My Cape Code style 30 year old house is built on a slab in NE Ohio. The lowest level is partially below ground (windows at ground level) where the natural gas furnace and water heater are located. Up six steps is the ground level where the kitchen, dining, living room and foyer are located. Up another eight steps is a level of three bedrooms and bath. Up another six steps is another bedroom with half bath.
The coldest room in the house is the living room which, fortunately, I've had little interest in using over the past 25 years. However, since I'm renovating the house and am entertaining replacing the electric stove that's on the common wall to the living room (we'll call this "wall X"), I'm curious about installing a gas line for the stove and punching an opening in the wall for a gas fireplace in the living room. (There's a wood burning fireplace in the den - lower level.)
There are several approached to delivering more heat to that living room; A) Drive a gas pile under the slab if I change the stove. (B) Run a gas line from the water heater in the furnace room through the wall, into the back of the pantry, continue on the adjacent wall (wall X), and run the pipe at baseboard level which means hugging the frame of a doorway. (C) Run the gas line as just described but stay just below the ceiling to clear the doorway then drop to the baseboard and come out where the stove will connect. (D) Just punch a whole in the wall and go electric fire place.
Option A) If I choose this, I have to deliver a gas pipe under the slab (probably from the furnace room) a distance of about 10' on a diagonal to the center of wall X. That means cutting a hole in the foundation wall in the furnace room, driving a gas pipe under the slab and hoping I hit the target at wall X. Then, cutting a hole in the slab to reach the pipe then making a 90 degree connection to bring the pipe to the surface. Sounds like a lot of work with significant risk. BUT. may be the best route where safety from a gas leak is concerned. Maybe. Need comments.
Option B) It means cutting drywall . but that seems a lot easier than tunneling under the slab. But this may not be advisable if I've got to go through so many turns to get around the doorway.
Option C) If I choose this option, I've got a gas line running in the wall of a kitchen at ceiling level - the hottest level in the room. Code say anything about this? Is this any less safe than option B?
Option D) If I do this, will I need to run a separate 220 line to handle that fireplace? I would assume it's not going to be as easy as simply knocking a hole in the wall and putting in a new outlet that will serve the
220 stove in the kitchen as well as the 220 fireplace in the living room. I would assume running a 220 line would be easier than running a gas pipe. I don't know if I should feel safer with a 220 line in wall X if it were above baseboard level or with a gas pipe. I'm a tad leery of that pipe, but maybe needlessly. Comments?