If you smell gas in a Spencer home, leave and call 911 or Piedmont Natural Gas at 800-752-7504 from outside. For connector replacements, old-pipe repairs, new appliance lines or a switch from oil heat, call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Spencer.
Spencer's homes run older, and more of them use gas
Spencer grew up around Southern Railway's Spencer Shops, now the NC Transportation Museum, and its housing shows it. Census survey figures put the median year built at 1950, with about 76% of homes from before 1980 and about 34% from before 1940. ZIP-level figures for 28159 show about 39% of homes heating with utility gas, higher than most nearby ZIPs, along with about 10% on fuel oil. Piedmont Natural Gas serves portions of Rowan County, per the 2014 state Utilities Commission report. Permits go through Rowan County Building Inspections, with zoning approval from the Town first.
Houses this old may have been through several heating fuels over the decades, so the gas piping can be a patchwork of eras.
What to do now
- Smell gas? Leave without using switches or phones inside, and call 911 or Piedmont from outside.
- Look behind the stove and dryer if there's no odor. Old uncoated connectors are a common weak spot in older homes.
- Check the crawl space access so the plumber can reach the piping.
- Test your carbon monoxide alarms, especially if you have an older furnace or an oil system.
- Call the number on this page to be connected with a plumber who handles gas lines in Spencer.
Signs and likely causes
| Sign | Probable cause |
|---|---|
| Rotten-egg smell | A leak. Leave first. |
| Hiss at a union or valve in the crawl space | An old joint that has loosened or corroded |
| Rust flaking off iron gas pipe | Corrosion from a damp crawl space |
| Yellow flames on the range | Dirty burner or poor air mix |
| Capped line to a missing appliance | An abandoned branch from an earlier heater or stove |
What changes the price
- Condition of the existing pipe. Very old piping may need sections replaced before it can be extended.
- Fuel switch. Moving from oil to gas means confirming service with Piedmont, setting a meter and running new lines, and the old oil tank may need separate removal.
- Access. Low crawl spaces and plaster walls slow the work.
- Permits. Rowan County's February 2024 fee schedule lists $75 for a storage water heater permit and $90 for tankless, if a heater swap is part of the job.
- Testing and inspection before the gas is turned on.
Gas Line Services questions in Spencer
What gas piping problems show up in older houses?
Is an older appliance connector worth replacing?
Will gas piping work here need a permit and an inspection?
Should a home with gas appliances have carbon monoxide alarms?
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