Fireplace Services

Electric fireplace installation from box to handover

Your electric fireplace installation is 10% off when you confirm it inside 72 hours of the inspection.

Plug-in and hardwired connections

A plug-in electric fireplace draws power through a cord and a standard wall outlet. A hardwired unit connects directly to the home's wiring, and one maker's linear line is designed to be hardwired and never plugged into a receptacle. The rating label tells you which kind you have, along with its voltage and its watts or amps.

We confirm the connection type during the free inspection. A plug-in unit is placed so its cord reaches a suitable outlet directly. A hardwired unit needs an electrician for the connection, and our estimate shows that step separately, so you can see what each part of the job costs.

Distance to the floor and the ceiling

The current manual for one built-in line asks for the top of the unit to sit at least 24 inches below the ceiling and for the unit to sit at least 5 inches above the floor. Other models set their own figures, and some wall-mounted units set different ones entirely.

Inside those limits, height is about comfort. We look at where people sit, how high the television or mantel will be and where the warm air should go, then mark a height you approve before anything is cut or mounted.

Sealing an old fireplace for an insert

An electric insert set into a masonry fireplace sits below an open chimney. One plug-in firebox manual asks installers to seal drafts and vents with non-fibrous insulation, which keeps debris from the chimney off the unit and stops room air from escaping up the flue.

We close the old opening with materials that can be removed later and note what we used in the written record of the job. The chimney itself stays intact, so the change can be reversed if a future owner wants a wood fire back.

If a future owner wants a wood fire again

An electric insert does not change the fireplace for good. To burn wood again, the insert and the draft sealing come out, and the chimney should be inspected before the first fire, since nobody has watched its condition while the insert was in.

We leave the fireplace and chimney as they were, apart from the removable sealing, and record what was done. That record helps the next inspection, whether it comes next season or with the next owner of the house.