This is a guide to running gas pipe. Not all building departments or jurisdictions have the same opinions or codes about exposed gas pipes outside a house. Consult with your building department before proceeding. I’m full of ideas; they work in my state and county.
Getting right to the answer, it’s yes, gas piping can be exposed. You should follow certain good piping practices, like keeping the piping in protected areas and hanging or strapping the pipe every four feet or less.
The type of pipe you use depends on what your county allows piping materials. Copper pipe is allowed in some areas. I wouldn’t say I like using copper for gas piping. That’s just me. One of my four sons is an HVAC salesman in Alabama; they use it constantly.
CSST (corrugated stainless steel tubing) flex and black iron pipe are the most popular today. CSST is so easy to install. Most of the time, one pipe run completes the connection to an appliance with no couplings or nineties—just the end fittings.
So, CSST can be used outdoors.
If CSST is your selection, I will use TRACPIPE Counterstrike Flexible Gas Piping, available at Amazon (ad). I believe it’s rare, but lightning has caused some house fires relative to gas piping. TracPipe was developed to reduce the fire hazard.
Properly bonded CounterStike offers more safety than the other CSST piping. Anything you can do to increase the safety factor in your home is worth doing. TRACPIPE CounterStrike is one of those products that increases your safety factor.
But the neat trick about CounterStrike is that it doesn’t require additional bonding.
In 2004, the Company developed CounterStrike®, which contains all of the innovative features of TracPipe® plus a built-in solution to lightning damage that eliminates the need for additional bonding.
Tracpipe.com
Can That Exposed Gas Pipe Be Painted?
Boy, we’ve bit into a can of worms here. I had a shop in Vancouver, Washington, for several years. We had three permitting agencies there. The city, the county, and labor and industries. What a nightmare.
Everyone is on a power trip. The issue here is painting the gas pipe. The city wanted it painted, and the county didn’t. It could have been visa versa.
But one thought the pipe would rust on the outside if not painted, and the other thought it would rust on the inside. You either do as they say, or you don’t get approval.
So be careful about what you read on the internet. Your inspecting authorities are the final sayso in gas piping. It’s not about what is right or wrong. It’s what’s in their book.
So, do your research first for those deeply concerned about the natural gas pipe paint color. If you paint the pipe before you know it can be painted, your job may fail inspection.
If your piping is old and you want it painted, who’s to say? If you called your building department and asked if you could paint your 20-year-old gas pipe on the outside of your house, they would probably laugh. Who knows about your area? Just call them.
Can Exposed CSST Pipe Be Painted?
You must read the manufacturer’s installation instructions and know your local codes.
Identification – TracPipe CounterStrike shall be marked with the manufacturer’s name or symbol,approving agencies, pressure rating and manufacturing date code. The piping system shall be marked by the manufacturer with the word “GAS” in black letters every two feet. Do not paint, stencil or apply unapproved labels to the piping system.
tracpipe.com
Another good reason to use Countersrike is because it comes in black. Like Henry Ford, you can have any color you want as long as it’s black. I’m no color expert; at least my wife says so, but I think black goes with about anything.
Quite a contrast with light colors, though.
All the other CSST pipes I’ve seen are that bright yellow and stand out like a sore thumb.
This is an inside shot of some CSST pipe, but you can see the color and imagine how it would look outside your house. Remember not to paint it, or you could take the position that it’s your house and you can do what you want.
But both TracPipe and I said, “Don’t paint it.”
