Fireplace Remodel in Woodland Hills, Built Around What You Want to Spend

Most fireplace remodels in Woodland Hills fall into one of three kinds. The first is a refacing: new tile, stone veneer or plaster over the existing brick face, a new hearth top and perhaps a new mantel, with the firebox left as it is. It changes the look of the room for the least money. The second adds a change in how the fireplace burns, usually a gas insert or gas logs in the old firebox, which makes the fireplace easier to use and, with an insert, puts real heat into the room. The third is a rebuild of the fireplace wall: a new opening size, a new firebox or a factory-built unit, and a finished wall around it. That is the most work and the widest choice of finish.

We write each stage as its own line: demolition, any firebox or flue repair, the insert or logs if you want them, the surround, the hearth, the mantel and the finish. Some of those lines have a fixed price, like a gas insert at $2,650 to $5,300 installed. Others depend on the material you pick and the size of the wall, and are quoted in writing once you have chosen. Seeing it broken down lets you trade one part against another, for example a simpler mantel to afford the insert, or plaster instead of stone to keep the job in budget.

The most expensive remodel mistake is putting new stone around a firebox or flue that needs work. Once the surround is up, getting to the firebox means taking it down again. So every remodel we quote starts with an inspection of the firebox, damper, smoke chamber and flue. Many of the 1950s and 1960s brick fireplaces in the West Valley have eroded firebrick joints or cracked flue tiles from the 1994 earthquake, and those are cheaper to fix with the wall open than after. If the flue needs a liner, we price it. If you are going to gas and the masonry flue will be lined for the insert anyway, we say that too, because a repair you do not need is money off the finish.

Clearances matter as well. A new wood mantel or shelf has to sit a set distance above the opening, and code also sets how far the hearth reaches out from the opening. Some older remodels ignored that. We design to the clearances the code and the manufacturer require, and if your plan does not fit them, we tell you before you buy the material. Where the room allows more than one layout, we sketch the options and price them, so you can choose the look and the cost together.