Gas Line Services in Franktown, CO

Rural gas service around Franktown

Franktown is a small unincorporated ranching and farming community at the junction of State Highways 83 and 86, about seven miles east of Castle Rock, and it has kept a rural feel. Black Hills Energy lists Franktown in its Colorado gas territory, but whether its lines reach outlying rural parcels was not confirmed. Some properties may be on propane instead. Your bill tells you which: a Black Hills bill means natural gas, while a propane delivery invoice means you call your supplier for leaks.

Because Franktown is unincorporated, permits come from the Douglas County Building Division in Castle Rock, which issues a Mechanical/Plumbing permit for this kind of work.

Larger lots here mean longer gas runs: to a barn, a shop, a detached garage or a heated outbuilding. Those buried lines face frost, equipment traffic and the occasional fence post.

Natural gas and propane compared

Signs to act on

• A gas odor indoors or near the meter or tank: leave first
• Hissing at a regulator, valve or connector
• Yellow flames or soot on an appliance
• Dead grass along a buried line
• A shop heater that struggles to light

Timing notes

Trenching for a new line to an outbuilding is easiest in spring or fall, before the ground freezes and after it thaws. Have shop and garage heaters checked before cold weather, since they often sit idle all summer. Plan any work around deliveries if you are on propane, so the system can be shut down and retested without running short.

On larger properties it also helps to keep a simple sketch of where buried gas lines run, from the meter or tank to each building. If a plumber installs a new line, ask for the route to be noted, and keep that sketch with your property records. It will save time and risk the next time anyone digs for a fence, a waterline or a garden. A tracer wire laid with plastic pipe lets the line be located later.