Gaffney does a lot of things for itself. The Board of Public Works sells the electricity, pumps and treats the water, and runs the sewer. Gas is the exception. Natural gas in Gaffney comes from Piedmont Natural Gas, which serves Cherokee County south of the Broad River.
That distinction matters on day one of a gas line job. Questions about the meter, the service line or whether gas can reach your house go to Piedmont, not to the BPW office. Everything downstream of the meter is private piping, and that is the part we design, install, test and get inspected.
The houses themselves vary widely. The residential historic district, about 18 blocks of homes built from roughly 1890 to 1930, has large houses with long runs and a century of remodeling. Smaller textile-era houses are compact and simple to pipe. Newer subdivisions beyond the old core were often built with gas from the start.
Gaffney is a straight run up I-85 from our base in Spartanburg. We plan the job, file the permit and schedule the inspection, and we are reachable by phone at any hour.
Long runs in big old houses
A two-story house from the early 1900s can put the kitchen, the laundry and the fireplaces a long way from the meter. Pipe size depends on that distance as much as on the BTU load. A branch that is plenty for a range twenty feet from the meter can be too small for the same range at sixty.
We measure the developed length from the meter to each appliance and size from the fuel gas code tables for that length. In a house with several fireplaces, a range and a water heater, the answer is often a larger main trunk with smaller drops, rather than a string of small branches teed off an old line.
Inside the city or in the county
Inside Gaffney city limits, the City of Gaffney's Community Development department issues mechanical and plumbing permits, including gas piping. For addresses beyond the city line, the permit comes from Cherokee County Building Safety on Railroad Avenue.
A Gaffney mailing address does not settle the question, since plenty of addresses sit outside the city line. We confirm which side of it your parcel is on before filing.
Either office wants the same thing in the end: a line sized and installed to the fuel gas code, a pressure test on the gauge, and an inspection before anything is concealed or lit.
Historic district exteriors
Gaffney has a Historic Preservation Overlay District, and changes to the outside of a house there can require design review. Most gas piping is hidden in a crawlspace or inside walls and does not touch the exterior.
A few kinds of gas work do. Moving a meter, running exposed pipe up a front or side wall, adding a wall vent for a tankless heater or a direct-vent fireplace, or setting a regulator in view of the street are all worth checking with the city before work starts.
Piedmont, York County gas and propane
In Cherokee County the gas supplier depends on which side of the Broad River you live on. South of the river, which includes Gaffney, it is Piedmont. North of the river, it is the York County Natural Gas Authority. Rural homes beyond either system use propane.
- Gaffney and south of the Broad River: Piedmont Natural Gas
- North of the Broad River: York County Natural Gas Authority
- No main nearby: propane, with a regulator set by your supplier
Materials for each stretch of the run
In an older crawlspace we usually stay with threaded black steel, which is durable and matches what is often already there. CSST makes sense for routes through finished walls or up into an attic, and it must be bonded to the electrical grounding. Underground runs to a garage or patio are polyethylene with a tracer wire, rising through steel at each end.
In Gaffney specifically
BPW does not sell gas
The Gaffney Board of Public Works handles electric, water and sewer. For a new gas meter or a question about service at your address, contact Piedmont.
Textile-era houses
Smaller homes from the mill years were often electric. A gas range or water heater there is usually a short, simple run once Piedmont sets a meter.
County inspections
Outside city limits, Cherokee County Building Safety inspects new gas piping. The pressure test has to be on the gauge when the inspector arrives.
Old piping found during the job
Older houses often hide capped or abandoned gas pipe from earlier appliances. We disconnect and cap it at the live line so nothing dead is left attached.
How a gas line install runs
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Walk the job and add up the load
We look at the meter or tank, the existing piping and every appliance on it, and work out where the new line should tie in and what size it needs to be.
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Pull the permit
Gas piping is permitted work. We file with whichever building department covers your address, the City of Spartanburg or the county.
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Run the line
In the right material for each stretch, with a shutoff valve and a sediment trap at the appliance, supported and protected where it passes through framing.
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Pressure test
The new piping is capped and pressurized with air and held on a gauge. Under the fuel gas code the test is at least one and a half times the working pressure, never below 3 psi, for at least 10 minutes. Many inspectors ask for more. It has to hold with no drop.
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Inspection
The inspector sees the test on the gauge and checks the installation before anything is concealed or connected.
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Connect, purge, light and check
We connect the appliance, purge air from the line, light it, and check the flame and the connections for leaks. Every other appliance on the line gets relit and checked as well.
The full guide to gas line installation, and everything else about plumbing and gas in Gaffney.