Hi!

I saw your post in the fireplace forums, but it was a bit old so I thought I'd email you. :)

First of all, I'm also in a foursquare in Pittsburgh (Greenfield) - nice to see someone else!

Second: We just had our decorative fireplace outfitted with a Victorian gas insert. I can't seem to send links through this email system, so I will upload them to your original post.

We went through Hearth and Home up in Zelienople. http://www.hearthandhomepa.com/
They were awesome: they came out to the house to look at the fireplace/chimney, installed liners, a cap, the actual insert and extended the gas line.

The insert we got was the Windsor Arch in the chrome finish. Very traditional. http://www.valorfireplaces.com/products/portrait-windsor.php

Under their other Zero clearance gas inserts there are more modern or Federal looking inserts. All the manuals for minimum clearances are listed in their pdf forms on the website. I can't remember what ours was, but we didn't have that tight of a fit.

Hope this helps!

{{gwi:2134528}}

Thanks! Would you be willing to share the price for the work you had done (insert + chimney work)?

It was a bit pricey - but in my opinion totally worth it. I think it was 500-800 for all the install work (they need to do it, this is not a diy project) and 3500 for the actual unit. The different fronts were different prices but all the ones we considered were in the same general range.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that our chimney breast was covered all the way up tot he ceiling in faux 70's stone. So we ended up framing in the whole thing and dry-walling. That did give us some extra room for the insert. There are just certain measurements in terms of the studs that you need to make sure are correct.

We are also planning on installing a mantel. We bought a wooden one from construction junction but it isn't going to work out. That cast iron front sticks out about an inch from the wall. Just fyi. We did find a stale Victorian one on craigslist that sticks out from the wall. But if you are considering wood, you may need to go custom. The fireplace installers did have resources for mantels that would fit these models though.

That doesn't sound much outside what we were anticipating... Thanks for all of your help!

You're welcome! Post some pics if you decide to go for it. :)