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Smell gas in your Aubrey home? Get out first, then call us
A gas leak is the one plumbing problem you do not diagnose from inside the house. If you smell gas, the order of operations matters more than anything else on this page.
If you smell gas or hear hissing: do not flip light switches, use a lighter, or run appliances. Get everyone, pets included, out of the home right away, without stopping to make calls inside. From outside, or from a neighbor’s house, call your gas utility’s emergency line or 911. Do not go back in until the utility or the fire department says it is safe. After that, call Vor-Tex at (469) 552-2881 and we will repair the cause.
Vor-Tex Plumbing Co. repairs leaking and damaged gas piping for homes in Aubrey and across Denton County. We are open 24 hours, seven days a week. But for a smell of gas, the utility and 911 come first and we come second.
Signs of a gas line problem
- A rotten-egg smell. Utilities add this odor to natural gas and propane so leaks can be noticed. Treat any steady or repeating smell as real, even if it is faint.
- A hissing or whistling sound near a pipe, a meter, or an appliance connection.
- Dead or discolored grass and plants in a strip or patch over a buried line, with no other explanation.
- Bubbling in wet soil or standing water near the meter or an outdoor gas line.
- A pilot light that keeps going out, or a burner flame that looks yellow or orange instead of blue. This can be an appliance issue, but it is worth a look.
What causes gas line leaks
Most leaks start at a joint or a connection, not in the middle of a pipe. The usual causes in North Texas homes:
- Corrosion. Steel pipe that is buried or exposed outdoors rusts from the outside over time, and pinholes follow.
- Worn or kinked flexible connectors behind a range, dryer, or water heater, especially after an appliance was pushed back into place.
- Loose or failed fittings. Threaded joints can weep as pipe expands and contracts with the seasons.
- Soil movement. Clay soil swells and shrinks, and that movement puts stress on rigid pipe and the points where it enters the house.
- Digging damage. A fence post, a trench for a sprinkler line, or a landscaping project can nick a buried line. Texas811 locates utility lines before digging, but private lines past the meter are often not marked.
Who is responsible for which part
In general, the gas utility owns the main and the service line up to the meter, and the piping from the meter into your home is yours to maintain. If the leak is at the meter or on the utility’s side, the utility fixes it, and we will tell you so rather than touch it. If the leak is on the house side, that is the work we do. Your gas bill shows which company serves you, and it is worth writing that emergency number somewhere you can find it fast.
What we do to repair it
We find where the gas is escaping, shut off the affected section, and then fix it. That can mean replacing a single fitting, a connector, or a shutoff valve, or replacing a length of pipe that has corroded too far to patch. We will tell you which one it is and why. Once the repair is done, we check the work for leaks before the gas goes back on, and we pull a permit when your city requires one. If an appliance is part of the problem, we say so plainly.
When to call right away, and when it can wait
Right away: any gas smell (leave first, as above), a hissing sound, an appliance that will not stay lit alongside a smell, or a line that was hit while digging. Soon, but not an emergency: a connector that looks old before you replace a range, a pilot that goes out with no odor, or a line you want checked after a remodel or an appliance swap.
What a gas repair visit looks like
- You call. If you have already left the house and called the utility, tell us what they said.
- We locate the problem and quote it on site. The $79 dispatch fee covers the visit, and it is applied toward the repair when you approve the work. You get the price before we start.
- We repair it and show you. We walk you through what failed and what we replaced.
- The work is covered. Parts and labor carry a 5-year warranty when we supply the parts.
For typical price ranges, see the gas line repair and installation cost guide.
Two gas utilities in Aubrey
Aubrey is served by more than one gas company. Texas Railroad Commission figures list both Atmos Energy and CoServ Gas as serving customers in Aubrey, so the right emergency number depends on your street. Not every home in Denton County has utility gas at all. Some run on propane tanks, and the safety rule is the same: leave, call your supplier or 911 from outside, then call us.
Related services
Adding an appliance or an outdoor line instead? See gas line installation. Replacing a heater that runs on gas? See tankless water heaters and water heater repair and installation. The full list is on our gas line services page.