Fireplace installation in Lake Elsinore CA - a gas insert that fits and vents outside
Fireplace looks nice but barely heats the room? We fit a vented gas insert made for the fireplace you already have.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Can you put a gas insert in the fireplace I already have?
Fireplace installation in Lake Elsinore, the way we do it, means setting a vented gas insert into your existing masonry or metal fireplace, right inside the firebox where the fire sits, so a fireplace that mostly looked nice starts heating the room.
Most fireplaces were built for looks and a little extra warmth, and they're poor heaters, which is usually why people call us once they're tired of a cold room and a draft up the chimney. The price turns on what you have now, a brick fireplace or a factory-built metal box, whether we need to run a gas line or put a liner in the chimney, which way the vent goes and the model you pick. The schedule depends more on the permit and inspection than on the install, and if the chimney itself needs work first, that's chimney repair before anything goes in. You get your own figure when I come out and look.
How do you know your fireplace is ready for an insert?
Warm face, cold room
You sit by the fire and your face is warm, but the rest of the room never catches up. That usually means most of the heat is going up the chimney, and every fire you light keeps sending it there.
Rust inside a metal box
If the inside of your fireplace is metal panels instead of brick, it's a factory-built unit, and rust, warped panels or a loose door mean it's wearing out. Left alone, a gap or loose panel gets worse, so it's worth a close look before anyone sells you an insert for it.
Soot above the opening
Black staining on the brick above the fireplace usually means smoke is rolling into the room instead of drawing up, often from a chimney or damper problem. Waiting keeps putting smoke in the house, and I'd want to find the cause before an insert goes in.
How we handle fireplace installation
I start with the fireplace you already have, because a factory-built metal box takes an insert made for that unit, so we figure out which kind you've got before we talk models. We stick to gas, natural gas or propane, since it burns clean and asks for little upkeep, and only to models that vent outside, because unvented gas stoves raise indoor air concerns and some places don't allow them. Efficiency varies a lot from one model to the next, so I go over a few with you before you buy. Then our crew sets the insert, runs the vent up the chimney or straight out through the roof or wall, connects the gas and tests it before anyone touches the surround.
A new insert often makes an old surround look tired, and we can reface it with stone veneer installation once the unit's in. The same crew builds concrete block walls when a project carries out into the yard.
Insert in a brick fireplace
This suits a masonry fireplace with a sound chimney, since the insert slides into the firebox and vents up through a liner in the flue. You keep the look of the brick while the heat stays in the room.
Insert for a factory-built box
This suits a metal fireplace framed right into the wall, the kind many newer houses have, because only an insert made for that exact unit belongs in it. We read the unit's label first so the model we bring is one it was built to take.
Venting out the wall or roof
This suits a house where the chimney is in poor shape or you'd rather leave it alone, because a direct vent can go straight outside behind the unit. It can save chimney work, as long as there's a clean route out and a spot on the house that suits it.
Get a free on-site estimate for your fireplace insert
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at your fireplace and give you a free estimate on site, with no pressure to book.
(951) 579-7076- Based in
- Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a fireplace insert?
From your first call to the final walkthrough, here's how a fireplace insert job runs with us and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (951) 579-7076 or send the form with a little about your fireplace, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. Photos of the firebox help if you can email them to quotes@lakeelsinoreconcreteandmasonry.com.
I look at your fireplace
I come out, look at the firebox, chimney and gas supply up close and ask what you've noticed. You get a figure for your job and a plain answer on which inserts fit, with what's driving the price, like a new gas line or a liner, spelled out.
Permits, then the install
Once you're ready, we sort out what the city or county asks for and plan the work around its inspection. Our lead mason runs the crew on site from setting the insert through the gas and vent work.
Walk through it together
When the crew's finished, I go over the work with you and show you how the insert runs. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Why Lake Elsinore homeowners call us for fireplace inserts
The owner does the estimate
I come out myself, look closely at the fireplace and chimney and ask what you've noticed before I suggest anything. The person pricing your job is the one who actually saw it, so the plan fits your fireplace and isn't a guess.
In business since 2013
I grew up on a masonry crew mixing mortar and hauling block, and I've run this business since 2013. I'd rather fix the one thing that's actually needed than sell you a bigger job.
Covered on gas and vent work
We're fully licensed and insured. That matters on a job that ties into your gas line and sends exhaust out of the house, because you want the people doing it to answer for it.
We write up the permit application
Lake Elsinore's building permit application asks for a detailed project description plus the gas and mechanical trade entries, and we write those up for your job. A clear application keeps the permit from coming back with questions and holding up your install.
On a fireplace job, the right insert for the box you have and a vent that goes outside matter more than anything else. Send us your fireplace details and I'll come take a look.
Gas inserts, chimneys and permits in Lake Elsinore
In Lake Elsinore, the city's building official has to issue a permit before anyone alters a building or installs, alters or replaces a gas or mechanical system the code covers, and that usually takes in a gas insert, since we're tying into the gas line and running a vent. We find out first whether the city or the county covers your address, then take care of the paperwork. The city also wants permitted work left open and exposed until the inspector approves it, and it won't pay for opening up a finished wall, so we leave the gas and vent connections uncovered and finish the surround after it passes.
We're based in Lake Elsinore and see a mix of brick fireplaces in older homes and factory-built metal boxes in newer tracts, so the first step is telling which one you have. We find the same mix on jobs in Murrieta and Menifee, and we handle them the same way.
Questions about fireplace installation in Lake Elsinore
How much does it cost to install a gas fireplace insert in Lake Elsinore?
Across the US, installing a gas insert into an existing masonry fireplace, gas line and liner included, usually runs about $3,500 to $7,500 per job. That's the general market, not our price, and your number moves with how close your gas line is, what shape the chimney's in and which model you choose. I'll give you your own figure when I come out.
Can a gas fireplace insert use my existing chimney?
Usually, yes, since a gas unit can vent up an existing chimney or straight out through the roof or the wall behind it. One vent maker's instructions say each direct vent gas appliance gets its own vent system run straight outside and kept off any chimney that serves another wood or gas appliance, so if your flue is shared, we plan a separate route.
Is it safe to install a fireplace insert myself?
It's not a job we'd suggest doing yourself, because with wood-burning units, mistakes by a non-professional can stay hidden until they show up as a house fire, and a gas insert adds a gas line to that. Whoever you hire, ask how they check clearance to anything that can burn, how they protect the floor in front if it can burn, how they put the parts together and, in a brick chimney, whether the flue liner, the chimney's inner lining, is in right.
How do I book a building inspection in Lake Elsinore?
You book it by phone at 951-225-1818, not through the city's online portal. Have the project address, permit number, inspection type and a callback number ready when you call. We plan our work around that inspection so the parts the inspector needs to see are ready.
How long does a gas fireplace insert installation take?
The install itself is usually the quicker part, and the permit and inspection set most of the schedule. Getting the model you pick and any chimney work we find also play into it, and I'll tell you what to expect for your job at the estimate.
How often should I have my chimney and fireplace inspected?
Fire officials recommend a professional inspection of a wood-burning appliance, chimney and vent once a year to keep them safe and working. If you still burn wood in another fireplace, keep to that, and if you're switching a wood fireplace to gas, the chimney is worth a close look before the insert goes in.
Related work people add to a fireplace job
Stone veneer installation
A new insert is a good moment to reface a dated brick or plain drywall surround with stone, so the fireplace wall looks finished around the new unit.
Concrete block walls
If you'd like a sturdy wall out back for privacy, a raised planter or the backbone of a future patio, we build block walls set on proper footings.
Service areas around Lake Elsinore
E&M Lake Elsinore Concrete & Masonry is based in Lake Elsinore, CA, and we install fireplace inserts across the cities around it. The 12 areas below have their own page, including Wildomar and Temecula, and they aren't the only places we work.
Lake Elsinore, CA
Tell us what fireplace you have
Call (951) 579-7076 or send the form with your fireplace type, brick, metal or factory-built, and your fuel, so I show up already thinking about which inserts fit.