Yet, wood-burning fireplaces are only sometimes the preferred choice for homeowners, often leading them to convert to a gas fireplace when renovating. This guide helpfully explores all the considerations you need to make the switch from wood to gas-burning fireplaces.

Why Convert From A Wood Fireplace to Gas?

Wood-burning fireplaces involve regular maintenance, cleaning, and wood provisions, which doesn’t appeal to everyone. Of course, nothing can replace the distinction of a crackling fire; however, dealing with soot, chimney cleaning, and hauling in freshly cut kindling may quickly change some minds.

It’s true that wood fireplaces are also at a greater risk of stray embers causing house fires or damaging the surrounding flooring. In addition, burning wood creates ash and soot, which bloom into the air and lessen air quality. So, between the mess and the exposure to air pollutants, you may decide that gas is the way to go.

Energy efficiency is another reason to convert to a gas fireplace. According to Andrew Murley of Archgard, “Traditional masonry wood-burning fireplaces can be cold, drafty, and inefficient. A significant portion of the heat produced by the fire goes up the chimney.”

The Benefits of Gas Fireplaces

Gas fireplaces still provide warmth and ambiance but have several additional benefits over wood-burning. For instance, you no longer have to find and haul messy cut logs or worry about house fires from dirty chimneys.

Here are more benefits of gas fireplaces for you to consider:

• Energy Efficiency- gas burns evenly and can reduce your heat bill by 25%.
• Ease of Operation- quickly turns on with the push of a button.
• Environmentally Friendly- gas doesn’t expel particulate matter into the air nor use natural resources for fuel.
• Air Quality- your household air quality is better, reducing allergens and issues related to inhalation.
• Maintenance- you no longer have to fuss with soot or ash removal, chimney maintenance, or house cleaning due to using your fireplace.

Gas fireplaces provide a consistent flame and heat output, while wood-burning fireplaces can be unpredictable and difficult to control.

The Cost of Converting Your Fireplace

One of the deciding factors in converting your wood fireplace to gas is cost. While creating your renovation budget, consider the size and location of your existing fireplace. For instance, a freestanding fireplace will have different materials and installation costs than one inset into a wall.

Prices can range between $3500 and $5,000, depending on the chosen style and the labour involved in replacing your wood-burning fireplace.

Vented Gas Inserts

If you wonder, “Do I need ventilation with a gas fireplace in Canada?” the answer is yes. Ventless gas inserts are not permitted for indoor installations, but instead can be used in outdoor fire features and fireplaces with good air circulation.

Vented gas inserts use an outside air source for combustion, creating carbon monoxide emissions that must have a chimney or flue. So, they may be suitable for installations with existing vented fireplaces in some cases.

Modernizing the Ready.Set.Reno! House With a New Gas Fireplace

As part of the Ready.Set.Reno! project, we’ll be upgrading the 1960 style bungalow’s original wood-burning fireplace in the basement family room. For this project, the designers turned to the Archgard Fireplaces experts for their superior quality and precise attention to detail in converting to the state-of-the-art Chantico 27 gas fireplace insert.

“Chantico, ‘she who dwells in the house,’ is the Aztec deity reigning over the fires in the family hearth. She was the goddess of pleasure and the home, the place where families gather. Ancient Aztecs prayed to Chantico to bestow wealth and stability upon their homes, and men going off to battle would pray to her that they would return and find those home fires burning.”

Archgard owner Bill Waterstradt says, “From our premium panoramic wall-to-wall flame to our range of aesthetic decorative fronts, we provide the perfect fireplace experience.”

Learn more about their exceptional product catalogue and discover how an Archgard fireplace will create the “perfect flame” for your fireplace.

Jenny Kennedy of Kennedy Literary Agency provides written copy and content for the design-build industry and is the author of “Launch Into Interior Design.”

Photo: Archgard Fireplaces