Fireplace installation in Huntsville AL - a fireplace matched to your chimney and fuel
A fireplace that sends your heat up the chimney, or one you never light? We'll fit the insert, gas unit or fireplace your house can take.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into putting in a fireplace in Huntsville?
Fireplace installation in Huntsville means setting a wood, gas or pellet unit where your chimney gets the airflow it needs and anything that can burn stays protected, and those two needs decide most of where it can go.
Most people who call us have a fireplace they don't use because it smokes or barely warms the room, or they want one where there isn't one yet. The price turns on what's there now and the fuel you want, and the schedule turns on what the chimney needs and the permit steps for your address. If the chimney itself is cracked or leaning, that's chimney repair before anything goes in it. We work in Huntsville and the cities around it, and you get your own figure in a written quote after the site visit.
How do you know your fireplace needs work or replacing?
Smoke rolls into the room
If smoke drifts out the front instead of going up the chimney, the fire usually isn't getting the draft it needs, from a blocked flue, a bad damper or a firebox sized wrong for the chimney. Keep burning that way and you get soot on the walls and smoke in the house every time you light it.
Cracked brick in the firebox
Open joints or split firebrick at the back of the firebox mean heat is getting where it shouldn't, into the brick and whatever sits behind it. It's a much smaller fix caught early than after a winter of fires has worked the cracks wider.
Rust or warping in a metal box
A metal or factory-built firebox with rust, warped panels or a cracked lining is usually wearing out. That's the time to talk about a replacement or an insert instead of patching it, and burning in it meanwhile isn't worth the risk.
How we handle fireplace installation
First I find out whether your fireplace is masonry, metal or factory built, because that decides what can go in it. If you want real heat, we'll talk through an insert before an open fireplace, and if you want gas, we plan on a unit that vents outside. With an insert, we check that the flue liner, the lining inside the chimney, is in right before the unit goes in. Then our crew builds or repairs the firebox and hearth, sets the unit and cleans up.
A lot of fireplace jobs reach past the firebox. If you want a stone face around it or up the chimney, we do that as stone veneer installation, thin stone set over a solid backing, and when a new fireplace needs a chimney built from the ground up, we usually lay the core as concrete block walls on a footing before the brick or stone goes on.
Open masonry fireplace
This suits you if you want the look, sound and smell of a wood fire on cool evenings and you heat the house some other way. It's a brick firebox, hearth and chimney built in place, and it's the one we steer people away from when heat is the goal.
Wood-burning insert
An insert goes inside the firebox of the masonry or metal fireplace you already have and works much like a wood stove, with a closed door. It suits you if you have a fireplace now and want it to actually warm the room.
Vented gas insert or fireplace
This suits you if you want heat at the flip of a switch with no wood to haul and no ash to clean out. We set it up to vent outside, and it usually means running a gas line to the spot.
Pellet insert or stove
Pellets burn steady with little tending, which suits people who want wood heat without splitting wood. Unlike a wood stove or fireplace, most pellet units need electricity to run, so we plan for an outlet at the spot.
Get a written estimate for your new fireplace
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at your fireplace and chimney, and follow up with a written quote. The estimate is free at your property, with no pressure and no obligation.
- Based in
- Huntsville, AL 35801
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about a fireplace?
Here's how a fireplace job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send us a note
Call (256) 417-4326 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. It helps to know whether your fireplace is masonry, metal or factory built, and which fuel you want.
I look it over on site
I come out, look over the firebox, hearth and chimney, take photos and tell you what I see. Then you get a written estimate that lays out the unit, the work and the price, and you can take your time with it.
Permits checked, then the work
If you go ahead, I check the permit and historic district steps with the office that covers your address, and our crew lead runs the work with our masons. On a gas job, the city inspects gas lines run inside the walls before insulation and drywall go up, so plan on that wall staying open until it passes.
Walk the finished fireplace together
When the work's done, I walk it with you, show you how the unit runs and answer whatever you ask. We don't call it finished until you've seen it.
Why Huntsville homeowners call us for fireplace work
I do every estimate myself
The person who looks at your fireplace and writes the quote is me, and our crew lead runs the work on site with our masons. You know who to call, and the plan you agreed to is the one the crew builds.
I sold the brick before laying it
I sold brick, block and stone for years, learned the trade on crews around Huntsville and started this business in 2021. Behind the counter I heard which jobs failed and why, and that's how I look at every firebox and chimney.
Licensed and fully insured on site
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters on a fireplace job, where our masons are working inside your house and up on your chimney.
No work you don't need
If an insert in the fireplace you have will do what you want, I'll tell you that before I'd sell you a new firebox and chimney. I'd rather lose a job than talk you into work that isn't needed.
On a fireplace, the parts that matter most end up behind the brick, so that's where I look first. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job, and you can start by telling us about yours on our contact page.
Fireplaces, chimneys and permits in Huntsville
The city's Inspection Department issues building permits in Huntsville. Its online list of trade permits names electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, roofing and siding work, and fireplace installation isn't on it, so the list alone doesn't tell you whether your job needs a permit. Even a residential permit that needs no plan review may still need approval from Zoning Administration, and you can call Zoning at 256-427-5100 to confirm. We check with the city or county office that covers your address before work starts and handle the permit when the job needs one.
Many of the fireplaces we see around Huntsville are original masonry fireboxes in older brick houses, often unlit for years, with a chimney that needs a good look before anything goes in. Newer homes more often have a metal factory-built box, which changes the options, and we see the same mix on jobs in Madison and Decatur.
Questions about fireplace installation in Huntsville
Can I put an insert in my factory-built fireplace?
Yes, as long as it's an insert designed and tested for that particular unit. Factory-built fireplaces, also called zero-clearance, need a matched insert, because a matched insert runs more efficiently and pollutes less. If you're not sure which kind you have, I can tell you at the estimate.
How do I get more heat out of my fireplace?
Put in an insert, because the EPA calls an open wood-burning fireplace a very inefficient way to heat a home. Drafts pull warm air up the chimney, so other rooms can end up cooler while the fire burns. An insert closes off the opening and burns more like a stove.
What is the best way to add a gas fireplace in Huntsville?
Go with a gas unit that vents outside. The EPA doesn't support gas stoves made without outside venting because of indoor air quality, and installing unvented gas stoves is illegal in some places. For questions about what Huntsville allows, the city's Inspection Department is the office to ask.
How much does it cost to install a fireplace in Huntsville?
It turns mostly on how much has to be built, and I put your figure in a written quote after seeing the job. An insert set in a sound fireplace you already have is usually the smaller job, and building a new firebox, hearth and chimney is the bigger one. The fuel, any gas line or outlet, liner work and the stone or brick face all move it from there.
Where do I get a permit for a fireplace in Huntsville?
From the city's Inspection Department, and we check with that office for your address before work starts. At least one maker's installation manual tells the installer to contact local building officials for the permit and any installation limits, so it's fair to ask who makes that call on your job. On ours, we do.
Is a certified fireplace installer the same as a licensed one?
No. The National Fireplace Institute says its certification is an excellent sign of professional commitment and training, but it also says certification isn't a license or a guarantee of competence. Treat it as one thing to ask about, along with who's insured and who'll actually be working in your house.
Related masonry work around a new fireplace
Stone veneer installation
If you want a new stone face around the firebox or up the chimney without the weight of full stone, veneer gives you that look over block or framing.
Concrete block walls
A new masonry fireplace or chimney needs a solid core under the brick or stone, and block laid on a proper footing is usually what carries it.
Fireplace installation across Huntsville and nearby cities
Capstone Huntsville Concrete and Masonry is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and we put in fireplaces and inserts in the cities around it, including Madison and Athens. The 10 cities below have their own page, and if yours isn't listed, call and ask anyway.
Book an estimate for your fireplace
Sorting out the chimney, the unit and the permit steps before you want your first fire means you aren't waiting on the work once it turns cold.