Fireplace installation in Wilmington NC - an insert that fits the fireplace you have

Most folks call me because the fireplace is pretty but the room stays cold, or because they're tired of the drafts and the smoke. The price comes down to three things: the kind of insert you pick, how it vents, and how much prep the firebox and flue need first. If the chimney turns out to need work, that becomes chimney repair before anything goes in. The schedule depends on that chimney work, on any permit or historic review for your address, and on lining up the gas line. The gas line goes to a fitter licensed by the state board that covers fuel gas piping, not to our masons. I walk the job with you and put all of it in your written estimate.

First I figure out what kind of fireplace you have, a masonry one built on site or a factory-built metal box, because that decides which inserts will fit. Then we sit down and talk through fuel and venting, since gas, pellet and wood each work differently day to day, and I'd rather you choose knowing the trade-offs. Once you've picked, we look the firebox and flue over closely and fix what needs fixing. Then we set the insert, and the gas hookup goes to the licensed fitter I mentioned. Before we leave, I show you what we did and how the insert vents, and we clean up the hearth and the floor around it.

Some of the work around a fireplace isn't the insert at all. A lot of homeowners want the surround refaced once the new unit is in, and stone veneer installation gives an old brick or painted face a new look without tearing it out. If you'd rather build something new, like a raised hearth or an outdoor fireplace on the patio, it usually starts with concrete block walls as the core, and then we finish the face in brick or stone.

In Wilmington, permits go through New Hanover County's Department of Permits & Inspections, which issues the city's permits for alterations and remodeling. Its list names that kind of work but doesn't name fireplace installation, so it isn't settled up front whether your insert needs a permit. That office is the place to ask. If you do need one, you can apply for a building permit online through COAST, the county's permit portal, or in person at 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 170. Either way, I'll tell you which office handles your address and help you get the paperwork together before we start.

We're based in Wilmington and work across the cities around it. The fireplaces we open up here range from old masonry fireboxes in older brick houses to factory-built units in newer neighborhoods. The older ones usually need the most attention to the flue and mortar before an insert goes in. We see that same mix on jobs in Myrtle Grove and Leland, so the first look is the same wherever you are.