Keep Your Family Warm and Safe—No Matter What

It depends on what you want it for. With average winter lows around 33°F and a short, mild heating season, Lithonia doesn't have the sustained cold that makes wood a primary heat source the way it is in the upper Midwest or mountain West. Most homes here rely on electric heat pumps through Georgia Power for day-to-day heating. Where a wood stove or fireplace earns its keep locally is supplemental warmth in a specific room, backup heat if an ice storm takes down power for a few days, or simply the look and feel of a real fire in an older home's existing chimney. A local dealer can help you decide whether that's worth the investment for your specific house.

Costs vary a fair amount depending on the project. Converting an existing masonry fireplace to a wood insert is usually the lower-cost route since the chimney is already in place. A freestanding stove in a room without an existing flue costs more once you factor in Class A chimney pipe and roof penetration. Because wood installs are less common here than gas or electric, pricing isn't as standardized locally—a certified dealer will give you a firm number after seeing your chimney condition and the room you want heated. That's exactly what the free Project Guide & Parts List from Find My Fireplace is built to set up.

Yes, new wood-burning installations typically require a building permit through DeKalb County's permitting office, and the appliance needs to meet current EPA emissions standards. If you're converting an existing masonry fireplace with an insert, the permit process is usually straightforward since you're not adding new structural chimney work. A local, licensed installer will normally pull the permit as part of the job rather than leaving that step to you.

Oak and hickory are the two hardwoods most commonly available in the DeKalb County area, and both burn hot and long once properly seasoned—plan on at least six to twelve months of drying time given Georgia's humidity, since wet wood here causes more creosote buildup than in drier western climates. Pine is common too and works well for kindling or shoulder-season fires, but it burns faster and cooler than oak or hickory, so it's not the best choice if you're relying on the stove for real heat output.

Yes, and this is one of the more practical reasons homeowners here install one. Georgia Power's lines around Lithonia can go down for extended stretches during ice storms, which happen most winters in some form across metro Atlanta. A wood stove with no electronic components keeps working regardless of grid status, which is a meaningful backup even in a climate that doesn't need wood heat every day. If backup power is your main reason for considering wood, tell your local dealer—it affects which stove size and features actually make sense for you.

No—DeKalb County and the Lithonia area don't currently have winter wood-smoke curtailment programs like some western cities with inversion issues. Metro Atlanta does deal with summertime ozone concerns, but that's unrelated to residential wood stove use in colder months. In practical terms, this means you won't run into burn bans on cold nights the way homeowners do in parts of Oregon or California.

For most homes here, gas is the more practical everyday choice—natural gas and propane fireplaces provide instant, consistent heat without the wood handling, and they fit Lithonia's generally mild winters well. Wood tends to make sense for a specific use case: an existing masonry fireplace you want to bring back to life, a desire for backup heat during ice-storm outages, or simply wanting a real fire rather than a flame effect. Plenty of local homes end up with gas as the daily driver and a wood-burning option kept in reserve or used occasionally.

Because DeKalb County isn't near national forest land, there's no Forest Service cutting-permit system to use the way homeowners do out west—firewood here comes from local tree services, landscapers clearing lots, and regional firewood dealers who sell by the rick or cord. Oak and hickory are the most common hardwoods sold locally and are worth seeking out over pine if you want a longer, hotter burn. Ask any wood-burning dealer in the area for a supplier recommendation—most keep a short list of reliable local sellers.

If your home already has a masonry fireplace—common in Lithonia's older housing stock—a wood insert is usually the more sensible choice. It uses the chimney you already have, closes up the heat-losing draft of an open hearth, and dramatically improves how much usable heat you actually get from a fire. A freestanding stove makes more sense in a room without an existing chimney, though that means running new Class A pipe, which adds to the cost. A local dealer can look at your existing fireplace and tell you which option actually works with your chimney.

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.

New wood stoves are 70%+ efficient, so far less heat goes up the flue—which also means less draft to get a fire established. The rule: build a genuinely hot fire for about 45 minutes before you choke it down. Skip that and you get smoke in the room, creosote in the chimney, and a fire that never takes off. Most performance complaints trace straight back to this.

On average, a fireplace adds back to the home about the same amount you spent installing it. Add the monthly savings from heating the rooms you actually use instead of the whole house—often hundreds of dollars a year—and the value case is strong before you even count what a fire does for how your family uses the room.

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.