The gas company recently sent homeowners on my street a notice that
they will be installing natural gas service over the next couple of
months. The timing couldn't be better from my point of view. I have a
10 year-old oil tank the insurance co. wants replaced, and a furnace
(FHA) that dates from the early 70s. I also have a rented oil-fired hot
water heater. To my mind, a gas conversion was a no-brainer since all
those things need to go away soon.

I've gotten 2 quotes so far and was astounded at the cost. The
equipment itself isn't the problem -- but in both cases the
installation costs were over $3000, in one case closer to $4000. This
for what one contractor told me was a 1-day job (for a crew of course).
This seems awfully rich, because the entire job (furnace, water heater,
elec air cleaner) is coming in between $7,000 to $8,000. I am told they
will run gas pipe to the equipment from the meter, install everything,
connect the furnace to the existing ductwork (with whatever needs to be
adapted for that), run exhaust either thru the wall or up the chimney
with a liner, and remove the old equipment. The house is a mid-50s
bungalow with an 8-foot basement where the equipment lives. The
furnaces are both 75,000 BTU hi-efficiency gas units (higher-priced was
a Lennox, the other a Tempstar).

Is this a reasonable cost or am I missing something here?