Situation: basically no heat (had some unvented natural gas heaters in front of decorative fireplaces, but they are unsafe and weren’t legally installed). Unit is on the second floor of a 3 floor building, so forced air isn’t an option. Gas inserts for the fireplace would require some big installation challenges (venting up through our chimney and the upstairs neighbors), possibly some structural work. Radiant floor heating is possible if I am willing to tear up my wooden floors, install the heating and reinstall the flooring. I have a couple of inexpensive space heaters (electric) in each end of the place which aren’t really that helpful on cold days. I can ask my family to wear more sweaters. Beyond that?? Thanks for any insights!

We just bought our first house and I plan to start a daycare in the downstairs. However, there is a brick fireplace that takes up most of one wall. The fireplace is wood burning and we do not want to use it at all. Can we sheet rock over it? Including covering the hole/chimney? Or is it easier to take a sledge hammer and tear down all the brick and then sheet rock? Is this something that is easily done or not? And what is the approximate cost??

Thank you for all advice and feedback!

We just bought our first house and I plan to start a daycare in the downstairs. However, there is a brick fireplace that takes up most of one wall. The fireplace is wood burning and we do not want to use it at all. Can we sheet rock over it? Including covering the hole/chimney? Or is it easier to take a sledge hammer and tear down all the brick and then sheet rock? Is this something that is easily done or not? And what is the approximate cost??

Thank you for all advice and feedback!

i have a 2 story house that has a gas burning fireplace. i was just curious to know around how much it would cost to get it converted so that it could burn would instead. do i have to run a chimney all the way up, etc.

i have a vent free gas fireplace that has been removed. i want to burn wood. my fireplace and chimney are brick. the chimney does have the clay looking pipe in it. the fireplace is only about 10 years old.im told the former owners burned wood and coal you can see the stains on the outside of the chimney. my firebox is metal on the back bottom sides and top and angled like most masonary fireplaces. with a flew door in the top. can i burn wood right on the floor with a grate or do i need to put in an insert. there are also 2 vents on either side of the fireplace on the wall that leeds to the inner wall between the box and the wall.do these let heat into the house. i will have it cleaned first.

We have a fireplace we eventually want to add a gas insert to. For now we want to remove the chimney (it leaks and after trying a number of things it still leaks) and repair the roof.

My question is can we remove the chimney in the attic and 2nd floor (the cement blocks and whatever else is there. We are going to remodel the bathroom, so that wall can be opened no problem.

We like the brick fireplace on the first place, and would like it to remain. We are hoping to add a gas insert someday. So will leaving the cement bricks in the basement & first floor be unstable? Or is it fine? Just seems wierd to have this hole from the downstairs fireplace going up to a floor upstairs.

Also – I assume we will need some duct for the gas insert. Can this go out a wall instead of up? Or should we put a vent in now? About how much space does that use up? I assume more than the size of the pipe itself.

Is this something we’d need a mason for or could our general contractor do a lot of it?
Who would actually put in the vent necessary for a gas fireplace, and will we need to know which gas fireplace we’ll buy?

Sorry for so many questions in one. Answering any of them will be appreciated.
How do I know if the chimney is a support for my house?
Our general contractor is a carpenter as is his father (father / son team). Who would I get another opinion from? A mason? A ‘builder’? About what should I expect to pay for this opinion?

I’ve decided to remove an old fireplace mantel in the hopes of installing a gas fireplace. After removing the mantel, I uncovered a brick fireplace. Do I need to remove more of the fireplace bricks- including the chimney (it is a large chimney on the exterior) or can I leave the brick as per the photo and have the gas fireplace installed in the opening? The chimney is no longer useable without major repairs. How do I know if the fireplace area is structurally sound and will not collapse?

I don’t know if it’s ventless because my home inspector for some reason wouldn’t take the time to figure it out, and told me to ask the sellers. When I asked the sellers, they told me to the best of their knowledge it was ventless. I don’t want to take the risk.. is there a way i can figure it out? I mean it does open because at one time it was a wood fireplace, but then this gas fireplace was installed.. I can’t quite use it open yet until I clean the chimney if it isn’t ventless, and i’d rather not open it in the winter..
there are such things as ventless gas fireplaces..

Winding the chimney thru the ceiling of the first story would reduce the amount of heat lost thru the ceiling and also heat the second story. I’m sure there is a fire code somewhere, but it seems like something could be done create a system of coils. Does that sound possible to you?

I have no model number or any stickers on it anywhere.
This is going in a chimney, but I still need to know whether it is the vent free kind or not because I want to close the flue so I can keep the heat in. I need to know if there is a way to tell the difference between vented and vent free log sets, physically (my original question has not been answered).