Most people know they want a fire — not which kind. Two taps and we point you at the right shelf.
Sixteen places to land, grouped four ways. If you already know what you want, go straight there.
Direct-vent, so it goes on almost any wall with a vent route — no chimney needed. Real flame, real heat, and with a millivolt or battery-backed ignition the flame still works in a power cut (the blower does not).
Browse gas fireplaces Also: Linear · Traditional · Bay · DaVinci, built to any sizeNo venting, no gas line, no chimney. A plug-in model needs only a standard outlet and can be running the same afternoon; a recessed or hardwired model needs framing or an electrician first, and we tell you which is which.
Browse electric fireplaces Read first: Gas vs electric, comparedA sealed unit that slides into your existing masonry fireplace and turns an open hearth into a proper heater — same mantel, far more heat.
Browse gas inserts Measure first: the four dimensionsDrops straight into the fireplace you already have. The quickest route to a real flame with almost no building work.
See gas logs, sized to your firebox Browse the catalog: Vented sets · Vent-free sets · BurnersA freestanding stove — all the heat of a fireplace with none of the building work. It stands on the floor and vents out the back or the roof.
Browse gas stovesThe most heat per pound of fuel, and it works when the power is out. Needs a sound chimney and somewhere to keep wood.
Browse wood models Also: Wood inserts · Wood stovesHopper-fed and thermostat-controlled. The lowest-effort solid fuel you can run — load it and it manages itself.
Browse pellet modelsFire pits and outdoor fireplaces built for a patio, on natural gas or propane. Rated for weather in a way an indoor unit is not.
Browse outdoor Also: Fire pits · Outdoor fireplaces · Burners · Torches · LanternsWhere an off-the-shelf pit will not sit right. We design the table or the surround to the space, then build and plumb it.
See custom outdoor workThe shelf, the surround and the panelled section above it — where a plain wall becomes the feature of the room. Built to the room, not to a catalog size.
See mantels and surrounds Browse the catalog: Full mantels · Shelves · Every pieceIf the firebox is fine and you just want it to look right and stop the draft, this is the cheapest fix on the list.
See doors and screensThermostats, remotes, blowers and the small parts that make an existing fire far nicer to live with. Often the cheapest upgrade there is.
See remotes and controlsFraming, venting, gas work and the finish around it. We handle the whole job ourselves rather than subbing out the parts that go wrong.
See installationIt lights badly, smells, soots up or will not stay lit. Most of what we see is a service job, not a replacement — we will tell you which.
See repair and serviceSweeping, liners, caps and masonry repair — usually the first thing to sort before anything else goes in.
See chimney services Local: Naperville · LombardSomeone comes out, measures, checks the venting and the chimney, and quotes the whole job — rather than pricing the box and surprising you later.
Book an estimate Or: Book a showroom visit · See the full catalogIf you are putting an insert into a fireplace you already have, these four numbers decide what will physically fit. Two minutes with a tape measure now saves a visit later — tap a box and the diagram will show you where to measure.
Measure the opening itself, not the mantel or the stone around it. Most masonry fireplaces are narrower at the back than the front — that taper is exactly what B is for, and it is the number that most often decides whether a given insert will go in.
These are the nine we get most, answered the way we would answer them on the phone.
Gas gives you a real flame and real heat, and on a millivolt or battery-backed ignition it will warm a room during a power cut. Electric needs no venting, no gas line and no chimney, so a plug-in model can go on any wall with an outlet (a recessed model needs framing) — the simpler installation by a wide margin, but the heat is modest and the flame is an effect.
If heat is the point, gas. If the look and an easy fit are the point, electric. Read the full comparison.
No. Most modern gas fireplaces are direct-vent: they draw combustion air from outside and exhaust through a pipe that can run out a side wall. That is what makes it possible to add a fireplace to a room that never had one, including basements and additions.
A gas insert is the exception — it goes inside an existing masonry fireplace and reuses that chimney with a liner.
A site visit to measure and check venting, then framing or opening prep, the unit itself, the gas line or electrical, the venting run, and the finish work around it. Most straightforward installs are a day or two on site. Chimney work, stone surrounds and TV walls add time.
We handle all of it ourselves rather than subbing it out. See what installation covers.
Usually yes — that is exactly what an insert is for. It turns an inefficient open hearth into a controllable heater while keeping your existing mantel and surround.
We need four firebox measurements and the chimney condition to size it: front width, rear width, height and depth. The diagram above shows where each one goes, or see the inserts we carry.
As a rough planning figure for the Chicago area, allow about 30–40 BTU per square foot of the space you actually want heated. A bedroom or small den suits 20,000 BTU; a typical living room wants 30,000–40,000; a great room or open-plan main floor generally wants 40,000 or more.
Insulation, ceiling height and glazing all move that number, which is why we would rather look at the room than quote from a square footage.
It depends far more on the work around the unit than on the unit itself. Gas logs dropped into a working fireplace are the cheapest route. An insert into an existing masonry opening adds a liner and a gas line. A new direct-vent fireplace on a wall that never had one adds framing, venting and finish work. A full stone feature wall with a mantel and TV placement sits at the top of the range.
We quote the whole job after an in-home estimate rather than pricing the box and surprising you later.
Yes — sweeping, liners, caps and masonry repairs, across DuPage and west Cook County. It is often the first thing that needs sorting before an insert can go in. More on chimney work.
Twelve of our lines, each one hand-picked because it is reliable — the makers we almost never see back for service — and because we service every one of them ourselves. The short version is in the brand cards below — and if you already know the brand you want, say so and we will tell you straight whether it suits the room, including when it does not.
Our showroom is at 1202-B 75th Street in Downers Grove, and we design, install and service throughout DuPage and west Cook County — Naperville, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Burr Ridge, Lisle, Westmont, Wheaton, Lombard, Bolingbrook and Downers Grove itself.
Town pages: Downers Grove · Naperville · Wheaton · Lombard · Bolingbrook · Burr Ridge
We stock these because we can service every one of them ourselves. If a brand needs a part in February, that matters more than the badge on the front.
Swipe for all twelve →
Made by Travis Industries and hand-assembled in Mukilteo, Washington. The first Lopi wood stove was built in 1979. Our pick when heat output matters most.
Travis Industries46 in the catalogThe parent company behind Lopi and Fireplace Xtrordinair, and the largest privately owned hearth manufacturer in North America. The line we stock most deeply.
Majestic14 in the catalogOne of the longest-established names in American hearth. Broad gas range, and usually where we start for a straightforward direct-vent living-room fireplace.
Kozy Heat6 in the catalogBuilt in Lakefield, Minnesota — a cold-climate manufacturer making cold-climate fireplaces. Strong on clean, contemporary fronts.
Urbana15 in the catalogSherwood Industries’ modern linear line, built in Victoria, British Columbia. This is the wide, low, glass-fronted look people usually mean when they say "contemporary".
Modern Flames10 in the catalogElectric specialists. No venting, no gas line — the answer when the wall simply cannot take a flue.
Hargrove64 in the catalogGas log sets with a reputation for looking like real cordwood. Where we go when the fire has to convince people standing next to it.
Golden Blount21 in the catalogTexas-built, known for high-output burners. Worth a look if you have tried gas logs before and found them underwhelming.
Real Fyre79 in the catalogHand-painted ceramic log sets. The detail is the point — bark, splits and char are molded from real cordwood.
White Mountain Hearth42 in the catalogEmpire's hearth line. Dependable vented and vent-free options, and often the sensible choice on a tighter budget.
Dimplex3 in the catalogLong-running electric brand. Good flame effect for the money, and it will run the flame without the heat in summer.
Skytech4 in the catalogRemotes, thermostats and controls — the retrofit that makes an older gas fireplace far nicer to live with.
Photographs of fire are close to useless — every one looks the same. Twenty minutes standing in front of three of them will tell you more than a week of browsing.
| Monday | 10:00 – 5:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 – 5:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 – 5:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00 – 5:00 |
| Friday | 10:00 – 5:00 |
| Saturday | 11:00 – 4:00 |
| Sunday | 1:00 – 4:00 |
Autumn is our busy season — if you want a fire running before the first cold snap, the install calendar fills from September.