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Gas fireplace

vette-kid

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Navarre, FL
How difficult to add one? There is already has to the house and about 10 feet from where we would want it, I just don't see how they could get it there without opening up the walls and making a huge project. Is this something so involved as to be cost prohibitive? Or is it doable for a reasonable fee, say $1000 not including the fireplace?

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Lunker

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Easy just need a Gas line run then you can go vent-free or direct vent.
 

GirchyGirchy

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Central Indiana
Are you planning on having some sort of fireplace with a fan? If not, just get an electric pretty one. My gas logs are useless for heat, it just goes right up the chimney.

BTW, vent-free puts a TON of moisture in the air if not vented. When we moved in, our chimney was stuffed with insulation due to the lack of a damper. The vent-free logs would make our windows fog up in about 5 mins. Last year I had a spring-loaded damper installed atop the chimney we can open from the inside, giving it a vent, and there's no more fogging.
 
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vette-kid

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I guess that's what I'm asking, how hard (expensive) is running the line in old construction?

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p_mori7

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Montreal, QC., Canada
In my case it was super-easy.

I run a propane direct vent free-standing stove. The propane tank is outside, about 20' away from the stove. The propane line to the stove runs under the floor. Drilled from the outside-in, snaked the flexible line from the tank regulator into the house (under the floor joists), fastened the line to the undersides of the joists, drilled another hole thru the floor (behind the stove), snaked the line thru that hole, connected to the stove, pressure tested the line & connections, done.
 

firebirdparts

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Kingsport, TN
I am adding one right now. Running the gas line is the easy part. If you go with a ventless, it'll coke up the house, but there is not much work to that. I am putting an insert into an existing fireplace. That is a lot more involved than I would have thought.
 
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vette-kid

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We ate on a concrete slab and would just use one of the free standing units attached to a wall. So yeah, the gas line is the only issue. I just don't see how that's the easy part. Maybe I'm just dense (likely), but I don't see how it could be done without ripping out drywall.

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vette-kid

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I am adding one right now. Running the gas line is the easy part. If you go with a ventless, it'll coke up the house, but there is not much work to that. I am putting an insert into an existing fireplace. That is a lot more involved than I would have thought.
What do you mean by coking up the house? Never understood how they can do a ventless fireplace? Fumes gotta go somewhere?

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BillK

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Beautiful Southern Maryland
We ate on a concrete slab and would just use one of the free standing units attached to a wall. So yeah, the gas line is the only issue. I just don't see how that's the easy part. Maybe I'm just dense (likely), but I don't see how it could be done without ripping out drywall.

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Where does the gas line come into the house ? My next door neighbor had the line run along the outside of the house to his fireplace when they installed a gas insert.

Call your gas company and ask them to come take a look at it for you.
 

Lunker

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What do you mean by coking up the house? Never understood how they can do a ventless fireplace? Fumes gotta go somewhere?

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The Vent Free FP's smell like an oven. Think about it you use your oven and its not vented same principal. I have no idea how they do it but they are very prevalent.

I put them in spec houses I build. The only reason I do this is bc in chicago a direct vent cannot go out the side due to clearance and has to go through the roof. Its much cheaper to put the vent free in.
 
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Todd.Brock

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Cincinnati
We have a wood burning fireplace. I bought a set of gas logs, had my HVAC guy run a gas line into the firebox , hooked it up and ****. Get warm. I used vent free so that the heat didn’t go up the chimney. Our house isn’t so tight that we get condensation on the windows. It gets so damn hot, I’m not sure I could stand to run it that long. You do smell some fumes, but the log set is new and take a bit of time to burn off so it burns clean.
 

Jlbc212

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Northeast MA
Vent-less gas fueled fireplaces should always be accompanied by the presence of a have a carbon monoxide detector.

I have a vented gas fireplace that takes in air from the outside for combustion. The front of the fireplace in enclosed in a clear glass looking ceramic that heats up from the gas flame and radiates the heat into the room. I have it cycled by a thermostat.
 

Greeny

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Feb 25, 2013
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Shreveport, LA
I have a wood burning fireplace. Installed a vent free log set, 3 or 4 years ago. Brought the gas line through the fireplace brick. We keep the chimney damper closed, but it's not air tight by a long shot. Get lots of extra heat in the living room, and the family likes the flames. We have had no problems with condensation, probably due to the damper providing ventilation.
 

Voi

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Western South Dakota
There is already has to the house and about 10 feet from where we would want it...

Did you mean gas when you wrote has?

If it's 10' away it shouldn't be any problem. We put in a direct vent many years ago. I did much of the work myself but even if we hadn't I can't see where there would have been $1000 outside of the cost of the unit.
 

nh_yota

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Mar 10, 2015
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Seacoast New Hampshire
I have a direct vent gas fireplace with sealed combustion so both the intake and exhaust are piped straight out the back to the outside of the house. It's installed as a fake fireplace boxed in with a mantle vs. retrofitted into an existing masonry fireplace. It has a double firebox with a blower so it cranks out a lot of heat when it gets going. It's not as efficient as my steam heating system so I only use it for looks or when the power goes out.

IMHO, my setup is the way to go if you live up north where you want the fireplace to be functional as well as something to look at. Down south you can probably get away with a set of gas logs or a ventless unit.
 
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vette-kid

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Navarre, FL
Vent-less gas fueled fireplaces should always be accompanied by the presence of a have a carbon monoxide detector.

I have a vented gas fireplace that takes in air from the outside for combustion. The front of the fireplace in enclosed in a clear glass looking ceramic that heats up from the gas flame and radiates the heat into the room. I have it cycled by a thermostat.
Our current house had a3 sided glass fireplace that I love. Puts out lots of heat, especially with the blower on. I will put a c02 detector for sure in that area

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fdtrucks

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Aug 19, 2012
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Fort Bragg, NC
I live in a neighborhood that has only propane fireplaces installed by the builder. Most houses here have the venting outside and a glass front to them. They really dont put out much, if any heat. I was lucky and have a vent free one without any kind of glass front. That ******* will get the house HOT in a hurry. I do not have any issues with condensation. I only had a bit of a smell the first time it was used, and nothing since then. I switch the furnace fan from auto to run so the heat throughout the house is more even. With the thermostat set at 69 and across the house from the fireplace will get up to 80 in about 2 hrs with the fireplace on the lowest setting. It gets uncomfortably hot and I end up cycling the fireplace off and on when we use it.
 

yeldogt

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Jan 2, 2012
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18,184
The ventless don't look real ... what's the point. I put a set of gas logs in one of my fireplaces -- not as nice as real logs .. but it's a dinning room .. so the gas logs are nice. Mine have to have the vent open.
 
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p_mori7

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Mar 23, 2010
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Montreal, QC., Canada
We ate on a concrete slab and would just use one of the free standing units attached to a wall.

If the existing gas line is against an exterior wall, Tee off that line, drill hole to the outside, run new line along the outside to the spot where you want the new appliance installed, drill another hole into the house and snake the line back into the house and plug it into the appliance. Done.

~Phil.
 
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