Does the house have an attic?

Yes, the main attic is accessed through a drop down stair in the garage. I don't know if there is another attic access point elsewhere in the house.

1) What does the summer electric bill have to do with things? Your A/C is likely to be electric still. What is the winter electric bill (over the summer bill)?

2) The cost will depend on the location of each item needing gas service. Also, you could probably save by keeping an electric dryer and even an electric stove.

Depending on local code requirement NG conversions can be done through the attic with drops in the walls to stoves, water heater, furnaces, and dryers as required.

Just a thought...

The house is in Oklahoma, so the summer electric bill is the highest because of the a/c use. The winters there are much milder than in Chicagoland, so the electric heat would not be used like it would if it were farther north.

So if they dropped the lines into the walls from the attic, would they all be flex lines? I would think straight pipe would not be an option because the roof.

I don't believe code allows flex lines inside walls, but don't quote me on that.

Plumbers are pretty creative in situations like this. If the idea intrigues you then best to call a couple plumbers and get their recommendation and a quote.

The cost to run the gas line to your house will probably depend on whether you will be converting to gas appliances. We have a similar situation. Older home, all electric, with a gas line at the street. We're installing a pool so we must have gas. I was quoted $1985 by the gas co. to run the line to the house for a pool heater. However,if I convert to a gas water heater, that fee drops to $59. The water heater is getting replaced. Then we have to hire someone else to run the gas line thru the house to the water heater, but it's still less expensive than paying $1985 for the pool alone.

Is the HVAC a heat pump? If it is, and it's only 5 years old, I'd probably leave it alone. You could think about converting to duel fuel, but the payback might be longer than you'd expect.

If the WH and Dryer are close together, and the gas co. foots some of the bill, then it might be worth looking at. Also, it depends on the cost of gas and replacement appliances.

around here all gas lines in the house MUST be hard line, no flex. you use flex from the valve to the appliance.

if the attic is too short to allow then to drop the length of line in place, then they would simply open up the sheetrock. it is cheaper, easier, and SAFER than trying to do a bunch of short sections coupled together.

No, the furnace is located in the attic and is electric. The electric water heater is in the garage in a closet.
And I will be buying a new dryer.

I will check and see what the cost is to run a line just to the house. I would think the most likely spot would be through the brick into the garage. Then I could probably get it routed to the water heater.

But then I am thinking about possible fuel spills with lawn equipment, paint thinner use etc. Having a gas water heater would not be a good idea with an open flame present. So maybe it's just best to stay with electric and insulate the tank and pipes as best I can.

There are an awful lot of homes using NG and LP that have not exploded from fuel spills...

What percentage of them have gas water heaters in their garage?

And of those, how many are DIY types or hobbyists, and use the garage for work which sometimes calls for flammable chemicals?

I guess I will have to submit that idea to Mythbusters and see if they can test it.

Around here, pretty much everyone has an LP or NG WH in the garage and most EVERYONE is either a do-it-yourselfer or a screw-it-yourselfer right there in the garage.

Code has WHers in the garage up on 18" stand to mitigate vapor problems that might happen in a garage.

If you really look into it you'll find that gas WHers are very common in the garage.