Fireplace installation in Gilroy CA - an insert that fits and heats the room
Your fireplace looks nice but barely warms the room. We fit an insert matched to your fireplace and fuel so it actually heats.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does fireplace installation in Gilroy involve?
Fireplace installation in Gilroy usually means fitting an insert inside the firebox of the brick or metal fireplace you already have, then venting it up your existing chimney, usually through a new liner, so the heat comes into the room instead of going up the flue. Most inserts also have a blower that pushes the warm air out into the house.
Most people call us because the fireplace looks fine but does little for the room, or they're tired of hauling wood and want a fire at the flip of a switch. What moves the price is the fireplace you're starting with, whether it's masonry or a metal factory-built box, which insert you choose, and how much chimney and gas work it takes to hook it up. The schedule turns on the same things, plus getting the right insert in hand and any chimney repair that has to come first. I put all of that in a written estimate so you see your own number before you decide anything.
How can you tell your fireplace is due for an insert?
Room stays cold by the fire
You light a fire and still need a blanket on the couch, and the rest of the house feels cooler than before you started. That usually means the draft is pulling warm air up the chimney with the smoke, so every winter you wait is another season of wood that mostly heats the sky.
Cold air from a closed fireplace
Even with the damper shut, you feel a draft or smell soot near the hearth on a windy day. The damper usually isn't sealing anymore, and until it's dealt with you're paying to heat air that leaks straight out the chimney.
Smoke or black stains up front
Smoke drifts into the room when you light a fire, or the brick above the opening keeps turning black. That usually points to a chimney that isn't drawing right or a flue that needs work, and it's worth sorting out before you burn again because it won't fix itself.
How our fireplace installation works
First we figure out what kind of fireplace you have and whether your house runs on natural gas or propane, because both decide which insert will fit. Then I go over direct-vent and vent-free units with you so you know what each one asks of the room, and we look the chimney over before anything goes in. When the insert arrives, our crew sets it in the firebox, runs the venting, hooks up the gas and the power for the blower, finishes the surround and cleans up.
A new insert is a good time to redo the wall around it, and plenty of people pair the job with stone veneer installation over the old face. If you're building a raised hearth, a fireplace wall or an outdoor fire feature from scratch, it usually starts as concrete block walls that we then face in brick or stone.
Direct-vent gas insert
This one pulls its air from outside and sends the exhaust straight out, which keeps the air in your room cleaner, so it suits most houses with a chimney that can carry the venting. The catch is that it needs that outlet to the outside, so the chimney has to be in good enough shape to take it.
Vent-free gas insert
This one needs no outside vent and no change to the chimney or flue, so it can be the simpler job when the chimney would need a lot of work. It comes with more limits than a direct-vent unit, so we look closely at your room before recommending one.
Get a written estimate for your fireplace insert
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at your fireplace and gas supply, and give you a written estimate that's free and comes with no obligation.
(669) 205-6449- Based in
- Gilroy, CA 95020
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a fireplace insert?
Here's how a fireplace job goes from your first call to your first warm evening, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send us a message
Call (669) 205-6449 or use the form, and we get back to you to set a time for me to come out. It helps to know whether your fireplace is brick or metal and whether you're on natural gas or propane.
I look and write it up
I walk the fireplace, chimney and gas supply with you, tell you what I'd install and why, and put it in a written estimate. You'll see the insert, the venting and chimney work, and the price before you commit to anything.
We install, then walk it together
Our lead mason and crew do the install, and when it's done I walk the finished job with you. I show you how it runs and point out what to keep an eye on.
Why Gilroy homeowners call Quality Gilroy Concrete and Masonry for fireplace inserts
I write every estimate myself
I come out, look at the fireplace and chimney, and tell you what the Bay Area wood-burning limits mean for your plans before I write anything down. Our lead mason runs the crew on the install and I check in while it's going, so the person who made the plan is still watching the job.
Professional install, licensed and fully insured
The hearth industry says every gas appliance needs a professional install, for safety and to meet code. We're licensed and fully insured, so the people working on your gas insert are covered on the job.
In business since 2021
We've been at this five years, and before that I sold brick, block and stone at a supply yard and heard what went wrong after it left. That's why I'd rather explain what I'm looking at than rush you into a decision.
If you'd like to know which insert your fireplace can take, send us your details or call (669) 205-6449.
Fireplace inserts, chimneys and air rules in Gilroy
Around here, what you can put in a fireplace is shaped by air rules as much as by taste. Under Bay Area Air District rules, a chimney or fireplace remodel that costs over $15,000 and needs a building permit can only install a gas, electric or EPA-certified device, and new homes can't have a wood-burning device of any kind. Those are the district's rules for the Bay Area, so before you set your heart on wood I'll talk through whether they reach your house, and if wood is what you want, an EPA-certified heater burns cleaner than an open fireplace. Whether your job needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at, and if it does, we check with the office that issues it and handle the application and the inspections for you.
Many of the older brick chimneys we see need some joint or crown work before they're ready to carry an insert's venting, and I'd rather stop the water getting into a chimney than line one that's still letting it in. We're based in Gilroy and see the same mix of tired brick fireplaces and newer metal units on jobs in Morgan Hill and San Martin.
Questions about fireplace installation in Gilroy
(669) 205-6449Across the US, a gas fireplace insert usually runs about $2,500 to $8,000 per job, counting the insert and professional labor. That's a national figure, not a Gilroy price, and extra costs can come from permit fees, electrical work for the controls or blower, and trim or a surround to finish it. Your written estimate spells out what your own fireplace needs.
No, not where the Bay Area air district's rules apply, because using any wood-burning device, including fireplaces, wood stoves and pellet stoves, is illegal while a Spare the Air Alert is in effect. Gas and electric units aren't wood-burning, which is one reason people with an old wood fireplace look at an insert.
A factory-built fireplace, also called zero-clearance, needs an insert designed and tested for that exact unit, so the model you have decides what you can buy. With a brick fireplace, the bigger question is the chimney, since its flue liner has to go in correctly. If you're not sure which one you have, that's the first thing I'll check at the estimate.
It can be, but only where local codes and the size of the room allow one. A vent-free unit needs no outside vent and gives nearly 100% heating efficiency, but local rules can limit where it goes, so we look at your room and check those limits before you pick one.
Once a year. A yearly inspection looks at the firebox, the venting, the dampers and the chimney, and catches problems before they turn costly or dangerous.
Your existing gas line needs enough pressure and capacity for the insert you choose, so it's one of the things I look at during the estimate. If the house has no natural gas, you'll need a propane supply instead, which is worth sorting out before you shop.
Related masonry work around your fireplace
Stone veneer installation
If the wall around your fireplace looks dated beside a new insert, stone veneer gives it a fresh face without tearing out the structure behind it.
Concrete block walls
When you want a solid core for a backyard fireplace, a seat wall or a planter, a concrete block wall gives a strong, square base to build on.
Service areas for fireplace inserts around Gilroy
Quality Gilroy Concrete and Masonry is based in Gilroy, California, and fits fireplace inserts in the cities around it. The 12 cities below have their own pages, including Hollister and Salinas, and they aren't the only places we work.
Gilroy, CA
Book a look at your fireplace
The sooner I see your fireplace, the sooner you know whether it's ready for an insert or needs chimney work first.