Worth getting more quotes for sure, and contact plumbers who work with gas directly vs. general contractors. Also be 100% sure there isn't a capped gas line behind your existing range. If there isn't already gas run there, it may well be more expensive to add, but that does sound high given that you have an existing gas line nearby. Why are you switching? (Most people in the area seem to be going the other direction.)

Like a78 said, get a bid from a plumber, and have your contractor show you the bid he got.

Ask the plumber if you can run the range off the gas line that serves the dryer, will depend on size and location.

Redoing a gas line from the meter to be larger is not an inexpensive option. A gas dryer and furnace are high demands. You cannot just add another high demand appliance to a too small line. Add parking, fines, towing and storage, and repatriating the contractor's vehicle, etc. Plus the just general PITA of city work.

But there is NO way that gas is better than the induction that you already have. Induction is superior in every way but the ability to roast peppers on the flame, and you can do that under the oven broiler instead.

Normal and very expensive ARE the same things when doing work in SF.

Part of what you are paying the contractor to do is to schedule and coordinate all of this work. A plumber might not do all of that. Is a plumber going to pull permits, schedule with PG&E, and arrange for inspection?

Get two more quotes from two different plumbers. You might also have a hard time finding a plumber who is willing to come out to quote and do this small of a job. It is really hard finding skilled people these days.

The plumber who is working with your contractor is more likely to take on a job this size because the contractor is giving them lots of work to do.

It would be odd for a house with gas dryer to not have been originally plumbed for - and to have adequate sized main supply pipe and meter for - gas range, gas furnace, gas heater. Who installs gas in a house without it, just to feed a dryer?

Thx artemis78 and HALLETT & Co.

We're a Chinese family. For chinese food, seems almost everyone uses gas stoves? Though we do NOT cook a lot. Yes I indeed struggle. My contractor suggests induction (my current is electrical) as I have a 9-month-old baby and he said induction is super efficient.

On the other hand, I did a research online. People said if induction is definitely better than gas then why almost all professional chefs are still using gas? At least for the Chinese restaurants I've been too seems they all use stove.

I’m Chinese. Cook a lot.

Induction will be fine if you have steel or iron cookware and don’t use a round-bottom wok.

I use copper cookware and round woks, so - gas. I don’t put much stock in the health claims, seems like a fear-mongering way to sell induction. I also like being able to use the range during our increasingly-frequent winter power outages. I also prefer simple appliances, and most induction ranges seem full of tech gadgetry.

Here’s another option. Can you move the dryer gas line to feed your range, and get an electric (heat pump) dryer?

[For those alarmed by San Francisco Bay Area...that doesn't necessarily mean SF and all the complications of dense urban work. (It could, but most SF residents don't add on the "bay area".) The San Francisco Bay Area is NINE counties. Could be anything from a tiny urban loft to a ranch or winery and still be SF bay area--but most likely a typical suburb.]

Anyway, Wen, how far along is the project? Has the contractor looked to see if there is already gas to the kitchen? How old is the house? And how hard is it to park a work truck? :)

(Also induction is awesome for home cooking. If you aren't getting a ridiculously high BTU gas stove, you might as well go with induction, especially if your family isn't into restaurant-style cooking. And it is better for indoor air quality as well as for the environment. You might need to upgrade electric service for it, though.)

I am south indian. Cook a lot. Gas is superior for my needs. You really have to go by what you cook and what best fits your situation.

The best way to figure out whether it's a crazy quote is to get two more.

I can only offer that when we signed up for an induction trial program through the East Bay energy company, the trial burner they provided was an induction wok, which we were suitably impressed by!

I do think it's worth trying induction out first given that you already have it, especially since you have a small baby. You can always swap it out later, since ranges are pretty standard sizes. (What range is in the house now?) The single biggest reason we are making the switch is for indoor air quality with kids in the house. I'm also far more comfortable with induction vs. open gas flames as my kids begin to cook on their own more and more. (And I do love cooking on gas, but still find the tradeoffs worth it.) The biggest reason not to switch in this area is if you are in the hills in an area that's likely to lose power due to fires or grid demand. We are in an urban area in a part of the grid where PG&E will never cut power intentionally and we also have solar, so induction makes a lot of sense in that scenario. I would probably not go that route in a rural area without a generator or battery.

I wouldn't worry too much about what restaurants are using unless you cook like that. Gas can be better for some kinds of cooking, or the vessels used. Also, refitting a commercial kitchen is $$$$, so many choose to just keep using what they got. If you don't cook like that, you don't have to refit your kitchen just cuz.

Before changing your kitchen... what kind of cooking do you do? What do you want to change or improve in your cooking?

@Iri thx for commenting. I live in Foster City, my house was built in 1972, waterfront. We have a double-car garage and able to park 2 cars in front of the garage. Not sure if that helps "how hard is it to park a working truck"

Contractor has visited my house a couple of times, took a picture of meter. I did pointed out my dryer is gas. Not sure if he concluded if my kitchen has gas line. He told me that he needs new gas line across crawl space.

We do real cooking like once a week. Other cooking like boiling frozen dumplings I don't count as real cooking. Our parents would visit us from China, they do real cooking everyday. Online research said for Chinese dishes at least 12000BTU, and need to have 1 burner >20000BTU.

@artemis78 thx!

I'm doing a complete kitchen remodeling which completely changes layout and location of appliances. My current cooktop is electric and I don't even have a range hood. Before baby arrives we cook once a week, after baby arrives our parents come to help who cook everyday.

If I buy a super strong range hood, is air still a concern?

We live in foster city, our house is waterfront.

@John Liu very insightful comments!!

I will ask contractor more details. For air quality I assume a strong range hood (I'm thinking Fotile) would solve the problem?

Currently I do NOT have a range hood. Do you know to install a new range hood, would efforts/prices make a big diff if the corresopnding stove is gas vs induction? Maybe I could also clarify with contractor if $3800 include extra range hood work *if any* or he would ask more.

I heard Chinese food need minimum 12000BTU and at least 1 burner >20000BTU for wok. For such case I found induction could give equivalent power w.r.t Watts. So I assume the range hood would be the same?

A strong range hood will definitely help, but gas is still going to be more detrimental to indoor air quality than electric. Whether it's enough worse to matter for you will depend on your range, your hood, your cooking habits, and your particular house and family.

What is your current range? You mentioned induction initially but later electric--is it actually induction, or just smoothtop electric? They are quite different even though they look similar. It would be a little surprising if someone upgraded the electrical for an induction range but didn't also put in a hood--but crazier things have definitely happened! If it's just a standard electric range, though, that will change your decisionmaking process because it means the cost difference isn't going to be as dramatic. Look to see what the model of the current range is and how old it is.

If you don't have a hood at all right now, there will definitely be additional cost involved to install one because they will need to vent it through the roof and add a make up air system if the hood will be powerful (and it should be if you plan to have a powerful gas range). If the $3800 quoted was just listed as being for the gas range, I wouldn't assume it includes anything associated with the hood. Do you have an overall bid for the project?

I would get another estimate for gas. I moved into a home with an induction cooktop (after living with electric for forty years) and in all honesty i find it inferior even to electric cooktops. In that timespan i’ve used both gas and electric and I find induction a pain! We will be remodeling our kitcjen in the near future and induction is not in our future plans.

We have had something almost exactly like the linked propane burner for years. My husband uses it ALL the time for his wok cooking. We have a Blue Star gas range with a 1200 cfm hood . The outdoor burner is still what we rely on for fast efficient amazing stir fry. He uses the wok we got 53 yr ago for a wedding present! Do not bother with indoor gas. Your visiting family will absolutely love the no mess simplicity of propane

https://www.amazon.com/Eastman-Outdoors-37212-Outdoor-Gourmet/dp/B0002OOMRG/ref=asc_df_B0002OOMRG?mcid=dcfa30ba72b137bfb555f7d43161b2f2&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693713553019&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13754976438227391338&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9008863&hvtargid=pla-305968882029&psc=1

It doesn't sound outrageous, particularly considering the nanny state in which you live.

You said you are redoing the entire kitchen. I would assume that this is a small sum compaired to the entire cost of the whole kitchen renovation - yes? Are there other costs you have been concerned about or is this the only one? If I only cooked once a week and my mom were coming to cook for weeks or months at a time, I would get whatever she wanted! Anything to encourage my mom's cooking is good with me.

There are many environmental health aspects that I am extremely conscious about, but BTU's is not one of them. I either use a good hood or open the window.