If you can smell gas right now, stop reading, leave the building without touching any switch, and call the gas utility from outside. They make the area safe. We handle the repair afterwards — and the order of those two things matters more than how quickly either happens.
Napps Plumbing — Longview & East Texas since 1957
Once the area is made safe, this is the work that follows.
Pressure testing to confirm a leak exists and isolate which section, then electronic detection and solution testing to pinpoint the joint or run.
Replacing the failed length in correct material rather than patching a joint. On gas, a patch is not a repair.
Buried runs to grills, pool heaters and outbuildings. Ordinary black iron corrodes in soil, which is why underground failures are usually a material problem.
Flexible connectors past their life, corroded shut-off valves and fittings at the appliance. A common source of small persistent leaks.
Appliances that will not reach full output, especially when two run at once, usually mean an undersized line rather than a faulty appliance.
Correcting improvised or unpermitted gas work — usually found before a sale, and better dealt with in advance than under time pressure.
This is the one page on this site where we would rather you followed the instructions than called us first.
Leave the building, taking everyone including pets. Do not operate any electrical switch on the way out — light switches, appliances, garage door openers and phones can all produce a spark, and that is exactly what you are avoiding. Do not stop to open windows, and do not go back in to do so afterwards. From outside, at a neighbour or from the street, call the gas utility. They will attend and make the area safe. Call us once that has happened.
Emergency Plumbing →The gas utility can shut off supply at the meter and has an obligation to attend quickly. Until the supply is isolated, nobody should be working on the line, including us. This is not us avoiding the job — it is the correct order, and any plumber who tells you otherwise is one to be careful with.
Emergency Plumbing →Natural gas is odourless, so an additive called mercaptan is included to make it smell of rotten eggs or sulphur. Some leaks are audible as a hissing or whistling near a line or appliance. Outdoors, a leak in a buried line can show as a patch of dead or discoloured vegetation above the run with no other explanation. Any of those warrants the sequence above.
Gas Line Installation →Worth separating the two, because people conflate them. A gas leak is unburned gas escaping and it smells. Carbon monoxide is a product of incomplete combustion in an appliance and it has no smell at all — the warning signs are headaches, nausea and drowsiness that improve when you leave the house. Both need you outside, but CO comes from a faulty appliance rather than a leaking line.
Furnace Safety →In this order.
| Step | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leave the building | Removes everyone from the hazard |
| 2 | Touch no switches | Any spark is the ignition source |
| 3 | Do not reopen windows | Means re-entering the building |
| 4 | Call the gas utility from outside | They isolate the supply |
| 5 | Call us once it is safe | Repair follows, it does not lead |
Or call 903-758-6482 — 24/7
After the area is safe: test, locate, replace, retest, inspect.
Pressure testing establishes that a leak exists and which section it is on before anything is opened up.
Electronic detection and solution testing narrow it to a specific joint or length rather than a general area.
The failed section is replaced in the correct material. On gas there is no acceptable improvised repair.
Held under test pressure again, inspected, then the appliances are relit and checked.
Any one of these means the sequence above, not a phone call from inside the house.
The right sequence, the right materials, and everything on the record.
Or call 903-758-6482 — available 24/7
These come straight from our Google Business Profile — unedited, and updated automatically as new reviews come in.
What people ask about leaks, testing and repairs.
Leave immediately with everyone including pets. Do not operate any switch on the way out — light switches, appliances and phones can all spark. Do not stop to open windows and do not return to do so. From outside, call the gas utility; they will attend and isolate the supply. Once the area has been made safe, call us and we will handle the repair. The order matters more than the speed.
First a pressure test on the system, which confirms a leak exists and how significant it is. Then sections are isolated and tested individually to narrow it down. Finally electronic gas detection and solution testing pinpoint the specific joint or length. It is methodical rather than dramatic, and it means we replace the part that failed rather than guessing.
It depends mostly on access. An accessible interior joint or an appliance connector is a straightforward repair. A buried line, or one inside a finished wall, costs more because reaching it is most of the work. Testing and location are the first step and are priced separately, which means you are not committing to an approach before anyone knows where the fault is.
No, and this is one of the few places we would say that flatly. Gas work requires a licensed plumber in Texas, has to be pressure tested before going into service, and generally requires permitting and inspection. Beyond the legal position, the consequences of an unsound gas repair are not comparable to those of a water leak.
Usually not — it is more often an undersized supply line. Every gas appliance shares the same supply, so if a line was sized for what was originally connected and something has been added since, the total demand may exceed what it can deliver. The giveaway is performance that drops specifically when two appliances run at once. We recalculate the load and tell you whether it needs upsizing.
Frequently, yes. Unpermitted or improvised gas work has a way of surfacing during an inspection, usually at the least convenient moment. We correct it properly, pressure test it and get it permitted and inspected so it is resolved on the record rather than argued about at closing.
Gas line installation, emergency plumbing and furnace safety each have their own page.
Once the area is safe, call Napps on 903-758-6482 and we will handle the repair.
If you can smell gas right now, do not use this form — leave the building and call the gas utility from outside first.
