Gas heat that starts with a switch, not a match.

Pricing depends heavily on the unit and the venting work involved. A direct-vent gas insert dropped into an existing masonry fireplace—common in older farmhouses around Nashville and Okawville—typically runs toward the lower end of the market, since the existing chimney does most of the venting work with a stainless liner added. A new built-in gas fireplace for a remodel or new construction, with framing and a fresh gas line run, costs more. Rural properties that need a new propane tank set and line run from the tank to the house will land on the higher end. A local hearth retailer can give you a firm number after an in-home look at your space.

Yes, and it's one of the most common upgrades in the county's older housing stock. A gas insert fits into your existing masonry fireplace and vents through the same chimney with a liner added, so you keep the look of the original hearth while gaining instant, consistent heat. Homes already on natural gas in town—Nashville, Okawville, Ashley—usually have an easier path, since a gas line may already be nearby. Rural farmhouses on propane can still convert, but expect the quote to include running a line from the tank to the fireplace location.

Either works, and which one you use mostly comes down to where you live in Washington County. Inside Nashville, Okawville, and the county's other incorporated towns, natural gas service is common, and if you already have a gas water heater or furnace, adding a fireplace is straightforward. Out on the farm roads and rural addresses, propane is the standard—either an existing tank or a new one set by a local propane supplier. Nearly every gas fireplace on the market can be configured for either fuel; your installer sets the correct orifice and regulator for whichever you have.

Most will, as long as you pick the right ignition system. Units with IPI (intermittent pilot ignition) run on a small battery backup that kicks in the moment the power drops, so the fireplace lights on demand just like normal—worth remembering to check those batteries once a year. Valor fireplaces take it a step further: their pilot generates its own electricity through the thermocouple, so there's no battery to maintain at all. For a farm county where ice storms can knock power out for a day or more, that kind of self-sufficiency is worth asking about when you're comparing units with a local dealer.

A gas fireplace is a fully built-in unit framed into a wall—the right call for new construction or a full remodel. A gas insert is built to slide into an existing masonry fireplace opening, turning a drafty old hearth into a sealed, efficient heat source that still uses your chimney to vent. A gas stove is a freestanding cabinet-style unit that sits on the floor, similar in footprint to a wood stove but running on gas. For the older farmhouses and in-town homes common across Washington County that already have a masonry fireplace, an insert is usually the simplest and most cost-effective option.

Yes—a building permit is required for a new gas fireplace installation, and any new or modified gas line needs to be run by a licensed gas-fitter, whether you're inside Nashville's town limits or out in the unincorporated county. Most hearth retailers who sell and install gas fireplaces coordinate the permitting and the gas-fitter as part of the job, so you're not stuck lining up separate trades yourself. It's worth confirming with your installer up front which permits their quote already includes.

Vented (direct-vent) gas fireplaces pull combustion air from outside and exhaust the byproducts back outside through a sealed pipe—they're the cleanest and most universally code-compliant option. Vent-free units burn gas directly into the room with no outside venting; they're legal in Illinois but come with strict room-size and ventilation requirements, plus an oxygen depletion sensor as a safety measure. For most Washington County homes, a direct-vent unit is the more common and more broadly recommended choice—it delivers real heat without any tradeoff on indoor air quality. Ask a local retailer to walk you through both if you're deciding between them.

Plan on an annual inspection, ideally before the first cold snap each fall. A technician will check the burner, pilot assembly, venting, and gas connections, and clean the glass and interior—a much smaller job than sweeping a wood chimney, but just as important for safe operation. Most gas service providers in the region charge somewhere in the $150 to $250 range for a standard annual visit.

Wood is deep-rooted in Washington County's farm heritage—plenty of homes still burn oak, hickory, walnut, or maple cut from their own woodlots, and a wood stove keeps working with zero electricity during an outage. Gas trades that self-sufficiency for convenience: instant on-off heat, no hauling or stacking, and a cleaner look with no ash or soot. If you already burn wood for backup heat or tradition, gas in your main living space is a common pairing rather than a replacement. If you're weighing one fuel for a single fireplace, the choice usually comes down to whether you want the ritual of tending a fire or the ease of flipping a switch.

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.

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.

Yes—by creating a comfort zone. A furnace heats every square foot of the house just to warm the one room you're in; a gas fireplace on low burns roughly a sixth of the gas a typical furnace does. Set the furnace around 55–60 degrees as a baseline, then heat the rooms your family actually uses. Families who heat this way commonly save $20–$60 a month.

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.