Fireplace Remodel Cost by Stage

A Remodel Is Several Jobs on One Wall

"How much is a fireplace remodel?" covers everything from new tile over old brick to tearing out the whole wall. The only useful way to price it is in stages, because each stage is a separate job with its own cost, and you can choose how many to do.

Most remodels we quote in Woodland Hills start with the same room: a 1950s or 1960s ranch living room with a brick fireplace that takes up a wall, a raised or flush brick hearth, and a wood mantel. The owners want it to look current, and many want it to actually heat the room. Here is how we break it down.

Stage One: Check and Repair What Is Behind the Finish

This comes first, and it is the stage people want to skip. Once a new surround is up, getting to the firebox or the damper means taking it down again. So we inspect the firebox, damper, smoke chamber and flue before designing anything.

Common findings in valley houses of that age are eroded firebrick joints, a rusted damper, and flue tiles cracked in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Some of these need fixing before the remodel. Some do not, depending on what comes next. If you are putting in a gas insert, the insert gets its own liner, so a cracked clay flue may not need a separate repair. If you are keeping a wood fire, it does.

A Level 1 inspection at $52 covers most of this. If the flue has never had a camera through it, a Level 2 at $320 tells you what the liner is like before you spend on the finish.

Stage Two: Decide How the Fireplace Will Burn

This is the biggest single decision, and it changes the cost more than any finish:

• - Keep it wood. No change to cost here, but the firebox and flue must be sound, and wood fires are limited on no-burn days under the South Coast AQMD rules.
• Gas logs. The lowest-cost way off wood. A log set in the existing firebox, lit by a switch or remote. They look good but add little heat. Quoted in writing after a look at the gas supply.
• Gas insert. A sealed unit that fits into the firebox and heats the room. Installed with liner and gas connection, it runs $2,650 to $5,300 in an existing fireplace.
• New direct-vent unit. When the wall is being rebuilt anyway, or the fireplace is moving to another spot, a framed-in direct-vent unit is $4,250 to $8,500 on our written estimate.

If the room is cold in winter and you want heat, an insert is usually money well spent. If the fireplace is mostly for looks, gas logs or keeping wood is cheaper.

Stage Three: The Surround

The surround is the face of the fireplace around the opening. This is where most of the look comes from, and where material choice moves the price the most. Options, roughly from lower to higher cost:

• - Paint or limewash over the existing brick
• Smooth plaster or stucco over the brick
• Tile, from simple field tile to large-format porcelain
• Thin stone veneer
• Full stone or a custom panel system

The price depends on the area covered and the material you choose, so it is quoted in writing once you have picked. A full-height surround to the ceiling costs much more than one that stops at the mantel. Covering the brick is usually cheaper than removing it.

Stage Four: The Hearth

The hearth is the non-combustible floor area in front of the opening, and code sets how far out it must reach. Many ranch houses have a raised brick hearth that owners want to cut down or cover. Cutting a hearth flush is more work than capping it with a new stone slab, and the slab is often the better value. If you are putting in an insert, the manufacturer may require a certain hearth depth.

Stage Five: The Mantel and Finish

The mantel can be a simple floating shelf, a reclaimed beam, a stone shelf or a full custom surround. A wood mantel has to sit a set distance above the opening, depending on how far it projects. We design to those clearances and tell you before you buy anything that will not fit.

Built-ins on either side, lighting, and paint are the last stage. Some homeowners do this part themselves to save money, which is fine.

What Decides Your Price, Stage by Stage

To put it together: your remodel cost is the sum of whatever repairs the inspection finds, the burn choice, the surround material and size, the hearth work and the mantel. Only one of those, the gas insert, has a published range. Everything else depends on the room and the choices.

Send a Photo of the Fireplace Wall for a Written Quote

The fastest way to start is a photo of the whole fireplace wall and one of the inside of the firebox. Tell us roughly what you want: same look refreshed, gas insert, full new wall. Use the quote form and we will reply with the stages that apply, which have set prices, and what we need to see in person to quote the rest.

Where to Save, and Where Not To

Save on: the surround material, by choosing plaster or tile over stone; the hearth, by capping instead of cutting; the mantel, by choosing a simple shelf; finish work you can do yourself.

Do not save on: the repairs behind the finish, the liner, gas connections, or the clearances. These are the things that are expensive or unsafe to get wrong, and hard to fix later.

Can a Remodel Be Phased?

Yes, often. A sensible plan is to do the repairs and the insert in one season, so the fireplace is safe and useful, and the surround later. The insert's trim kit makes a tidy finish on its own until the new surround goes up. What does not phase well is building the surround first and the insert second, because the surround will likely need altering.

Book a Remodel Visit

Every remodel quote starts with a look at the firebox and flue. To set one up, call us using the phone number at the top of this page, or send your photos through the form. You will get each stage priced on its own line, so you can choose how far to go.