If there is a gas odour in your home right now, stop reading and get everyone out — the steps are in the red box below. For everything else, Silverback Plumbing and Drain installs, repairs and replaces gas lines across San Antonio, from a corroded fitting under a kitchen to a new run for a fireplace, generator or outdoor kitchen. Gas piping in Texas is licensed plumbing work, and all of ours is done under our Responsible Master Plumber.
If you can smell gas right now
- Leave the building immediately. Do not stop to open windows or hunt for the source.
- Do not touch light switches, use a phone indoors, or start a car in an attached garage.
- From a safe distance, call CPS Energy’s 24-hour emergency line at (210) 353-4357, or 911.
- Do not go back inside for any reason until someone tells you it is safe.
This is exactly what CPS Energy tells San Antonio residents to do. Call us once the property is clear and we will find and fix what caused it.
What we get called out for
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A suspected leak
Sulphur or rotten-egg smell, a hiss near a line or appliance, or a patch of dead grass over a buried run.
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An appliance that will not ignite
A range, water heater or furnace that will not light, or a pilot that keeps dropping out.
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Pressure that has fallen off
Appliances running weak, taking longer to heat, or struggling to hold a flame — often several at once.
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Old black iron or steel
Lines that have rusted from the inside, or no longer meet the code they would be inspected against today.
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Damage from digging
A line nicked or cut during landscaping, fencing or a fence-post hole. More common than people expect.
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A new run
Gas to a fireplace, grill, pool heater, generator, or an electric appliance being converted to gas.
What the work covers
| Service | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Leak detection and repair | Pressure testing to isolate the run, then locating and sealing the fault at the fitting, joint or pipe wall. |
| New line installation | Sizing and running new supply for an appliance, fireplace, outdoor kitchen or addition, including the permit. |
| Line replacement | Replacing corroded, undersized or out-of-code piping, in a single run or throughout. |
| Appliance connections | Water heaters, ranges, dryers, fireplaces and generators connected and leak-tested. |
| Code compliance inspection | Checking existing piping against current fuel gas code ahead of a sale, renovation or appliance swap. |
Repair, replace, or run new
| Your situation | The usual answer |
|---|---|
| Adding a gas appliance where there is no supply | New line, sized for that appliance’s demand and everything already on the system. |
| One leak on an otherwise sound line | Repair Targeted fix at the fitting or section. |
| Black iron showing rust or scale | Replace The affected run, before it finds a second weak point. |
| The line failed a code compliance inspection | Replace Brought up to current fuel gas code. |
| Repeat leaks in different places | Replace Patching a system that keeps failing is renting time. |
How deep gas lines are buried here
The International Fuel Gas Code sets a 12-inch minimum burial depth for gas piping on private property, rising to 18 inches under driveways, parking areas and anywhere a vehicle crosses. In practice we usually go deeper than the minimum in this region, because the expansive clay soil moves noticeably between a wet spring and an August drought, and a shallow line takes more of that movement than one set with margin.
Before any digging on your property, including your own landscaping, call 811. CPS Energy marks buried utility lines free of charge, and striking a gas line with a post-hole digger is a genuinely bad afternoon.
Reading the warning signs
| What you are noticing | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Rotten-egg or sulphur smell, indoors or out | A leak. Treat as urgent every time — the odorant exists precisely so you act on it. |
| A hiss near a pipe or appliance connection | Gas escaping under pressure at a fitting or crack. |
| Dead or discoloured grass in a line over a buried run | A possible underground leak affecting the root zone above it. |
| Pilot lights that will not stay lit | Low supply pressure, or a partially obstructed line. |
| Gas bills climbing with no change in usage | A slow leak, or an ageing appliance connection burning inefficiently. |
| Soot, or a yellow rather than blue flame | Incomplete combustion. Worth attention promptly rather than at the next service. |
What gas work costs
A repair and a new run are different orders of job, so we quote after diagnosis rather than off a list. What moves the figure:
- Repair, replacement or new runSealing one fitting is the low end. Running new supply the length of a house, through finished space, is not.
- Distance and routePriced largely by the foot and by what the pipe has to pass through. An attic or crawl run is quicker than a run that means opening walls or trenching a yard.
- Whether the line needs upsizingThis is the one people are not expecting. A line already feeding a range, water heater and dryer may not carry another appliance, so the new appliance quietly becomes a supply upgrade.
- Permit and inspectionMost new gas work requires both. We pull the permit and schedule the inspection rather than leaving it with you — which also means the work is on record when you sell.
What a service call looks like
- We pressure-test the system to establish whether it is holding and isolate which run is not.
- We locate the fault precisely, and show you what we found rather than describing it.
- We carry out the repair, replacement or new installation, with the permit in place where one is required.
- We re-test the system and document the result before we call it finished.
Most repairs and appliance connections finish the same day. New runs and full replacements depend on length and whether drywall, flooring or yard work is involved, and we will tell you which applies before we start.
When gas work overlaps with the rest of the house
Gas lines feed appliances, so gas faults and appliance faults get confused constantly. If your water heater or gas fireplace is misbehaving at the same time as a suspected supply problem, say so when you call and we will test the whole system in one visit instead of two. If you are dealing with flooding or a burst pipe alongside a gas concern, our 24-hour emergency line covers both.
Work is carried out by licensed plumbers under our Responsible Master Plumber, license RMP-43333, issued by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. You can verify that license yourself.
What San Antonio homeowners say
Reviews pulled live from our Google Business Profile, not retyped here.
Questions homeowners ask us
What does a gas leak smell like?
Rotten eggs or sulphur. Natural gas has no odour of its own, so utilities add a chemical called mercaptan specifically so that leaks are noticeable. If you can smell it anywhere in or around the house, treat it as a leak and leave.
Is it safe to stay inside if I only smell a little gas?
No. There is no amount of gas odour that is safe to wait out. Leave, avoid anything that could create a spark on your way, and call CPS Energy’s emergency line or 911 from outside before you call anyone else.
How deep do gas lines have to be buried in San Antonio?
Code sets a 12-inch minimum on private property and 18 inches under driveways or anywhere vehicles cross. We commonly install deeper than that here, because the clay soil shifts seasonally and extra depth holds up better than the bare minimum.
Can I install a gas line myself?
No. Gas piping in Texas is licensed plumbing work, and most of it requires a permit and an inspection. An undersized line or a fitting that was never properly sealed does not announce itself — you find out when it has already become a hazard.
How much does gas line work cost?
It depends on whether it is a single fitting repair, a section replacement or a new run, how far the pipe has to travel, and whether the existing supply has to be upsized to carry another appliance. We diagnose first and give you the price before anything starts.
Do you run lines for outdoor kitchens, fire pits and generators?
Yes, including the sizing, the shutoff placement, the pressure test and the permitting that goes with adding an appliance to the system.
My new appliance needs more gas than my line carries. What now?
The supply line gets upsized, either for that branch or from the meter, depending on what else is on the system. It is the most common surprise in gas work and the reason we check total demand before quoting rather than after.
Do you provide documentation for a home sale?
Yes. Permitted work is on record with the city, and we can provide the pressure test result. Unpermitted gas work is a routine finding during sale inspections and a routine cause of delayed closings.
Gas work is the one job where the license is the product.
Leak, appliance connection or a new run for something you are building — it gets pressure-tested, permitted and documented.
Silverback Plumbing & Drain provides licensed plumbing and drain service for homes and businesses throughout the San Antonio area. From emergency repairs to routine maintenance, we diagnose the problem, explain the fix, and get it done right the first time.
Contact Info
Open Hours
- Open 24/7
Emergency service available nights, weekends, and holidays.
Copyright © 2026 Silverback Plumbing and Drain
Mark Vargas, Responsible Master Plumber #43333 Licensed through the Texas Board of Plumbing Examiners P.O. Box 4200, Austin, Texas 78765 (800-845-6584)