Yes! What a wonderful new convenience! While I love the look and smell of real wood burning, it isn't always realistic due to eco-friendliness or storage of wood. We changed my parents' two fireplaces into gas inserts through Custom Fireside. Tons of options and really easy to convert...not to mention not expensive compared to a cord of wood! http://www.customfireside.com/

Thanks for your expertise kerrie. I have been thinking about doing this for awhile, and now you have convinced me!

We did it to our river stone fireplace from the early 1900's. We did not use an insert, just realistic gas logs. We loved the look because it still looked like our original fireplace, just easier!

Do they give off as much heat? How about the smell? I love how wood burning fireplaces smell?

I, too, love the wood burning fireplace. Because of flue problems with our fireplace, the gas logs made the most sense. I was amazed at the amount of heat given off!! And no loss of heat up the chimney (we blocked off the flue). Sometimes I could smell the gas, but only went I first turned it on. As an orginial skeptic of the gas fireplace, it really is a great option for your existing fireplace.

They can give off heat through a vent, nut they do not have any smell.

We were also thinking of converting our wood fireplace to gas. We already have the gas line in. When we contacted a company regarding a log insert we were told that it would leave a film on the ceiling (almost an oily black film over time) that would be impossible to clean. What are your thoughts on that....