How to Choose a Fireplace for Your Home: The Complete Guide
To choose a fireplace for your home, settle three things in order. First, the job it has to do: heat, the look of a fire, or both. Second, where it will go: a blank wall, an old masonry opening, a bedroom, or outside. Third, which fuel fits your house. The style, the size and the surround follow from those three. This guide walks through each step for homes in Downers Grove and the western suburbs.
Start with the job it has to do
Be honest about how it will be used, because that changes the answer. A fireplace that has to warm the family room every evening from November to March is a heater first, and it needs real output, a blower and a thermostat. A fireplace that is there for the glow on a Friday night is furniture first, and looks matter more than heat.
Most people want something in between: a fire that looks good and takes the edge off the room while the furnace does the heavy lifting. Say which you are, and half the choices are made.
Decide where it will go
The second question is the wall, and there are four common situations.
- An existing masonry fireplace. The simplest project: a gas, wood or pellet insert slides into the opening and uses the chimney with a new liner; an electric insert needs only an outlet.
- A blank outside wall. A direct-vent gas fireplace draws its air from outside and vents through the wall behind it, so it can go on almost any outside wall.
- An inside wall, a bedroom, a basement or a condo. Where a vent cannot run, an electric fireplace goes in with nothing but an outlet.
- Outside. An outdoor gas or wood fireplace, or a fire pit, keeps the patio in use well into the fall.
How to choose a fireplace fuel
Natural gas runs down most streets in the western suburbs and the winter is long, so most of the fireplaces we install are gas. Here is the short version of each fuel; the full fuel comparison goes deeper.
Gas
A gas fireplace gives you real heat and a real flame at the press of a remote, with no ash and no wood. It needs a gas line and a vent run, so it costs more to install than electric, and it wants one service visit a year.
Wood
A wood fireplace gives you the smell, the crackle and heat that needs no gas and no electricity. A modern wood insert or stove with a closed firebox keeps far more heat in the room than an open hearth. Wood asks the most of you: a dry supply, ash to carry out, and a chimney sweep and inspection every year.
Pellet
A pellet stove or insert feeds compressed sawdust pellets from a hopper and runs on a thermostat, so you get wood heat without the logs. It needs electricity to run.
Electric
An electric fireplace plugs into an ordinary outlet and needs no vent, no gas line and usually no permit. The flame is an effect, and a good one. On a standard 120 V outlet the heat is capped at about 1,500 W, enough to take the chill off one room, not to heat an open main floor.
Fireplace types at a glance
| Type | Heat | What it needs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct-vent gas fireplace | High, on a thermostat | A gas line, a vent out the wall, new framing | A new fireplace on an outside wall |
| Gas insert | High | A masonry fireplace, a liner, a gas line | Turning an old hearth into a heater |
| Wood fireplace, insert or stove | High in a closed unit, low in an open one | A chimney, dry wood, storage | The full fire experience |
| Pellet stove or insert | High and steady | An outlet, a small vent, bags of pellets | Wood heat without the logs |
| Electric fireplace | Modest, one room | An outlet | Condos, bedrooms, basements, looks |
Match the style to the house
With the job, the place and the fuel settled, the style is the enjoyable part. A traditional fireplace, with a squarer opening, a log set and a mantel, suits a colonial, a farmhouse or any room with trim and molding. A linear fireplace, wide and low, with a bed of fire glass or driftwood, suits a contemporary room with clean lines. Both come in gas and electric, and either can be see-through, open to two rooms at once.
The surround does more for the look than the fireplace itself. Stone, brick, tile or smooth plaster, run floor to ceiling or stopped at a mantel shelf, gives the same unit a different character. Decide the surround with the unit, so the framing is right the first time.
The way to settle style is to look. We carry 19 brands, and in our Downers Grove showroom the electric fireplaces are lit, while the gas and wood units are on display beside them, so you can stand in front of one and see the size and the finish.
Upkeep and safety
Every fuel needs something. A gas fireplace needs a service once a year, when the burner and pilot are cleaned and the connections and vent are checked. A wood fireplace needs its chimney swept and inspected every year; the national fire-safety standard, NFPA 211, recommends an annual inspection of every chimney in use. A pellet stove needs its ash emptied and a yearly service, and electric needs dusting.
A few habits apply to all of them. The glass on a gas fireplace gets hot enough to burn skin, so keep a mesh safety screen in front of it, especially with small children or pets about. Put a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a gas or wood fire. Carry wood ash out in a metal can with a lid, because it can stay hot for days. If you ever smell gas, leave the house, then call the gas utility and us.
What installation involves
The job starts with a visit to your home to measure the room or the opening and check where the gas line, the outlet or the vent can run. Size matters: bigger is not better, because a unit rated for a large open floor will make a closed-in den too warm to sit in. The right output depends on the floor area, the ceiling height and how open the room is, so we measure rather than guess.
You then get a written quote that covers the unit, the venting, the framing and the labor. We do not print prices, because every job is quoted for the house it goes into, but the order is steady: electric costs the least to install, an insert in an existing opening comes next, and a new gas or wood fireplace on a blank wall costs the most. Running costs go the other way, with gas cheaper than electric for each unit of heat.
Most towns want a permit for a gas or wood unit, and that is part of the job. Our own team does the installation, from the gas line and the vent to the surround and a final check, and we show you the controls before we leave. A plug-in electric unit is a shorter story: hang it, plug it in, done.
Before you visit: a short checklist
- A photo of the wall or the opening, taken from where you sit.
- If there is an opening, its width, height and depth, front and back.
- Whether your house has natural gas.
- The room’s rough size, and where the doors and windows are.
- What you want the fire to do: heat, looks, or both.
Or start at home: answer a few questions about your room and we will point you to the right type before you come in.
Common questions
What is the difference between a fireplace and an insert?
A fireplace is a complete unit built into a wall with new framing and its own vent. An insert is a firebox made to slide into a masonry fireplace you already have, using the old chimney with a new liner, and it is usually the simpler and cheaper route.
Which fireplace is best for a Chicago winter?
For real heat through a long winter, a direct-vent gas fireplace or a gas insert with a blower is what most of our customers choose. A closed wood insert or stove heats as well and works with the power out, at the cost of more effort. Electric is for the look and a little warmth, not for January.
Can I have a fireplace in a room with no chimney?
Yes. A direct-vent gas fireplace needs only a pipe out through the wall behind it, and an electric fireplace needs only an outlet. Only a wood fireplace or stove needs a chimney, and a factory-built one can be added.
Can I put a television above the fireplace?
Above an electric fireplace, yes. Above a gas fireplace it depends on the unit; each needs a set clearance above the opening, and a mantel or a heat deflector usually makes it work. Tell us at the measure and we will plan the wall around it.
Talk it through in the showroom
A Fireplace Store and More is at 1202-B 75th Street in Downers Grove, open seven days. Bring a photo of the wall or the opening, or just the question. We size it, quote it in writing and install it with our own team. Book a showroom or in-home visit, ask for a written estimate, or call (630) 241-1919.