Keep Your Family Warm and Safe—No Matter What

For most Margate homes, no—not as a heat source. With an average winter low of 58°F and only about 138 heating degree days a year, a wood stove or fireplace won't meaningfully lower your electric bill or replace your Florida Power & Light-run HVAC system. Where it does make sense is ambiance: a masonry fireplace as a focal point for the handful of cool evenings each winter, or a decorative centerpiece in a family room. If heat output matters to you, most local hearth dealers will steer you toward a gas or electric unit instead, both of which are common and well-supported in Broward County.

Because wood-burning installations are uncommon this far south, pricing varies more than it would in a market with steady demand. A freestanding wood stove with Class A chimney venting typically runs $4,000 to $8,000 once masonry or through-roof chimney work is factored in—similar to costs elsewhere—but budget extra time to find an installer who does this regularly. Many Broward County hearth companies focus almost entirely on gas and electric units, so it's worth confirming a dealer has actually pulled a permit for a wood installation recently before you commit.

Unlike wood-heating regions out west, South Florida has no public-land cutting permits or national forest firewood program near Margate—Broward County is urbanized coastal plain, not timberland. Firewood sold locally, typically oak or pine, is almost always trucked in from suppliers in north Florida or south Georgia and sold by the rick or half-cord rather than the full cord. Prices run higher than in wood-heating states because of the transport distance, so plan on paying more than you'd see in, say, the Florida Panhandle.

Yes. Any new wood-burning fireplace or stove installation requires a building permit through the City of Margate Building Department, following the Florida Building Code, and factory-built stoves or inserts need to meet current EPA emissions standards. Margate has no wintertime air-quality burn restrictions like you'd find in a smoke-prone mountain valley—Broward County doesn't see the kind of winter inversion issues that trigger curtailment periods elsewhere—but the permit and inspection process still applies.

A factory-built or masonry wood-burning fireplace is typically open-fronted and built for ambiance rather than heat efficiency—common in Margate homes built before the 1990s. A wood stove is a sealed, more efficient appliance that can actually throw real heat, which matters less here given the mild winters. For a South Florida home, most owners lean toward keeping or restoring an existing masonry fireplace for looks rather than adding a new high-efficiency stove designed for cold-climate heat loads.

If the goal is a handful of fires a year rather than daily heat, a traditional masonry or factory-built wood-burning fireplace with a simple damper and spark screen is usually enough—you don't need the long-burn-time catalytic stoves that cold-climate homes rely on for overnight heat. Some Margate homeowners instead retrofit a gas log set into an existing wood fireplace, which gets the visual of a fire without storing firewood in a humid climate where it can mold or attract pests.

Even a fireplace that's lit only a handful of times a year should get an annual inspection—South Florida's humidity accelerates mortar deterioration, and creosote can mix with moisture to form a more corrosive buildup than in drier climates. Chimneys here are also more prone to nesting birds, palmetto bugs, and other pests moving in during the many months the fireplace sits unused. A CSIA-certified sweep can check for animal intrusion and moisture damage at the same visit.

Since wood-burning installations are a small slice of the Broward County hearth market compared to gas and electric, ask specifically whether a dealer has handled a wood stove or fireplace permit in the last year or two—not just whether wood units are listed on their showroom floor. A local dealer who's comfortable with masonry chimney work and Florida Building Code permitting is what you want, even if most of their daily business is direct-vent gas fireplaces.

Given Margate's roughly 138 heating degree days and 58°F average winter low, gas and electric fireplaces are the more practical choice for most homeowners—both are considered standard here and are well-supported by local dealers and by Florida Power & Light's grid at about 13.7 cents per kWh. A gas fireplace or log set gives instant ambiance at the flip of a switch, and an electric insert can go into almost any room without venting at all. Wood only makes sense if you specifically want the smell and sound of a real fire, have an existing masonry fireplace to work with, or are restoring a historic home where authenticity matters more than heat output.

An insert does two things: it seals the chimney completely, so you stop losing air you already paid to heat, and it radiates warmth into the room through the firebox and glass. Most add a heat-exchange fan that pulls cool room air underneath, wraps it around the hot firebox, and pushes it back out warm. Your home is more efficient before you've even lit the first fire.

An insert is a fireplace that slides into a pre-existing wood-burning fireplace—if you don't have one, there's nothing to insert it into. A zero-clearance fireplace is built into a framed wall, which makes it the answer for remodels and new construction. Simple test: existing masonry fireplace means insert; blank or framed wall means zero-clearance.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.

It's a visit where a hearth professional measures your space, confirms the model you picked actually works in your home, and walks the specs—framing, gas line, venting, finish work—before anything is ordered. Some details you just can't know until you see the house. Never make a down payment without one; it's the single most-skipped step that burns buyers.