Midvale · Salt Lake County
Fitting a Fireplace into a Midvale Home
In a smaller house or an attached unit, a fireplace project is a spatial problem before it is a heating one. Where the vent can go and how far the hearth can project decide most of it.
Midvale living rooms are not usually large. That is not a drawback, it just means a hearth has to be planned rather than chosen from a photograph. A projecting hearth extension eats floor area that a small room may not have to give, so a flush-front unit with a shallow hearth is frequently the better answer even though the showroom model looked more impressive. Ceiling height matters for mantel placement. And in an open-plan layout where the fireplace wall is also the television wall, it is worth saying early that mounting a screen directly above a working fireplace exposes it to a heat plume most manufacturers do not allow for. There are ways to do it involving a deflecting mantel shelf or a unit designed for it, and there is no way to do it by hoping.
Attached housing changes the rules
In a townhome or condo, the venting route is not a free choice. Party walls cannot be penetrated. The exterior wall you can use may be the only one, and it has to offer a terminal location that clears windows, doors, walkways, the gas meter and the neighboring unit's openings by the distances the manufacturer specifies. Roof penetrations usually involve common property and therefore the association, which means approval before work rather than a conversation afterward. We survey all of that before quoting, because a fireplace that cannot be legally vented is not a cheaper fireplace, it is no fireplace.
Replacing what is already there
The most common and most economical job in this city is putting a modern sealed unit into an existing opening, whether that is a mid-century masonry firebox getting an insert and a full-height stainless liner, or a tired builder-grade appliance in a framed chase being swapped for a current one. The structure, the chase and the route already exist. What you gain is a fireplace that puts heat into the room instead of pulling warm air out of it, which in a compact house is a difference you feel that same evening.
Gas piping and appliance installation are permitted work in Salt Lake County, and we handle the permit as part of the job.
Questions
Installation in Midvale — common questions
Can we add a fireplace to a townhome that does not have one?
Sometimes, and it hinges entirely on whether a legal vent terminal location exists on a wall you are allowed to penetrate. That has to be established first, along with association approval. We will survey it honestly rather than take a deposit and find out later.
How much room does a fireplace take up?
Less than people fear if the unit is chosen for the space. Flush-front models with shallow hearth requirements suit small living rooms well. The hearth extension in front of a wood-burning appliance is the part that consumes real floor area, and it is not negotiable on a wood unit.
Do we need permission from our HOA?
For anything that changes the exterior, penetrates a shared element or touches the roof, almost certainly yes. Getting that in writing before ordering an appliance saves a great deal of trouble, and we are used to providing the documentation boards ask for.
Is an electric fireplace a reasonable option here?
It is, particularly in a unit where venting is genuinely impossible. It needs no flue and installs almost anywhere. Be clear that it is electric resistance heat, so it costs what that costs to run and will not heat a large space efficiently.
Also in Midvale
Our other services here
Chimney Sweep Inspection Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Gas Fireplace Caps & Dampers Dryer Vents All Midvale services
Nearby
Installation in neighboring cities
Taylorsville West Jordan West Valley City Bluffdale Cottonwood Heights