County. We handle the private-side installation (from the meter into your home and to each appliance) and we coordinate timing with Peoples Gas on the public-side connection.

When new gas service makes sense

Converting from oil heat to gas. A long-running trend in Pittsburgh. Oil prices, delivery logistics, and tank maintenance push many homeowners toward gas. We run the service, install the new gas furnace or boiler, and decommission the old oil tank.

Converting from electric heat to gas. Same logic. Gas heat is typically cheaper to operate than resistance electric heat, and the difference compounds over years.

Converting from propane to natural gas. Where natural gas service is available, it’s usually cheaper than propane delivery. Conversion is straightforward; existing gas appliances often only need a regulator swap and an orifice change.

Adding gas to an addition. New kitchen, family room expansion, master suite with a gas fireplace.

Adding a standby generator. Whole-home standby generators (Generac, Kohler, Cummins, Briggs & Stratton) typically need a dedicated gas line sized for their continuous load.

Outdoor kitchen, pool heater, or fire pit. Running gas to a backyard appliance.

Detached garage or workshop with a gas heater. Running a buried line and a wall-mounted gas unit heater.

Adding tankless water heater or high-BTU appliance that exceeds existing service capacity. Sometimes the answer is upgrading the existing service rather than entirely new install.

What the install involves

A new gas service installation has two halves, the public side (Peoples Gas) and the private side (Wahl). Both have to happen, in the right order, for the service to come on.

Public side (Peoples Gas’s responsibility): – Application processing. – Engineering review. – Tap into the gas main in the street. – Run service line from the main to the meter location. – Set the meter.

Private side (Wahl’s responsibility): – Run the gas line from the meter into the building. – Run interior gas piping to each appliance. – Install the appliance connection. – Pressure test the entire system. – Coordinate inspection and re-light.

Our process:

1. Site visit. We walk the property, identify the appliances, calculate total BTU load, plan pipe routing.
2. Application coordination with Peoples Gas. We help submit the application, provide load and meter location specs.
3. Engineering and approval. Peoples Gas reviews and approves the new service.
4. Permits. Municipal mechanical permit, plus any Peoples Gas-required permits.
5. PA One Call (811). Utility marks.
6. Excavation or directional drilling. Trench or directional bore for the buried line from the meter location to the house entry.
7. Run polyethylene (PE) gas pipe with tracer wire. Standard for buried gas service.
8. Transition to black iron or CSST at the building wall. Run interior piping to each appliance.
9. Pressure test. Standard gas pressure test held to confirm no leaks.
10. Peoples Gas connects and meters. Their crew taps the main, runs the public-side line, and sets the meter on the agreed date.
11. Inspection. Municipal and Peoples Gas inspectors sign off.
12. Service on, re-light. Peoples Gas turns on the service. We connect, light, and verify each appliance.

Most new service installations complete in two to four weeks total, with the longest part being the Peoples Gas engineering and scheduling, not the actual Wahl install work. The Wahl portion is typically one to three days.

Sizing the service

Gas service is sized based on total connected BTU load. Common appliances and their typical BTU ratings:

• Forced-air gas furnace: 60,000 to 120,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas boiler: 80,000 to 160,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas tank water heater: 30,000 to 40,000 BTU/hr.
• Tankless gas water heater: 150,000 to 199,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas range: 40,000 to 60,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas dryer: 20,000 BTU/hr.
• Standby generator (residential): 80,000 to 200,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas fireplace: 20,000 to 40,000 BTU/hr.
• Gas pool heater: 200,000 to 400,000 BTU/hr.

We add up the total load (with appropriate diversity factor where Peoples Gas allows) and size the service to handle peak demand with adequate pressure at every appliance. Tankless water heaters in particular are notorious for being added to systems that can’t actually supply them. We size correctly the first time.

Common scenarios in Pittsburgh

We present exact pricing in your home after a free in-home estimate. Tiers below show relative investment, not real numbers.

1960s ranch with electric baseboard heat. Conversion to gas furnace. Run new gas service to meter, run interior line to furnace location, install furnace, decommission baseboards. Upper tier ($$$$) total project, depending on the furnace tier and any ductwork needed.

1920s home with oil-fired boiler. Convert to gas boiler. Run gas service, install gas boiler (often a high-efficiency condensing boiler in this case), abandon oil tank. Upper to flagship tier ($$$$).

Addition with gas appliances. Run gas to the new wing for fireplace, range, and dryer. Lower-mid tier ($$) for the gas portion.

Generator install. Run gas to the generator pad. Coordinate with the generator installer for the electrical side. Lower-mid tier ($$) for the gas line and connection.

Outdoor kitchen. Run gas to a grill, side burner, refrigerator, and fire feature. Lower-mid tier ($$).

What Peoples Gas charges (and what we charge)

This is a question every customer asks. The short version:

Peoples Gas charges for the public-side work. Tap fee, service-line installation, meter setting. These charges vary by location, distance from existing main, and service size. Sometimes Peoples Gas waives or reduces fees under specific programs (new construction, gas-promotion programs). They tell you their cost in their application response.

Wahl charges for the private-side work. Interior piping, appliance connections, pressure testing, permit, inspection coordination, and any associated work (decommissioning the oil tank, replacing the heating appliance, etc.).

You see both numbers separately. The Peoples Gas charge goes to Peoples Gas; the Wahl charge goes to Wahl.

Code, permits, inspection

Every gas installation requires:

• Municipal mechanical permit in every Pittsburgh-area municipality.
• Municipal inspector witnessing the pressure test or reviewing the pressure test report.
• Peoples Gas approval for new service.
• Tracer wire on all buried PE.
• Bonding on CSST per current code.
• Proper appliance venting (chimney, B-vent, sidewall venting depending on appliance).

Wahl pulls every permit, schedules every inspection, and meets every inspector. You don’t.

Pricing

We present exact pricing in your home after a free in-home estimate. Tiers below show relative investment, not real numbers.

• New gas service to a residence (private-side install with meter coordination): mid tier ($$$) plus Peoples Gas charges.
• Service upgrade (existing service replaced with a larger one): lower-mid to mid tier ($$ to $$$) plus Peoples Gas charges.
• Single appliance interior gas line extension (10 to 30 ft, simple routing): entry tier ($).
• Outdoor kitchen, pool heater, or fire pit line (30 to 80 ft buried): lower-mid tier ($$).
• Generator gas line connection: lower-mid tier ($$).

Part of our process is presenting numbers in person, on paper, with scope, materials, permits, inspection coordination, and timeline all spelled out.

What’s included with every Wahl new gas service install

• Coordination with Peoples Gas application.
• All Wahl-side materials per code.
• Permit pulling and inspection coordination.
• Pressure testing per code requirements.
• Tracer wire on buried lines.
• CSST bonding per code (where used).
• Appliance connections and start-up.
• Photo documentation.
• Written workmanship warranty.

Financing

Major heating conversions and generator installs are significant investments. GoodLeap, Synchrony, Wells Fargo, EasyPay. Approval in about two minutes.