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A warm feeling for gas fireplaces
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When John Lynn's wife, Ellen, moved into his Arlington home a few years ago, allergies made it impossible for her to enjoy the wood-burning fireplaces in the living room and basement. So he had the fireplaces converted to gas -- and he finds he is using them much more often.
"Once the weather gets cold, we're having a fire five or six times a week, for a very simple reason: You just have to flip on a switch," he said. "Often we wouldn't have a wood fire because it was a two- to three-hour commitment since you had to watch it until it burned down. And gas certainly doesn't involve the mess."
The only downside? "I miss the wood smoke aroma," he said. To get the aroma back, he has added a fire bowl in the backyard.
-- Average cost: The cost for a gas fireplace varies considerably depending on whether an existing wood fireplace will be converted or a new fireplace will be built. All require that a gas line be extended from the meter or utility room. Cost for the line starts at $700 and rises depending on how far it must be run, according to Rich Cartlidge, an owner of Bromwell's, which has fireplace showrooms in Rockville and Falls Church.
The cost for gas logs in an existing wood-burning fireplace ranges from $500 to $900. A gas insert, similar to a wood stove without legs that is placed in the fireplace, costs $2,000 to $3,500. A new fireplace can range from $1,000 to more than $4,000, Cartlidge said.
-- Homeowners insurance: Neither conversion to a gas fireplace nor installation of a new one will raise homeowners insurance premiums, according to State Farm agent Tim Navarro in Kensington.
-- Property value: "Definitely, buyers ask, 'Does it have a fireplace?' But it's at the bottom of the top 10 must-haves when buying a house," said Jane Fairweather, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Bethesda. Still, sellers may be able to recoup installation costs, she said.
-- Of note: Younger buyers, in particular, are interested in gas fireplaces because they seem more modern, while older buyers "see wood as nostalgic, remembering the smell and crackle of a wood fire," Fairweather said.
-- Barbara Ruben
