Adding Gas Fireplace on Existing Interior Wall

[chicagomike]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting on here so I appreciate any help that can be provided.

I am looking at purchasing a new home. It does not currently have a fireplace in it but has a large living room with high ceilings so I would like to add a floor to ceiling stone gas fireplace (see attached picture). The wall I want to put it on is an interior wall. On the other wide of the wall are a bedroom and a finished basement. Directly below the fireplace though is an unfinished basement.

My question is how big of a project (time, $$) would it be to add a gas fireplace (preferably vented instead of vent free). I am assuming I would need to vent up through the roof since it is not on an exterior wall.

I am just trying to gauge what I am getting myself into.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Jcavhs]

I'm not an expert, but I think you might just be able to vent out the exterior wall. I have a similar set up in my condo with a fireplace on an interior wall near an exterior wall. I had an existing fireplace with gas log set and one company I talked to suggested venting out the wall and sealing up the existing chimney. We ended up not doing it that way due to an odd configuration of the wall but it would be something to talk to someone about. You would also want to make sure that the room would allow enough clearance around the fireplace for safety. Obviously there are more experts here that can give you a more certain answer, but a quick call to a local fireplace dealer would likely also get you the info you need. I'm including a photo of what I did and if not for the angle of the wall they would have done a vent through the wall rather than up through the chimney.

 

[Tech Guru]

The set up looks like you could run up, and then ninety and go horizontally out of the wall (depending on any soffit/overhang of the roof), but that would involve having to bulk head around the horizontal vent. For aesthetic reasons, you may be right in going with a through the roof approach. plus that way there is less likelihood of anything getting in your way with regards to a vent termination clearance.