Renovation guides

Gas range connection: what a pro does and what you can do

Connecting a gas range, moving a gas shutoff or converting a range from one fuel to another is done by a licensed contractor. A leak you cannot smell can fill a kitchen while you sleep.

Difficulty 5 of 5 · licensed pro

Stop here

Gas is contractor-only in this app, with no exceptions. A gas connection has to be made with the right new flexible connector and fittings, leak-tested, and left with a shutoff you can reach; an undetected leak is a fire and explosion risk. In California and many other places this work normally requires a licensed contractor and may need a permit, and your insurance may not cover a loss from work done without one — check with your city's building department (LADBS in Los Angeles) and look the contractor up with your state's contractor license board (CSLB in California). If you smell gas at any point: do not touch switches, leave the building, and call the gas utility from outside. We can send this job to one contractor for you.
See it in your own room — free

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Tools

  • Flashlight and phone camera
  • Notebook for the bid and the license number

Step by step

  1. Step 1 of 5

    Photograph the shutoff and the data plate

    Photograph the shutoff and the data plate

    Do not move a connected range. With a flashlight, photograph the gas shutoff behind or beside the range from the side, and the range's data plate (often behind the drawer or inside the door frame). Send both photos with the job so the contractor brings the right parts.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    Check the license and ask about the permit

    Check the license and ask about the permit

    Look up the contractor's license with your state's contractor license board (CSLB in California) and confirm it is active and in the name of the business bidding. Ask whether your scope needs a permit — check with your city's building department (LADBS in Los Angeles) — and who pulls it.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    Make the bid name the parts and the checks

    Make the bid name the parts and the checks

    The written bid should say: a new flexible connector (never the old one reused), a new shutoff if the old one is stiff or corroded, a leak test after the connection, the anti-tip bracket installed, and the permit if one is needed.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    Watch the leak test and the flames

    Watch the leak test and the flames

    Ask the contractor to leak-test every joint in front of you. Then light each burner and the oven: the flames should be blue and even, not yellow or lifting. Check that the range is caught in its anti-tip bracket.

  5. Step 5 of 5

    Working CO alarm in the home

    Working CO alarm in the home

    Make sure there is a working carbon monoxide alarm in the home — California and many other states require one in homes with a gas appliance, and it is sensible anywhere. Check the expiration date on its back.

    Before you close the job

    • Contractor's license checked with your state's license board (CSLB in California)
    • Permit question answered, and the permit pulled if one is needed
    • New connector and a shutoff you can reach are installed
    • Leak test done in front of you
    • Burners and oven light blue and even
    • Range is caught in its anti-tip bracket
    • Working carbon monoxide alarm in the home

Common mistakes

  • Connecting it yourself because it looks like one fitting. A gas connection that leaks does not announce itself before it ignites. Gas is contractor-only in this app, every time. Your part is the photos, the hiring, and watching the checks.
  • Letting the old connector go back on. An old flexible gas connector can crack when it is moved or bent again. The connection gets a new connector every time — make the bid say so.

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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