Gas Lines & Fitting

Adding a gas range, a dryer, a barbecue line on the deck, a fireplace or a garage heater all mean altering the gas system in your house. In Alberta, gasfitting is a compulsory certification trade: anyone doing it for pay must be a certified gasfitter or a registered apprentice working under one. Most residential work falls within the Class B gasfitter certificate, which covers appliances up to 400,000 BTU.

The City of Calgary requires a gas permit to install, alter or add to a gas system. Homeowners in Calgary can take out most other permits themselves, but not a gas permit, unless the homeowner is an Alberta-certified journeyman gasfitter working on their own single-family home. So for almost everyone, the gasfitter pulls the permit and the City inspects the work. Even the homeowner permit for installing a gas fireplace covers the venting and clearances only, not the gas connection. Rules differ outside the city, so check with your municipality.

What sets the price is the length of the run from the meter or nearest suitable line, how many walls and floors it passes through, and whether the existing gas line and meter can carry the extra load. Adding a large appliance such as a tankless water heater sometimes means upsizing the line.

Alberta adopted the newest edition of the natural gas and propane installation code, CSA B149.1, on March 1, 2026. If you ever smell gas, do not look for the leak: leave the house and call emergency services from outside.