Baltimore permits for gas

[Jacob Ball]

I live in Baltimore and I’m renovating my basement and will be boxing in the gas/water lines. The inspector came to look at the plumbing work and even though I’m not doing anything w gas lines he apparently told my contractor that I have to replace all of the couplings/lines and do a test....which makes no sense to me. Not sure why I would need to replace the anything if there’s no leak...shouldn’t I have to do the test first? If there’s no leak why would I need to replace anything? I’m getting charged almost $3500 from my contractor for it which seems like it’s a rip off. I don’t even know if what I’m being told by the contractor is the truth. 

Can anyone point me in the right direction? My renovation has already had a few change orders and my budget is getting stretched thin. A $3500 surprise is not fun.  

[Stephen Kehoe]

That doesn't seem like something an inspector would do. BG&E will come out check for leaks for free.

If you have to run all new couplings you might as well update to flexible wardflex. The cost would be similar as it will require less labor and you'l have new gas lines.

The pressure test can be conducted with something like this https://www.amazon.com/Winters... $144. A poor boy method is to shut off your pilots and see if the dials move over a day. Or spray the couplings with soapy water and look for bubbles.