Safety first, then the fix
Gas Leak Repair in Tahlequah, OK
If you smell gas right now, stop reading and get everyone out of the building. Call 911 and your gas utility from outside. They come any hour, and they will make the property safe. Once that is done, we are the ones who test the system, find the leak and repair it so the gas can be turned back on.
- Licensed & insured
- Veteran-owned
- Indigenous-owned
Our approach
We are not the first call in a gas emergency, and we will say so
We are not a 24-hour company. Calls here are answered 7 AM to 5 PM. A gas leak does not wait for business hours, so the honest advice is the same one the utility gives: leave, then call 911 and the gas company from outside. NOPFA, which supplies natural gas in Cherokee County, runs an emergency line at 1-800-427-2884 around the clock. If you are on propane, the number is on the tank.
After the gas is shut off and the building is safe, the leak still has to be found and repaired by a licensed plumber before the meter comes back on. That part is ours, and we quote it before we start.
How it works
How gas gets to the flame
How gas gets to the flame
Smell gas? Leave the house first, then call 911 and your gas company from outside.
Smell gas? Leave the house first, then call 911 and your gas company from outside.
More about gas leak repair
Pressure-testing the whole system
We isolate the house piping, put it under test pressure with a gauge and watch it. That tells us whether there is a leak at all and how big it is, before anybody starts opening walls.
Finding the leak
An electronic gas detector along the run, then soap solution on joints and fittings to confirm what the detector picked up. We confirm a leak by seeing it, not by guessing at a smell.
Repairing or replacing bad pipe
Cut out the failed section and replace it, or re-run the line where the pipe is too far gone to patch. Then the system goes back under test before anything is relit.
Valves, connectors and appliance drops
Old flexible connectors behind ranges and dryers, worn shutoff valves, and unions that have been disturbed by moving an appliance. These are common finds and simple fixes.
Buried yard lines
Leaks on the run between the meter or the propane tank and the house, or out to a shop or a grill. Locates go in first, then we dig, repair and test.
Getting gas turned back on
When a utility or propane supplier has locked a meter off, they usually want a licensed repair, a passing pressure test and, in town, an inspection. We do the work and handle the paperwork side so the reconnect is not delayed.
That rotten-egg smell
Natural gas and propane have no smell of their own. The sulfur smell is added on purpose so you notice it. If you smell it, treat it as real, even faintly.
Hissing or whistling near a line or appliance
A sound at the meter, at a connector or along a wall where gas pipe runs means gas is escaping under pressure. Do not go looking for it with a flame.
Dead grass or bubbling water over a buried line
A patch of dead or yellowing vegetation in a line of otherwise healthy grass, or bubbles rising in a puddle after rain, can mean gas escaping underground.
Pilot lights that will not stay lit, or a lazy yellow flame
A burner flame that should be blue and is orange or yellow, soot marks on an appliance, or pilots that keep dropping out are signs of a supply or combustion problem worth testing.
Natural gas in this county is supplied by the Northeast Oklahoma Public Facilities Authority, which serves Adair, Cherokee and Muskogee counties. Its emergency line, 1-800-427-2884, is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it lists 911 alongside it. The Cherokee and Muskogee county office number is 918-456-5621. About 35 percent of homes in the county are on piped gas like this.
Another tenth of the county runs on propane from a tank in the yard. There the emergency number belongs to your propane supplier and is usually on a sticker on the tank. The supplier owns the tank and the regulator. The piping from the regulator into the house is yours, and that is where we work.
The typical Cherokee County house was built around 1989, so a fair amount of the gas pipe here has been in the ground or in the wall for decades, and has been disturbed by remodels, new appliances and settling. Oklahoma law says only a licensed plumbing contractor, journeyman plumber or mechanical licensee may install, replace or repair gas piping, and in town the city requires the piping to hold a 20 psi test.
- 1
You call us once the property is safe
Call Dustin at (918) 822-7918 between 7 AM and 5 PM, or text. Tell us what the utility said and whether the meter has been locked off. If you get voicemail, leave your name, town and what the utility told you.
- 2
We test before we open anything
The system goes under pressure with a gauge. If it holds, the leak is not in the piping and we say so. If it drops, we isolate section by section until we know where it is.
- 3
You hear the price before the repair
We tell you what failed, what the repair takes, and the flat price. You approve it. No hourly meter and no invoice that grows after the fact.
- 4
Repair, retest, relight
We make the repair, put the system back under test, arrange the inspection where one is required, and relight and check the appliances once gas is restored.
- Get everyone out of the building, including pets. Do not stop to pack.
- Do not touch light switches, thermostats, garage door openers or any appliance. A spark is all it takes.
- No flames. No lighters, no matches, no candles, no smoking.
- Do not use your phone inside the building, and do not start a vehicle parked in an attached garage.
- Leave the door open behind you as you go out, and get well away from the building.
- From outside, call 911 and your gas utility. NOPFA natural gas emergencies: 1-800-427-2884, answered 24 hours a day. On propane, call the number on your tank.
- Do not go back inside to shut anything off or to check on the smell. Let the utility do that.
- Stay out until the utility or the fire department tells you it is safe. Then call us to find and repair the leak.
The test comes first and it is priced first, because until the system is under a gauge nobody knows whether this is a connector behind the dryer or a failed run under the slab. You get that number before we start.
Once we know where the leak is, you get a flat price for the repair, and you approve it before we cut anything. The number we say is the number you pay, even if the job runs long or hits a surprise.
What changes the price
- Whether the leak is on an appliance connector, inside the house piping, or on a buried line
- How much of the system has to be isolated and tested to find it
- Access: open crawlspace, finished wall, slab or underground
- Whether a section can be repaired or has to be re-run
- Natural gas or propane
- Permit and inspection where the city requires one
Straight answers
Gas Leak Repair questions, answered
Not answered here? Call or text Dustin at (918) 822-7918.
I smell gas. What do I do right now?
Leave the building with everyone in it. Touch no switches, no thermostats, no garage door opener, and light nothing. From outside, call 911 and your gas utility. For NOPFA natural gas in Cherokee County that is 1-800-427-2884, answered 24 hours a day. On propane, use the number on the tank. Do not go back inside.
Will you come out at night for a gas leak?
No. We are not a 24-hour company, and we will not pretend otherwise. Calls here are answered 7 AM to 5 PM. For a live leak the utility and the fire department are the right people, any hour, and they will shut the gas off. We do the repair that gets it turned back on.
The gas company shut my meter off and red-tagged the house. Now what?
The utility will not restore gas until the piping has been repaired by a licensed plumber and passes a pressure test. We test the system, repair what failed, retest it and, in town, get the inspection done so the meter can come back on.
How do you find a gas leak?
We put the piping under test pressure with a gauge to prove a leak exists and how big it is. Then an electronic detector along the run narrows it down, and soap solution on the joints confirms the exact spot. It is measurement, not sniffing.
How much does it cost to fix a gas leak?
The test is quoted first, and once we know what and where the leak is, the repair is quoted flat before any cutting. A connector behind a range and a failed line under a driveway are very different jobs, which is why nobody honest gives you one number on the phone.
Is a gas leak the same thing as carbon monoxide?
No. A gas leak is unburned fuel escaping, and it is added-in sulfur smell you notice. Carbon monoxide is a product of bad combustion, and it has no smell at all. Both are dangerous. Every house with a gas or propane appliance should have working carbon monoxide alarms.
Can I keep using the stove until you come?
No. If a leak is suspected anywhere in the system, the gas stays off until it has been tested. That is not us being careful with your money, it is the only safe way to treat it.
Related services
- Gas Line InstallationGas lines for ranges, dryers, grills, fireplaces, generators and shop heaters. Permitted, pressure-tested.
- Water Heater RepairNo hot water, a popping tank or water on the floor. We test the heater before we talk replacement.
- Plumbing RepairLeaks, clogs, running toilets and valves that will not shut off. Price quoted before we start.
- Commercial PlumbingShops, restaurants, offices and rental property. Scheduled work, quoted flat, invoiced to match.
Where we do this most
- Gas Leak Repair in TahlequahOur home base
- Gas Leak Repair in Park HillAbout 17 minutes from our shop
- Gas Leak Repair in HulbertAbout 18 minutes from our shop
- Gas Leak Repair in KeysAbout 21 minutes from our shop
- Gas Leak Repair in WellingAbout 21 minutes from our shop
We cover all of Cherokee County. See the full service area.
Need gas leak repair in Tahlequah?
Call Dustin at (918) 822-7918, or text a photo with your town. One flat price before any work starts.