Outdoor Kitchen, Grill and Fire Pit Gas Lines in Dallas, TX

What a backyard gas line can supply

• Kitchen islands: built-in grill, side burner, griddle or gas pizza oven.
• Fire pits, fire bowls and fire tables that burn gas instead of firewood.
• Patio heaters rated for natural gas, on a post, wall or patio-cover ceiling.
• Outdoor fireplaces, plus cart grills that plug into a quick-disconnect hose.

Each rating plate lists a Btu-per-hour input, and the new pipe must carry the patio total on top of the furnace, water heater and range, all the way from the meter. A pool heater is usually the biggest gas user in the yard. Older East Dallas and Oak Cliff houses were often piped for a few indoor appliances, so the patio may need its own larger branch.

Wall-mounted or buried: how the pipe reaches the patio

Along the house. For a grill or heater against the house, coated steel pipe is fastened to the exterior wall and drops to a valve. Pier-and-beam houses, common in Lakewood and Kessler Park, often let the branch travel through the crawlspace.

Under the yard. A fire pit in the lawn or a detached island is fed with polyethylene gas pipe. It can't run inside or beneath the house, gets a yellow tracer wire for locating it later, and surfaces through an anodeless or protected steel riser. Dallas's amended fuel gas code requires at least 18 inches from the top of the pipe to grade, with no shallower allowance for a single outdoor appliance. An existing patio slab or driveway can be bored under instead of cut.

Our Blackland Prairie clay swells when wet and cracks in drought, so the trench gets careful bedding and the riser is set so moving soil doesn't strain it.

A shutoff at every appliance

Each appliance needs its own accessible shutoff within 6 feet, ahead of its connector or quick-disconnect. In an island that's usually behind the access door; a fire pit in stone or block typically gets a key valve in the surround. A valve where the yard line leaves the house lets you turn off the whole patio while indoor appliances keep running.

Propane equipment has to be converted first

On natural gas, a burner set up for propane makes weak, lazy flames that can go out. Natural gas averages about 1,030 Btu per cubic foot against roughly 2,516 for pure propane, so natural gas burners need bigger orifices.

• Check the rating plate for the fuel it's set up for now.
• Convert only with the maker's approved kit for that model. Some models can't be converted, so if you're still shopping, order the natural gas version.
• Never drill out an orifice yourself.

Converted units are connected, leak-tested and lit during the gas appliance hookup.

City of Dallas permit, gas test and inspection

Under the City of Dallas gas test guidelines, any new gas installation, addition or alteration must be inspected and released by the city. The plumber doing the work pulls the permit, and the contractor must be registered with the city.

1. Plan: share the appliance models, a rough drawing of the patio and a picture of the gas meter.
2. Size, route and permit before anyone digs.
3. Rough-in: the pipe, tracer wire, risers and valves are installed, and the trench usually stays open for the inspector.
4. City test: with the ends capped, the piping holds pressure on an approved diaphragm gauge while a city plumbing inspector looks on; the guidelines describe 3 psi for at least 15 minutes. See gas pressure testing.
5. Finish: backfill, connect, purge air, leak-check joints and light every burner.

Coordinating with your pool or patio builder

Bring gas out before the pool deck, pavers or island are built.

• Show every gas appliance on the drawings, even a future pool heater, so the line is sized once.
• Ask for a sleeve under new concrete wherever the line will cross.
• Condo or townhome in Uptown or Oak Lawn? Check HOA rules first.

Call 811 before digging

Texas law requires notice to 811 at least 48 hours before trenching or boring with powered equipment 16 inches or deeper, not counting weekends and legal holidays, and it's wise to call before any digging. Locators mark utility lines, but Atmos Energy says buried piping from its meter to a pool heater, grill or other appliance belongs to the owner, so 811 won't mark it. Keep a drawing of your yard line for future fence posts and trees.

Outdoor gas line FAQ

Plan your patio gas line

Call (844) 313-1397 with your patio plan and appliance models. What you pay comes down to how far the pipe travels, buried or wall-mounted routing, any bore under a slab, how many appliances it serves and the permit. Coupons: $50 off for new customers and 10% off for seniors, military and first responders (terms on the coupons page). Patio work is booked for a day that suits you. Texas plumbing license # M-27587.

From our base in the Cedars we serve all of Dallas, including Lakewood, Bishop Arts and Pleasant Grove. See service areas.

Office hours 8 AM–11 PM daily · 24/7 emergency service