Who can hook up a gas dryer or range in Virginia?

In Virginia, hooking up a gas dryer or a gas range is gas fitting, which the state licenses. The person making the connection should hold a DPOR licence that covers gas work, and once a job is over $1,000 the business needs a contractor licence as well. A handyman's home improvement licence does not cover gas, and Columbia Gas of Virginia, for one, is responsible only up to and including its meter.

What Virginia law says

Virginia's Board for Contractors regulations define a gas fitter as a tradesman who does gas fitting-related work, usually within the HVAC or plumbing trades.^[1] That work covers installing, repairing, improving or removing gas piping, tanks, vents, equipment and appliances annexed to real property.^[1] A range or dryer connected to the house gas line is an appliance in that sense. Those same rules list gas fitters among the individuals Virginia licenses.^[1]

The Code of Virginia adds the licence requirement: no individual may work as a tradesman without a licence, and a tradesman is anyone who does electrical, plumbing or HVAC work for the public for pay.^[3][2] Separately, liquefied petroleum gas fitters, whose work includes propane piping, tanks and appliances, must be licensed too.^[2][3] One narrower licence is easy to mistake for the right one: a natural gas fitter provider licence covers incidental repair, testing or removal of natural gas piping, not new gas piping for equipment that needs a plumbing or HVAC certification.^[2]

Which business licence covers it

The business you hire also needs the right specialty on its contractor licence:

• The gas fitting (GFC) specialty covers "the installation, repair, improvement, or removal of gas piping and appliances annexed to real property."^[5]
• The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) specialty covers propane piping and appliances,^[5] which matters if your house runs on a tank.
• The home improvement (HIC) specialty, which many handyman businesses hold, "does not provide for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting functions."^[5]

A contracting business needs a Class C licence or higher once a single job is over $1,000.^[4] Whatever the size of the job, the person making the gas connection needs a licence for gas work,^[1][3] so check that licence as well as the company's.

Where the gas company fits in

Columbia Gas of Virginia, one of the state's gas utilities, draws the line clearly. "It is the property owner's responsibility to maintain all piping and equipment inside the home."^[7] It says the utility is responsible for the service line up to and including the gas meter.^[7] Its advice: "For your safety, a qualified professional should perform all work on natural gas lines and equipment inside the home."^[7] If you are adding gas appliances rather than replacing one, Columbia Gas asks customers adding gas appliances to call 800-718-1811 so it can check there is enough gas pressure.^[7] Other utilities and propane suppliers set their own terms, so ask yours where its responsibility ends and whether it needs to know about a new appliance.

Permits and dryer venting

Fairfax requires a permit for any gas appliance installation or replacement, even like for like.^[9] Property owners may obtain permits in their own name, but Fairfax County strongly recommends that a licensed contractor pull them, so the county can help if the work turns out defective.^[9] Your own county or town may handle it differently, so ask its building department.

A gas dryer also needs its exhaust vent done right. The U.S. Fire Administration's first tip is "Have your dryer installed and serviced by a professional."^[10] The CPSC notes that most dryer manufacturers specify rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, and plastic or foil accordion duct traps lint and crushes more easily.^[11] Ask whoever connects the gas to check the vent run and duct type too.

Electric dryers and ranges

An electric dryer or range has no gas connection, but it does need an outlet that matches its cord. Virginia's rules define an electrician as a tradesman who builds, repairs, maintains, alters or removes electrical systems,^[1] so a new circuit, a changed outlet or a panel upgrade is a job for a licensed electrician.

When to call a licensed pro

Book a licensed pro for any of these:

• Connecting a new gas dryer or range, or reconnecting one after a floor or cabinet job.
• Moving a gas appliance to a new spot, extending a gas line, or adding a gas appliance to the house.
• Converting an appliance between natural gas and propane.
• Capping the line when you remove a gas appliance. Columbia Gas says you should make sure the natural gas is turned off to the appliance and that the line is properly capped, and a qualified professional can cap it for you.^[8] Its warning: "If you find an uncapped gas line, do not touch it."^[8]
• Any smell of gas. Columbia Gas tells customers to "go outside and call 911 and then call us at 1-800-544-5606 (24/7)."^[7]

Checking before you book

• Look the licence up. DPOR's guide warns that a license number in an advertisement or on a business card does not necessarily mean the contractor's license is valid.^[6] Search it on DPOR's site, or contact the Board for Contractors at (804) 367-8511.^[6] Loclis walks through it in how to check if a contractor is licensed in Virginia.
• Ask who does the gas connection when a retailer installs: the store, a subcontractor, or nobody.
• Get it in writing. "Virginia law requires all licensed contractors to provide a written contract for residential work."^[6] The contract should say who pulls the permit.
• Read up on the risks of skipping this in is it illegal to hire an unlicensed contractor in Virginia.

For what the job itself involves, see what installing a gas range involves. Browse more handyman answers or find licensed plumbers in Blacksburg. On Loclis, gas work needs a licence at any job size and an unlicensed quote is refused: describe your gas dryer or range hookup and licensed businesses will quote.