Fireplace installation in Berkeley CA - a fire that actually warms the room
A pretty fireplace that leaves the room cold, or no fireplace at all? We'll put in one that heats the way you want.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What goes into installing a fireplace in Berkeley?
Fireplace installation in Berkeley means putting in a brick or stone fireplace built on site, a factory-built fireplace, or an insert set into the fireplace you already have, so you get a fire that heats the room the way you want.
Most calls start with an old open fireplace that looks good and does little, because most open fireplaces lose over 90 percent of the fire's heat up the chimney and pull the room's warm air out with it. An insert, whether gas, pellet or EPA-certified wood, burns in a closed box and heats far more efficiently. Price mostly turns on what you start with. An insert in a sound fireplace that reuses the chimney sits at the low end, a new direct vent gas fireplace costs more, and a fireplace built on site of brick or stone usually costs more than a factory-built one. The schedule turns on how much has to be built new. If the chimney itself is tired, chimney repair may need to come first, and the estimate spells out what we'd do and why.
How do you know it's time for a new fireplace or insert?
Fire's lit, room's still cold
You sit in front of a good fire and still want a sweater, and the rest of the house feels cooler while it burns. That's usually an open firebox sending its heat and your warm air up the chimney, and every winter you wait, you're paying to heat the flue.
Smoke coming into the room
You smell smoke after a fire, or see a dark smudge creeping up above the opening. Usually the firebox or the draft isn't working the way it should, and waiting means stained brick and a fireplace you quietly stop using.
Cracked or crumbling firebox
The fire brick at the back is split, or mortar is falling out of the joints. Bad mortar in a firebox is fine right up until you light a fire, and heat that gets into masonry and framing not built to take it makes the fix bigger the longer it goes.
How we handle fireplace installation
I start where you start, with how much heat you want and how often the burn rules will let you light wood, because that decides between a gas insert, a direct vent unit and a built brick or stone fireplace. Then we check the firebox and chimney, protect the room, open up the space, set the insert or lay up the firebox in fire brick, run the venting or liner, build the hearth and surround, and clean up before we leave.
The surround is where the masonry shows. A lot of owners face a new fireplace in stone veneer, thin stone set over the wall so it reads as solid stone without the weight. When a new fireplace needs a sturdy wall behind it, we lay it up as a concrete block wall and face it to match the room.
An insert in your existing fireplace
This suits you if you already have a fireplace and want it to heat the room instead of the sky. It can be gas, pellet or an EPA-certified wood unit, and reusing the fireplace you have keeps the job simpler.
A direct vent gas fireplace
This suits a house with no working fireplace, or a room where you want a fire and there's no chimney to use. It's the most flexible on placement, and it costs more than an insert because more of it is new.
A built brick or stone fireplace
This suits you if you want a real masonry fireplace as the center of the room and you're fine with the days the burn rules keep it dark. On a tighter budget, a factory-built unit usually costs less than one we build on site, which is why most new homes use them.
Get a fireplace estimate for your house
Send a photo of your fireplace or wall and tell us if the house has a chimney. We reply within one business day to set a free on-site estimate, with no obligation.
(510) 345-1156- Based in
- Berkeley, CA 94703
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a fireplace?
Here's how a fireplace job runs from your side, from the first call to the walk-through at the end.
Call or send the form
Tell us what you have now and what you want, and send a photo or two if you can. We get back to you and set a time to come out.
I look at the job
I come out, look at the fireplace, chimney and walls, and ask how much heat you're after. The estimate says what we'd do and why, so you can weigh the options before you commit to any of them.
We settle permits, then build
Before work starts we talk through the permit side with you, and when your job needs one we handle the paperwork with the city's permit office. Then our crew does the work.
Walk the finished fireplace
When we're done, we clean up and walk the hearth, the surround and the finished fireplace with you. It isn't finished until you've seen it.
Why Berkeley homeowners call Ironstone for a new fireplace
I look at your fireplace myself
I come out to look at the job myself, and I work alongside our crew when we build it. The person who sized up your firebox is the one standing in it later.
Licensed and fully insured in California
California's Contractors State License Board lists setting fire brick and stone for heat-resistant linings as masonry contractor work, which is the trade a built fireplace calls for. We're licensed and fully insured, and you can look up any contractor with the board before you hire.
Straight advice since 2021
We've been in business since 2021, and I learned under a boss who made me redo a joint until it was right. I'd rather tell you your old fireplace just needs an insert than sell you a new one you don't need.
A fireplace only has to be built once if it's planned right, so start with a look. Send us a few photos or call (510) 345-1156.
Fireplaces, chimneys and burn rules in Berkeley
Wood is the part that's different here. The Bay Area Air District regulates home wood-burning devices in the region, sets requirements for the ones sold or installed here and bars visible smoke. So if you want wood, we plan around a unit that meets those requirements, and we talk honestly about whether a wood fire you can't light every night is worth it to you or whether gas fits better.
A lot of the houses we work in have older brick chimneys that have ridden out a few earthquakes, and we see the same on jobs in Oakland and Albany. Retrofit designs exist to cut quake damage and falling brick from chimneys like these, though they may not prevent damage or collapse. Before an insert goes into an old chimney, I want to know what shape it's in. We're based in Berkeley and work across the East Bay cities around it.
Questions about fireplace installation in Berkeley
Do I need a chimney to install a gas fireplace in Berkeley?
No, a direct vent gas fireplace exhausts through a pipe in the wall or roof, so a house without a masonry chimney can still have one. If you do have a chimney, a gas insert can reuse it with a new liner run through it.
How much does it cost to install a gas fireplace?
Across the US, gas fireplace installation, inserts included, usually runs about $2,000 to $11,000 per job. That's what the work costs nationally, not our price. Your estimate tells you what we'd do on your house and what it costs.
How long does fireplace installation take?
Most gas fireplace projects take one to three days, and an insert going into a sound existing fireplace sits at the short end. New framing, venting and surround work stretch it out.
Can I burn wood in my fireplace any day in Berkeley?
No, wood burning is banned on days the Air District issues a Mandatory Burn Ban for high fine-particle pollution. District staff estimate a proposed rule change could raise no-burn days from about 15 a year now to between 19 and 41, which means fewer nights a wood fireplace here gets used.
How do I know if my chimney needs an inspection before a fireplace insert?
Chimney trade guidance recommends a Level 2 inspection, a closer check of the chimney and its venting, when you add a new appliance, switch to a different fuel or type, or plan to line or reline the chimney. An insert usually does at least one of those, so it's worth having before the work starts.
Should I get my chimney checked after an earthquake?
Yes, the same guidance recommends a Level 2 inspection after a seismic event, a chimney fire, bad weather or any malfunction likely to have damaged the chimney. Cracks inside a flue rarely show from the living room. Call (510) 345-1156 if you want us to take a look.
Related services for a new fireplace
If you want a fireplace that reads as solid stone without the weight of full stone, veneer gives the surround and hearth wall that look.
When a fireplace needs a solid wall behind it or a base to sit on, block gives it a sturdy core we can face in brick or stone.
Service areas for fireplace installation
Ironstone Berkeley Concrete and Masonry is based in Berkeley, CA, and puts in fireplaces across the East Bay cities around it, including Oakland and Richmond. These are the 12 cities with their own page on our site, and they aren't the only places we work.
Berkeley, CA
Find out which fireplace your house can take
One look at your firebox, chimney and walls settles whether an insert, a direct vent unit or a built fireplace fits, before you spend anything.