Not that it will do me any good but I'm interested in seeing these replies. We added a large den in 2000. It has a large (9 ft wide) wood burning fireplace. DH DID plumb it for gas, promising me that "next year" we'll change it over to gas. 15 years later, it's still a wood burning fireplace. OK, wood burning fire places have an ambiance that a gas fireplace just can't replicate. I get it. But it also comes with a lot of undesirables. Plus, I'd love to have a fire during the day when DH isn't here to make one. (Sigh) some day....

Yes, at this point after 30 years we're tired of buying and hauling and stacking fire wood. Never thought I'd be interested in gas but here we are. So I'd like it to look fantastic. Somehow.

Only suggestion is to be sure to get one with an electronic start so it doesn't need a pilot light. They weren't available when we bought ours, and now I hate wasting energy with that pilot light all winter.

What is the cost of a vented gas fireplace with electronic start? We have the gas line outside of our house near the fireplace, and I would love to convert it.

We recently put an Eiklor gas log set into our wood burning fireplace. There was a keyed gas starter in place and it was a simple conversion, cost about $1000 for everything including labor. It looks very real.

Downside of the gas FPs is no crackling, smell, i.e.: the "ambience" of a fire. They're silent. But they are sure a lot easier! Sounds like you live in a cold climate. Might want to look into being able to use the gas fp during power outages.

A friend of mine ,during a reno, installed a gas fp in her formal living room and made sure to have it done so that it generates a lot of heat - and boy, does it. Not all gas fps do. I'd definitely look into the options for better heat output, and it seems to me they'd be a worthwhile expense.

We have 2 - one is a Jotul and the other is a Hearthstone. When we remodeled we decided to redo the fireplace. We lined the inside and face with black granite and our carpenter made a new surround and mantel. We converted the fireplace in the family room and installed the Jotul on the hearth. It has a thermostat if you want it to set it at a certain temperature and it also has a remote control so that you can just switch it on or off - just like your TV. Since our chimney was old DH had the installer install a metal flue through the chimney to vent.

The Hearthstone in our bedroom is free standing and sits on a small piece of Dakota red granite that matches the granite on the stove. It's a direct vent so the pipe merely goes out the back of the stove, though the wall and vents outside.

I've read so much conflicting information about ventless fireplaces. Does anyone have one and do you like it?

i definitely want it to be high efficiency and heat the room. I didn't expect it to cost as much as a new furnace though. This is going in our den which is pretty open to both the kitchen and the living room.

Im going to try and make it to a local fireplace store today and talk to them.

Don't do ventless. Search the Fireplace forum if you haven't yet.

Maire_cate, I would love to see pictures of your redone fireplace.

It may not be so simple!

In this 1939 house that I bought in February, I wanted the old wood fireplace converted because previous owners had muddled up the look with paint and such.. Turns out, the dimensions inside of the fireplace won't accommodate anything except gas or electric logs. Mine angles back.

So, measure, measure and remeasure the firebox height, depth, width.

dyhgarrden: did you try a insert specifically made for old houses? Valor has a lot of options to choose from and they fit in our originally-coal hearth.

Yes, Selcier. Their fireplaces have rectangular backs and I need one that angles into the wedge. My fireplace box narrows on the sides.

I agree about going to a fireplace store. We have done this with two FPs and the professionals can really narrow down the options and give you a lot of info. We have two FP stores in our city. For our recent FP, we went to a different store and were shocked by the price they wanted. Went back to our previous vendors and were very happy with our choice and the easier installation. It's not cheap, though--I think each time it was over $4500.

nadd2, Yikes! didnt expect it to run that much. I'll see what the local stores say.

Two neighbors have done this recently and I believe they paid between $4000 and $6000. We do live in a hcola.

Fireplace stores will be really helpful. We had to get a fireplace insert when we remodeled (code restricts messing with wood-burning FPs and we can't burn wood anyway due to an asthmatic child and laziness) and we found the stores to be great. No need to do ventless as you have a chimney already.

I did keep the original 1950s brass hood and spark curtain on my FP so it's not an obvious "upgrade" unless it's actually burning.

I'm back from a couple of fireplace stores and they're quoting 4,000–6,000 for a direct gas fireplace insert with 84% efficiency. That's with electronic ignition and a remote control. The one I liked the best was made by Regency in Canada. Now to consider the next step.

We just moved to a townhome with a gas fireplace - something both DH and I said we would never have. It took about one week of warm and cozy at the touch of the remote and now we love it. I do still love an energy efficient wood stove or fireplace but like the gas much more than I thought I would. Ours is nothing fancy - installed when the place was built 15 years ago.

When we moved into a home with a gas FP 20 years ago, we were skeptical as my husband is a big wood fire person. The ease and warmth won us over within about a day, and we us d it daily for 8 months a year. It was one of the first things we changed in this home. The insertion was easy, no muss, no fuss, and we love it. Well worth it. Before:

after (the new insert is dark, but nicer than what was there before)

If you do a search here, you should be able to find my thread(s) with pics of our wood-burning fp fitted out with a gas insert. BEST investment ever! It cost somewhere between $5000-$6000, about 4 years ago.

The wood-burning fp was original to the house. We never used it (though previous owners did), and kept the opening blocked (with large sheets of cardboard) until we reno'd our FR. The gas insert can be removed by future owners if they so desire, and the fp can be used as wood-burning again.

We love the look of those in-wall, frameless, contemporary gas fp's, with a bed of crystals on the floor of the fp. Ours is as close to that look as we could get, without doing major demo and structural work on the fp, hearth, etc. Our insert is a Regency Horizon, with electronic igniter, the ability to leave the pilot on, off, or in intermittent mode (we leave ours on all winter, once temps drop), remote control, blower (fan), and a range of fan speeds and flame heights from which to choose (all from the comfort of our couch!). The insert is operable during power outages (flames only, no fan), and is capable of pumping out a lot of heat even without the fan.

We use ours just about every evening during the winter months. I doubt we would use it even a fraction as often had we left it as a wood-burning fp.

cat_mom, that's the model we're looking at. Either that one or the the regular Regency with the logs look. I'll search for your thread.

Here's the link to my "reveal" thread:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2474207/pics-of-our-fr-black-painted-brick-fireplace-long-post?n=51

Sitting in front of a toasty fire right now, watching TV!

We bought a fixer-upper home that was built in 1933. At some point during the life of the home, a giant beast of a wood-burning insert had been installed. We removed it, along with the broken tile hearth and replaced it with a Heat-n-Glo gas insert (and oak flooring in the hearth to match the original floors). It came with a remote control to turn it on and off and adjust the flame and fan. Even without the blower on, it puts out an amazing amount of radiant heat. It also has a thermostat setting where it will adjust the fire automatically to maintain a specified temperature. We replaced our furnace and had central air installed at the same time, so I don't recall specifically what the fireplace cost, but I believe it was right around $4500-$5000. Money well spent!

Before with wood insert and once it had been removed:

And after:

Great pictures everyone! Jaime Baldwin - that looks like a postcard!

We did gas logs, that don't have an electric start or a pilot. We turn the gas on and then can light it. When we put in our addition that has a fireplace, we did get the electric start. If your power goes out, you'll learn the hard way that you can't light the fireplace. :( We did gas logs in all our fireplaces, the higher end logs are very realistic looking and have parts that glow like real logs. I have to add, once you go to gas, you won't miss the messy fireplace or ash dump cleanup. You can turn the 'fire' off immediately, and there is no smoke to contend with, plus you can quickly close your flue and not invite cold air into the house. Yes, I love real fires, but I think I love the gas logs more.

Do you get any heat from yours lizzerobin?

The fireplace in our addition is a heatilator, which has a glass enclosed front and a blower that circulates the warm air in the room. That warms up our entire bedroom on a cold winter night and adds a nice romantic ambiance. The other fireplaces in our home have gas logs, and they do emit heat. It's probably not as much heat as a fire, but I can feel the warmth 7 feet away. There is some type of material they put under the logs that glow like embers and gives it a realistic look.

We have three fireplaces, all now gas. One was originally a wood stove, which the previous owners replaced with a stacked stone has fireplace. We converted a massive brick fireplace in the library to gas that first winter, and put in a gas fireplace downstairs where there was none previously. I like wood fires outside only. Pointing a remote at a hole in the wall and causing instant fire is really fun---every single time! Ours are "just" gas logs but they emit a lot of heat.

I have gas logs with glowing embers. I don't miss the smell or crackle any more than I miss sparks flying out and the bother of buying, chopping, stacking wood. What I love is I can have a fire any time I want, even for 30 minutes, then I can turn it off and leave the house or go to bed. Mine does radiate heat into the room, but it is a bit of a gas hog so I use it with care.

Hi i am trying to find instructions on how to install the pilot light on an Eiklor gas log set. Does anyone on this thread know where I can get them from. I bought a used set off of ebay but no instructions were included and Eiklor will not supply them for me. Thanks for the help.

Did you call them? I found this "

EIKLOR FLAMES® is committed to customer service and exceeding customer expectations. As we stand behind our product, we stand behind our loyal customers and dealers just as well. We are available Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM EST at 888.295.5647 to answer any questions you may have regarding our products and to provide technical assistance."