Gas Line Services in Annandale, VA

Annandale's gas setting

Annandale is an older inner-ring suburb that grew rapidly after World War II, and the median home was built in 1968. Washington Gas serves most of Fairfax County, and Annandale homes with gas are generally on its system; Columbia Gas of Virginia covers only some areas of the county. As always, the bill is the final word.

Houses from the 1950s and 1960s often started with gas for a furnace and water heater only. Over the years, owners added ranges, dryers and fireplace inserts, each one tapped into the original piping. That's how branch lines end up undersized, and why a plumber looks at the whole system before adding to it. These homes also tend to have older valves and a few abandoned stubs left behind from earlier appliances.

Annandale isn't incorporated, so Fairfax County Land Development Services issues the permits through PLUS. A gas water heater, furnace or boiler replaced like-for-like with no new gas pipe takes a Household Appliance permit. Any new gas piping takes a Residential Plumbing permit. Note that the Annandale mailing area reaches past the community itself, but nearly all of it is still Fairfax County.

Options for common situations

Signs to watch for

• A sulfur smell, even faint: leave and call from outdoors
• Cooktop flames that burn orange or roar
• Rust and pitting on exposed pipe in a damp basement
• A valve handle that won't turn or doesn't fully stop flow

Seasonal notes

Many Annandale houses have basements where the furnace and water heater sit together, and the first cold nights of fall are when long-idle burners and pilots get tested. Have a plumber look at any connector that has been in place since the original appliance. In winter, keep snow and ice off the meter and any exterior vents, and never use a gas oven to heat the house during an outage.