Purchased an existing home and debating upgrading the current fireplace to a wood burning insert or a gas insert. It was previously a traditional wood burning fireplace converted to gas. I’m partial to the look, smell and sound of wood burning but the convenience of the gas is very appealing. Per the sales rep they are about the same efficiency. Wood burning would cost about double to be installed. $3,000 for a gas insert and $5500 for a wood burning. Gas would probably cost more to run but would take awhile to offset initial cost of the wood burning.

My wife and I want a gas fireplace insert conversion for our wood fireplace. But when my wife found out that a cord will come out of the front of the unit to an outlet, she is concerned that it will be unsightly. I want to comply with code. Any suggestions.

Can you explain why you are wanting to go with a gas fireplace? If you are wanting to decrease smells and smoke, the best option would actually be a ventless unit like an ethanol or electric fireplace insert. Ethanol fuel is clean burning and does not produce soot. You do have to add the fuel to the unit. Electric fireplaces will produce a good amount of heat and there are a lot of really great options now that look very realistic. Both options should allow you to close off your vent to prevent drafts. An electric unit like the Dimplex 33" Deluxe Built-In Firebox or the Dimplex 28" Plug-in Electric Firebox with Realogs are just a couple of examples. However, without knowing the exact dimensions or seeing a picture of your space, it is hard to gauge what would work best. What dimensions are you working with for this project?

I think brick + marble is such a good classic look. What is the style of your house? If you do brick and decide you don't like it, you could always paint it black. But as far as I know, you can't put a brick facade over a black liner. We just updated our 1980s fireplace and I wanted brick, but we had to stick with black. The fireplace store said you can't just pull out an old insert and put in a new one; it requires redoing the whole fireplace/chimney. So no pressure, but your choice is pretty permanent! :) Here they did herringbone marble tile and straight brick. It would also look great reversed -- herringbone brick and straight marble.