Having trouble finding information on this subject through googling so figured I'd ask here in case someone was familiar with the requirements.

I'm looking to add a covered patio to the back of my house. The area I'm looking to cover currently has my gas meter located there. Ideally I'd like to leave it in place and camouflage it with a removable piece. I've looked at CenterPoints website (Located in Houston) and have only seen requirements for clearance to windows/doors/electrical panels/etc. but nothing makes reference to vertical clearance for ventilation. The patio cover will be have about a 22' opening which I assume would be adequate ventilation in case of a leak. Still trying to working this with Centerpoint and will post back if I get final resolution there.

We have our gas meter covered by a patio addition.

It was done the previous owners but permitted so presumably passed muster with the gas company.

Gas companies don't see city permits. It would be up to the permitting agency to catch and it would have to he on the drawings to know or caught at an inspection.

Appreciate the replies.

Spoke to Centerpoint who stated as long as their technicians have access to the meter there is no issue. I'm this instance, access remains the same - just a vaulted roof over it.

I was told this is a hard no by multiple contractors. Had to get the meter moved to the other side of the house. There was no good access there, so had to run a gas line up the side of the house into the attic. Centerpoint was the cheapest part of this. They were only $350 for all of it. Plumber was like two grand. And, one of the plumber grunts kicked my thermostat wire. Real pain in the butt.

The biggest "potential" issue will be pulling up the buried gas supply line running under 15-20 feet of concrete if/when it goes bad. If that is a risk you're willing to take based on age (likely, yes), I wouldn't worry about it.

I've had multiple contractors come out with none suggesting it needed to be moved or stipulating it in their bids - just something that popped in my head. I think I'm in the same situation where there is no good access for running new gas pipe so I'd guess I'm looking at closer to a 5 grand plumbing bill to do this plus any costs on patching up whatever siding and drywall they have to remove to run a new line.

Regarding the underground line, the existing patio already has concrete over it so not much different than my current situation. Definitely a reason not to go with anything nicer than a brushed concrete floor.

I'm no structural expert, but the way the the gable roof on the right side ties into the new patio cover would be a concern to me.

Strange place for a gas meter. What if you need to lock the gate to your backyard? How does the gas company have access? Mine and all the ones I've ever noticed are on the side yards.

No structural expert myself either but final design will be stamped by a structural engineer. I assume the load from the gable will be transferred to the gluelam beam at the front of the patio and onto the post.

Gable on the right is being modified for water drainage along with crickets to the hip roof behind it.

chick79 said:

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Strange place for a gas meter. What if you need to lock the gate to your backyard? How does the gas company have access? Mine and all the ones I've ever noticed are on the side yards

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most every older home has the gas meter in the back.

Most homes in my neighborhood are 40 years old and most meters are on the side.

Thanks for posting this! I've been searching for weeks trying to find this same info. 1 patio company mentioned to me that we'd need to move the meter. The others did not. The plumber quoted us just over $4K to do the work and even said he didn't think we needed to. I've had a ticket in with CenterPoint and someone is supposed to come take a look but I haven't heard anything. Did you have someone come out or was it just their customer service that told you that?

I called the builder hotline (https://www.centerpointenergy.com/en-us/Services/Pages/gas-meter-installation.aspx?sa=TX&au=bus) and spoke to the customer service rep who said it would be acceptable. I also asked the rep if I could get someone to send an email approval and they passed me along to a "Gas Risk Coordinator" based on my address. I called the coordinator and sent them an email with the patio rendering included. They responded to that email saying ventilation would be acceptable. Mainly just wanted some form of documentation for approval in case a technician came out at a later date and tried to red tag it.

I'm definitely not against relocating if it is the right thing to do but between having no contractors state it being a requirement or centerpoint I plan on leaving it in place.

Thank you, that's helpful! I'll do the same after Christmas. Appreciate the help!

AgLA06 said:

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Gas companies don't see city permits. It would be up to the permitting agency to catch and it would have to he on the drawings to know or caught at an inspection.

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We live in FloMo and had an issue concerning the gas meter when we sold the former house two years ago.

Gas company came out and said they detected gas and locked the meter out. Atmos required a plumber to do a pressure test, get city to inspect before reconnect. Issue also uncovered a missing permit for tankless that we also had to get that addressed.

From the email from Atmos:

If your natural gas is OFF,


Please contact a qualified contractor for repairs and get a city inspection or permit (if required).
Then call Atmos Energy at 1-888-286-6700 during business hours to reconnect your service*.

Diggity said:

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chick79 said:

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Strange place for a gas meter. What if you need to lock the gate to your backyard? How does the gas company have access? Mine and all the ones I've ever noticed are on the side yards

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most every older home has the gas meter in the back.

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This makes no sense assuming gas tie in is in the street in the front. (Alley would be different situation)
Why plumb gas from street around to the back of the house? No benefit whatsoever, and restricts access for the meter man (which are all but obsolete at this point)

62strat said:

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Diggity said:

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chick79 said:

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Strange place for a gas meter. What if you need to lock the gate to your backyard? How does the gas company have access? Mine and all the ones I've ever noticed are on the side yards

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most every older home has the gas meter in the back.

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This makes no sense assuming gas tie in is in the street in the front. (Alley would be different situation)
Why plumb gas from street around to the back of the house? No benefit whatsoever, and restricts access for the meter man (which are all but obsolete at this point)

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don't know what to tell you man. That's where I typically find them in the 50's-60's era homes.

In both 60s built houses I've lived in (Houston), the utility easement (gas and electric) is at the back of the property line hence the gas and electric meters are located at the back of the house.

62strat said:

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Diggity said:

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chick79 said:

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Strange place for a gas meter. What if you need to lock the gate to your backyard? How does the gas company have access? Mine and all the ones I've ever noticed are on the side yards

---

most every older home has the gas meter in the back.

---

This makes no sense assuming gas tie in is in the street in the front. (Alley would be different situation)
Why plumb gas from street around to the back of the house? No benefit whatsoever, and restricts access for the meter man (which are all but obsolete at this point)

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The benefit is/was cost cutting by running in the back utility easement the gas company only had to install half as much LF of line to connect same number of houses. I've only really seen it in older neighborhoods.

Just to give an update on the status of the project. Had 811 called to mark the gas line to the house. When excavating for the patio post the line was about 6" away from where they marked. End result - Centerpoint pipe will be about 1" away from the post supporting the structure.

Moral of the story - patio just got a lot more expensive.

Just got off the phone with Centerpoint and setup the meter relocation process. Also found out from the plumber that all my in house gas lines are undersized - which would explain some of the cold showers I have when both furnaces are running on cold mornings (tankless hot water heater)

sucks to hear...installing on-demand water heaters can be a tankless job,