Millcreek · Salt Lake County
Putting an Insert Into a Millcreek Rambler
An open masonry fireplace of the kind built into most Millcreek ramblers is a net heat loss over a season. Putting an insert into it is the single change that makes the biggest difference.
The arithmetic of an open firebox
An open fireplace draws room air, heats it, and sends most of it up the flue. While it is burning it also pulls conditioned air out of the rest of the house to replace what went up the chimney, and once it is out the damper leaks all night. It feels warm if you sit in front of it. Measured across a winter, it is usually taking more heat out of a Millcreek house than it puts in.
A sealed insert with a full stainless liner reverses that. It burns a closed load, transfers the heat through the shell into the room, and stops using the house as its air supply.
Deciding what to put in
- How you actually heat. If the fireplace is genuinely a heat source on cold bench nights, a wood or pellet insert earns its keep. If it gets lit six times a winter for atmosphere, a gas insert or a direct-vent unit will be a better fit and much less work.
- The no-burn calendar. Salt Lake County restricts solid-fuel burning during parts of the inversion season, and that is worth weighing honestly before you commit to wood as your primary hearth.
- The opening you have. Mid-century fireboxes here are often shallow and wide. That constrains which units will physically fit and sit flush, and it is the first measurement we take.
- Where the flue goes. Every insert needs a correctly sized liner run to the top of the chimney. If the existing masonry will not accept one, that changes the project.
Remodeling around the opening
Half of these projects are as much about the wall as the appliance. A painted brick surround from 1958 does not have to stay, and stone, tile or a new mantel can be built around a modern unit without touching the structure behind it. What we will not do is bury a firebox behind combustible trim closer than the manufacturer allows, however good it would look.
Installed to the instructions
Every unit ships with a listed installation manual, and the clearances, venting and hearth extension in it are the terms on which that appliance is safe and warrantied. We install to that document, and we hand it to you at the end along with the commissioning notes, so the next person to inspect the system knows exactly what they are looking at.
Questions
Installation in Millcreek — common questions
Can an insert go into our existing masonry fireplace?
Usually, provided the firebox is large enough for the unit and the chimney can take a correctly sized stainless liner to the top. Shallow mid-century openings are the common limiting factor in Millcreek, so we measure the firebox before recommending a model.
Wood insert or gas insert for a bench home?
It comes down to how you will really use it. Wood pays off for households that heat with it and have wood on hand, but it is work and it is subject to the county no-burn periods. Gas gives immediate heat with no restriction and no ash, at a lower output per dollar of fuel.
Do we need a liner if the chimney seems in good shape?
Yes. It is not about the condition of the masonry, it is about size. An appliance flue collar is far smaller than an old fireplace flue, and venting a modern insert into that oversized cavity cools the exhaust and produces heavy creosote regardless of how sound the brick is.
Can you build a fireplace where there is no chimney at all?
Often. A direct-vent gas unit can terminate through an exterior wall and needs no masonry chimney, which is what makes it practical in additions and basements. The limits are the run length, the wall it can reach and the clearance around the exterior terminal.
Also in Millcreek
Our other services here
Chimney Sweep Inspection Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Gas Fireplace Caps & Dampers Dryer Vents All Millcreek services
Nearby
Installation in neighboring cities
West Jordan West Valley City Bluffdale Cottonwood Heights Draper