Instant heat for Andrew County's long, cold nights.

A gas fireplace or insert installation in Andrew County typically runs $3,800 to $9,500, depending on the unit, the venting path, and whether you're on natural gas or propane. A direct-vent insert going into an existing masonry fireplace with gas already run to the room sits at the lower end. New construction or a remodel that requires framing, venting through an exterior wall, and a fresh gas line—including a propane tank installation for homes outside Savannah's natural gas footprint—runs toward the higher end. A local dealer will give you a firm number after seeing the space in person.

Yes—it's a common project for the older farmhouses scattered across Andrew County, many of which were built around a wood-burning fireplace decades ago. A gas insert slides into the existing masonry opening and vents through a stainless liner run up your current chimney, so you keep the look of the original hearth. Expect $3,800 to $8,500 depending on whether the home already has a gas line nearby or needs propane tank work. Homes in Savannah with natural gas access tend to land on the lower end; rural properties needing a new propane setup run higher.

Both work fine, and which one you use mostly comes down to where your house sits. Natural gas service covers Savannah and the surrounding built-up area; most of the rest of Andrew County—Rosendale, Bolckow, Fillmore, Amazonia, Whitesville, and the farmland between them—runs on propane, either from 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, which matters in a county where ice storms and summer derechos can take down rural power lines for a day or more. Units with intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) run off a small battery backup that kicks in the moment power drops, so the fireplace lights on demand just like normal. Valor fireplaces skip the battery question entirely—their pilot generates its own electricity through the thermocouple, so there's nothing to remember to replace. Ask your local dealer which ignition system is in the model you're considering.

A gas fireplace is a fully built-in unit framed into a wall—the right call for new construction or a major remodel. A gas insert drops into an existing masonry fireplace opening, which fits a lot of Andrew County's older farmhouse hearths. A gas stove is a freestanding unit that sits on a hearth pad like a wood stove but burns gas instead. Most homeowners here with an existing fireplace go with an insert; new builds or additions without a chimney usually go with a built-in fireplace or a freestanding stove.

Within Savannah city limits, the City of Savannah requires a building permit and gas line permit for new installations. Outside the city, in unincorporated Andrew County, permitting requirements are lighter, but any gas line work still has to be done by a licensed gas-fitter regardless of where you live—that's non-negotiable for safety and insurance purposes. Most hearth dealers who install in the county handle the permit paperwork and gas-fitter coordination as part of the job, so you're not stuck tracking down separate trades.

Vented (direct-vent) fireplaces pull combustion air from outside and exhaust the byproducts back outside through sealed venting—they're the standard choice and code-compliant everywhere. Vent-free units burn without any external venting, releasing some moisture and combustion byproducts into the room, and Missouri allows them as long as you follow room-size and ventilation rules. For most Andrew County homes, direct-vent is the more common and more strongly recommended option—it gives you real heat output without any indoor air quality trade-off. A local dealer can walk you through both if you want to weigh it yourself.

Plan on an annual inspection, ideally before the coldest part of the season sets in. A technician checks the burner, pilot assembly, venting, and gas connections, and cleans the glass and interior—a much smaller job than a wood chimney sweep, but just as important for safety. Local service providers typically charge $150 to $250 for a standard annual visit.

Andrew County has plenty of oak, hickory, walnut, and maple on the creek-bottom timber lots that surround it, and wood heat has deep roots here—self-cut firewood is cheap or free if you have access to a woodlot, and a wood stove keeps working with zero electricity during an outage. Gas trades that self-sufficiency for convenience: no splitting, stacking, or ash, instant on-off heat, and a cleaner look with no soot. For folks who commute into St. Joseph for work and want heat that just works when they flip a switch, gas usually wins. For those with land, timber access, and a taste for tending a fire, wood still makes sense—and plenty of local households keep one of each.

If it was installed more than 15 years ago, probably. Older gas fireplaces keep a standing pilot light burning all the time, and that little flame can cost a couple hundred dollars a year. Newer models use pilot-on-demand ignition—the pilot lights only when you use the fireplace and goes out when you turn it off.

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.

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.

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.