Steady, on-demand heat for Chicago-suburb winters in Lombard.

Most Lombard installations run in the $3,500 to $9,000 range, with the biggest cost driver being whether you're inserting into an existing masonry fireplace (common in the older homes near downtown Lombard) or building out venting for a new addition. A gas insert into a working chimney with gas service already run to the house sits toward the lower end. A new direct-vent fireplace built into a family-room addition, with a fresh gas line and venting through an exterior wall, lands toward the top. Get a firm number from a local dealer once they've seen your fireplace opening and gas meter location.

Yes, and it's one of the most common projects in Lombard, since many of the ranch and colonial homes built through the 1950s-70s came with a wood-burning masonry fireplace originally designed to burn local oak, hickory, or maple. Most owners today aren't stacking firewood in a Lombard backyard, so a gas insert with a stainless liner run through the existing chimney is a straightforward retrofit—usually $4,000 to $8,000 depending on chimney condition and whether a Nicor Gas line already reaches the fireplace wall.

Nearly every home in Lombard has natural gas service through Nicor Gas, so propane is rarely necessary here—it's mostly a fallback for the handful of unincorporated pockets on DuPage County's edges that haven't been annexed. If your water heater or furnace already runs on gas, adding a fireplace is usually a matter of tapping an existing line rather than starting gas service from scratch.

Most will, and it's worth checking before you buy, since ComEd service in DuPage County can go down during the ice storms and high winds that roll through the Lombard area most winters. Units with IPI (intermittent pilot ignition) run their igniter and blower off a AA battery backup that kicks in automatically. Valor fireplaces skip the battery altogether—their pilot's thermocouple generates its own electricity. If you want a fireplace that doubles as backup heat during a multi-day outage, ask your local dealer specifically about the ignition system before you settle on a model.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit, typically framed into a wall during new construction or a room addition. A gas insert fits into an existing masonry firebox—the more common upgrade in Lombard's older housing stock near downtown, where the original wood-burning fireplace is still standing. A gas stove is freestanding on a hearth pad, which works well in a finished basement or a newer townhome that never had a fireplace chase built in. For most Lombard homeowners with an existing brick fireplace, an insert is the simplest and least invasive option.

Yes. You'll need a building permit through the Village of Lombard Building Division, plus a separate gas line permit since any new gas piping has to be run by a licensed fitter and inspected. Most established hearth dealers in the DuPage County area handle both permits and the final inspection as part of the installation, so you're not coordinating separate trades yourself.

Direct-vent units, which draw combustion air from outside and exhaust gases through sealed venting, are the standard recommendation for Lombard homes and are code-compliant everywhere in Illinois. Vent-free units are legal in many jurisdictions but come with strict room-size and ventilation requirements, and most local dealers steer homeowners toward direct-vent for the cleaner combustion and lower maintenance, even though Lombard doesn't have any air quality restrictions that would rule vent-free out outright.

Plan on an annual inspection, ideally in September or October before the coldest DuPage County stretch sets in. A technician checks the burner, pilot assembly, gas connections, and venting, and cleans the glass—usually a $150 to $250 visit. It's a much lighter lift than a wood chimney sweep, but skipping it on a unit that runs daily through a Lombard winter is how you end up with an ignition failure on the night you need it most.

Gas wins on real heat output and is the better choice if you want a fireplace that can meaningfully offset your furnace use through Lombard's long, demanding winter heating season. Electric fireplaces, running on ComEd power at around 13.4 cents per kWh, don't need venting or gas line work at all, which makes them the practical choice for condos and townhomes in Lombard where running a flue isn't an option, or for anyone who just wants ambiance and light supplemental heat in a single room. Given how little firewood actually gets burned in town despite the oak and hickory in the surrounding forest preserves, most Lombard households end up choosing between gas and electric rather than wood.

Yes—with an asterisk. Fireplaces are hot and TVs don't like heat. Either put a mantel between them to deflect rising warmth, or choose a fireplace with heat-management technology that creates a cool zone on the wall above—the wall stays around 125 degrees, barely warm, while the room still gets full heat. If you like clean lines and don't want a mantel, heat management is the answer.

Open fireplaces suck—literally. As the fire burns, it consumes air your furnace already paid to heat and pulls it out through the chimney, so the house is actually colder after the fire goes out than before you lit it. An insert fixes this: it seals the chimney, puts fixed glass across the front, and turns that hole in your house into a real heat source.

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.

For an average home—covering the fireplace, the vent pipe, and basic installation—a budget between $3,900 and $5,500 gives you a lot of options across wood, gas, and pellet. By the time you add finish work, gas line, and electrical, the average complete installation lands between $5,000 and $12,000 all-in. In a remodel or new build, a good rule is to put about 2.5% of the total project cost toward the fireplace.