We have a wood burning fireplace. I love real wood fires, but I don’t love the effort involved. I’d love to be able to start a fire for an hour or so so without needing to get up every 20 minutes to attend to it. We are considering converting to gas. We have gas heat/stove, but we’d need to run it to the fireplace obviously.
If you’ve done it tell me about it. Do you love it? How much did it cost? Any other considerations?
Will I hate it and regret it?
Like I said I do love real wood fires but I’m finding we don’t start them that often because it’s an ordeal. We use duraflame sometimes too which is a good middle ground, but idk.
My parents did this about 15 years ago, and had zero regrets. A lot of the cost depends on the exact log set up you choose (some are bigger with more logs and look more realistic), how much gas line needs to be run, whether you want to wire a wall switch, etc.
I had a gas fireplace in my old house and we didn't install it, so I can't help you on the cost, but we did really enjoy it. I'd always prefer a real wood fire, but it just isn't always realistic. I also liked that it would have been easy to "un-convert" and go back to a wood burning fireplace if we ever wanted to. In my house now, gas isn't an option, so we converted from a wood burning stove to an electric fireplace insert. Of course, it doesn't look the same as a real fire, but I do love it, and love that I can turn it on just for the aesthetic and that there is also an option to have heat coming out of it.
About 10 years ago in MCOL, it was $600 for the plumber to run the new gas line and connect the log set we’d purchased. The log sets can vary greatly in price - I’d recommend not going for the cheapest version in this case - the lower end versions are decidedly not as durable and nice.
I highly, highly recommend - we used that thing all the time! We are currently in a house with no fireplace and are thinking of having one built for a gas insert.
We did this and love it. It's some of the best money we've spent on the house. I can't recommend it enough.
There were a lot of choices involved. Like the door design, and the actual components. We chose to go with a model that puts out more heat than some of the others and so it's really useful for heating, not just decorative.
I just looked ours up. This was in 2012. We spent $1700 for the logs and doors, and another $900 for installation. The logs and the doors we chose were on the pricy end of the choices. There were definitely cheaper ones, but we wanted the higher-heat ones and we wanted really good looking doors.
We got a unit that has a remote control and I like that a lot.
ETA: Also about $500 for fireplace cleaning before we could have the install done.
We did this about 5 years ago and I LOVE it. It looks very realistic and gives off great heat, and is so freaking easy with using a remote to turn it on end off. We have it going constantly in winter.
It was around 8k I recall but I’m guessing that’s high. We have a 1905 house and the chimney for the fireplace we converted serves a few fireplaces, plus we have an incredibly high and steep roof so access to to the top of the chimney was a challenge. There were all sorts of weird issues and going back and forth with the plumbing inspector that I can’t recall now - but again I think it was due to weird house issues. It was totally worth it.
I didn’t install it, the previous owner did, but we have a gas insert that sits in the space of the original fireplace, but vents out the back wall. It effectively made the chimney pointless. Just telling you that because I don’t know if that would be cheaper or impact price at all.
I love our fireplace so much. It’s not super realistic, there are no logs in ours. But I love that I can press a button on the remote and have a fire immediately. We use ours at least half the year. It puts out a good amount of heat and is cheaper to run than bumping the heat on the thermostat.
Our current house has two, both original to the house so I can't speak to cost, but I do love them. They put off a ton of heat (this might be because being installed in the 80s, I'd suspect they aren't very efficient) and it's so easy to just flick a switch and have a fire with no cleanup or smoke. Highly recommend.
Post by icedcoffee on Jan 14, 2021 16:45:33 GMT -5
Sounds like I won’t regret converting. I think we’re pretty well set up to do it so hopefully costs won’t be extravagant. I would like the logs to look realistic so we definitely won’t cheap out there.
Post by puppylove64 on Jan 14, 2021 17:14:45 GMT -5
We did a conversion and running the gas line was only $200-300. Like everyone said, the logs can range in price. I love a wood fire, but I love gas inside. There is never a smell, you can start a fire and turn it off anytime, and there is no cleaning or soot. We have moved and have a wood fireplace again and we are looking at switching it to gas again.
We switched from gas log set to gas insert with blower. We say, dollar for dollar, it’s the most bang for our buck we’ve gotten with renovations. We use it daily from mid-September to mid-June and it heats the whole family room and kitchen. It makes everything so cozy!! We LOVE it!
We switched from gas log set to gas insert with blower. We say, dollar for dollar, it’s the most bang for our buck we’ve gotten with renovations. We use it daily from mid-September to mid-June and it heats the whole family room and kitchen. It makes everything so cozy!! We LOVE it!
Do you have gas heat or electric? We have gas heat so heating issues are not really a big concern for us, but obviously it is nice if the fire gives off a little heat. I know insert with blower will be a lot more expensive than a log set so I think we were leaning log set.
We switched from gas log set to gas insert with blower. We say, dollar for dollar, it’s the most bang for our buck we’ve gotten with renovations. We use it daily from mid-September to mid-June and it heats the whole family room and kitchen. It makes everything so cozy!! We LOVE it!
Do you have gas heat or electric? We have gas heat so heating issues are not really a big concern for us, but obviously it is nice if the fire gives off a little heat. I know insert with blower will be a lot more expensive than a log set so I think we were leaning log set.
We have gas heat. We keep our house cold though and the FR is on a slab exposed on 3 sides so it’s really cold in there. I will say there’s a huge difference in heat output between the two. However as far as realistic-appearing goes, since a gas log set can be opened like a real fireplace it looks for like wood burning. The blower means it has to stay sealed.
Do you have gas heat or electric? We have gas heat so heating issues are not really a big concern for us, but obviously it is nice if the fire gives off a little heat. I know insert with blower will be a lot more expensive than a log set so I think we were leaning log set.
We have gas heat. We keep our house cold though and the FR is on a slab exposed on 3 sides so it’s really cold in there. I will say there’s a huge difference in heat output between the two. However as far as realistic-appearing goes, since a gas log set can be opened like a real fireplace it looks for like wood burning. The blower means it has to stay sealed.
Oh gotcha. Our room is not that cold, though obviously some heat output is nice. Not sure the insert would be worth it though in our case. Thanks!
Post by sandandsea on Jan 14, 2021 17:54:07 GMT -5
We looked into it and it wasn’t straightforward. We already have a gas line there for the starter but it was going to be at least 5k, up to 15k, to convert it to gas. They would have to change the chimney and find one the right size to slide into the existing space, etc since we didn’t want to have to redo floors and walls. After a few trips to different stores we gave up and decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
Post by imojoebunny on Jan 14, 2021 18:49:54 GMT -5
We have two, at two different houses. One is a vented fireplace, with no actual chimney. Newish build, and I love it. Remote to turn on and off. Glass cover to keep the dogs and dust out. The other is a retrofitted to propane log from wood burning (we have propane to the whole house, like people have gas in more dense areas). We already had a propane starter, so adding gas logs was super easy, and around $500-700 all in (I can't remember if the cost included the install, but it wasn't more than $700 all in). I love it. I can turn it on and off, with remote, so if I show up (we keep the house on 55 when not there) or wake and am cold, I can turn it on, with no worries that I have to leave in an hour or two, and need the fire to be out. Real fires make me sneeze, so I only indulge in them outside, where I can go in, when it is too much. In both houses, it allows us to keep the heat on a lower temp (67 usually), and turn on the fire place when we are just sitting around in the morning or evening for a few minutes to warm up to a comfortable temp.
Can anyone who has done this share some pics? Or link the insert they used?
We have been thinking about this for a while - there are times we’d love to have the fireplace going but don’t want to go thru the process of making a fire, especially if it’s only for a short period of time.
My concern is that we live in an old 1920’s colonial and I fear it won’t look authentic or something - I don’t know. Are their truly realistic looking options out there? Thank you!!
Post by themoneytree on Jan 17, 2021 8:46:44 GMT -5
We just did it in the 150 year old Victorian house we bought 6 months ago - tiling completed a couple of weeks ago. It cost over $7000 but we had to get a double sided insert and wanted the blower to work on both sides so we had very, very limited options. I absolutely love it and the ease of flicking a switch is worth its weight in gold.
We’re looking to do this too. What is the first step? Getting a gas line run to the existing natural fireplace? If so, who does that (like what kind of service person am I looking for)?
We’re looking to do this too. What is the first step? Getting a gas line run to the existing natural fireplace? If so, who does that (like what kind of service person am I looking for)?
I think a plumber? Or maybe a fireplace company would have a plumber they work with, but plumbers do work on gas lines.
I think we will plan on starting with a fireplace company to inspect and clean the current situation and make recommendations. Then we will find a plumber if they don’t have one to recommend.
It’s very simple looking and you get several things you can customize to fit your style. Right now we have a tradition builders grade mantle but I have plans to switch it out and the fireplace will work for my updated plans as well.
We’re looking to do this too. What is the first step? Getting a gas line run to the existing natural fireplace? If so, who does that (like what kind of service person am I looking for)?
My HVAC guy does this. He’s splitting a natural gas line for me too next week for a NG grill (instead of propane tanks).
Here are a few after shots of mine. Our house is from the late 1960s. We also (a few years after the conversion) put this veneer over the original brick surround.
We put in 24" Woodland Timbers logs (I think this is the brand and then there were different styles within that brand), and a 24" Hargrove H-Burner Gas logs. They give off a TON of heat. The doors cost as much as both the logs and heating unit combined -- actually a bit more.
We’re looking to do this too. What is the first step? Getting a gas line run to the existing natural fireplace? If so, who does that (like what kind of service person am I looking for)?
Gas fitter. When I search locally, a lot of companies are plumbing/heating/mechanical. The gas fitter certification is what you need specifically for this project. Our local fireplace stores have people they work with as well if you want to go that route; they may be better at installing certain brands.
We just bought a house and are considering replacing our gas fireplace insert. Ours isn't super efficient at almost 30 years old, so I've been calling around. It's going to be a few grand though so we're debating where it hits on our priority list.
I'm so happy to see this post! We are renovating a home with a fireplace, and were just talking about how we need to get a chimney sweeper in. The fireplace is directly above where the natural gas line comes into the house. I'm going to look into a conversion!
We did a conversion and running the gas line was only $200-300. Like everyone said, the logs can range in price. I love a wood fire, but I love gas inside. There is never a smell, you can start a fire and turn it off anytime, and there is no cleaning or soot. We have moved and have a wood fireplace again and we are looking at switching it to gas again.