If you do have a natural gas furnace, having a gas leak during the wintertime can be a much more serious issue than it otherwise would be. This is because when the gas is shut off to your home for the repair/inspection process, your house will not have the ability to heat itself and prevent water pipes from freezing.
Whenever there is a gas leak and the gas company shuts off the gas to the residence, there is a process that must be followed to get the gas back on.
First, a natural gas line plumber will need to come out to locate the leak. The diagnosis process is sometimes very quick on smaller systems or if the leak is on an exposed section of piping. On large or complex systems, this can easily take much longer – especially if there are multiple leaks on the system.
Next, the plumber will need to make the repair. The repair can similarly be either straightforward or involved (depending upon where it is and how many there are).
After the leak has been repaired and the master plumber has tested the system to make sure there aren’t any additional leaks, then the system will need to be put under a static test. This test remains until the city inspector can come out and approve the plumber’s work and the integrity of the system.
Once the city inspector has given his “green tag”, then the gas release is sent to the gas company and they can come back out to unlock the meter and allow natural gas back to the home. At this point, any appliances with standing pilots like traditional water heaters will need to be relit.
Sometimes this entire process can be completed during a single day, but many times it can take two or three days to complete. During wintertime, the inspection process can sometimes be sped up due to the urgent nature of the situation, but there are many variables at play here.
The big takeaway is to address any gas system leaks or concerns before winter sets in (if this is possible). If you have a plumber out anyway for a different issue, it may not hurt to have them inspect the gas system to see if there are any lurking issues.
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