Steady, on-demand heat for Westmorland winters that settle near -13°C.

Installed gas fireplace projects here typically run $6,000 to $15,000 CAD. The lower end covers a direct-vent insert going into an existing masonry firebox with a gas line already nearby, which describes a lot of the older housing stock around Centennial Place. The higher end is for a new built-in unit in an addition or renovation, where the gas-fitter has to run new line and the installer builds fresh venting through a wall or roof. Homes outside the Liberty Utilities Gas NB footprint that need a propane tank set should budget toward the top of that range or slightly past it.

Liberty Utilities' Gas NB service runs along the Saint John-to-Moncton corridor, and Centennial Place sits inside that service area, so a good number of addresses here can tie a fireplace into the existing gas meter. That said, coverage isn't universal street by street, and some newer subdivisions or outlying lots are still propane territory. Your dealer can confirm which side of that line your address falls on before recommending a specific unit, since the same fireplace models generally run on either fuel with the right orifice kit.

Yes, and it's a common upgrade in Westmorland homes built with a sugar maple or yellow birch wood stove decades ago that the current owners would rather not split, haul, and clean up after. A gas insert typically drops into the existing masonry firebox with a liner run up the current chimney, usually landing between $6,000 and $10,000 depending on natural gas versus propane. If you're keeping a wood appliance elsewhere in the house as backup, note that it still needs to meet CSA B365 and generally needs a WETT inspection for insurance, even after the main fireplace goes gas.

Yes. The municipal building department handles the local building permit, and the gas connection itself has to be done by a licensed gas-fitter working to New Brunswick's gas code, separate from the structural permit. Most dealers who install in the Westmorland region are set up to pull both and schedule the final inspection, so you're not coordinating two trades and two permits on your own.

Most direct-vent models will, and that matters here since Maritime winter storms are a regular reason NB Power customers lose electricity for a stretch. Units with intermittent pilot ignition run their control board off AA batteries that kick in automatically when the grid drops. A handful of models, including some Valor fireplaces, skip batteries entirely because the pilot's thermocouple generates its own current. Ask your dealer which ignition system is on any unit you're considering if outage backup is a priority for you.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit framed into a wall, which suits new construction or a full renovation. A gas insert fits into an existing masonry firebox, the common route in older Centennial Place and Moncton-area homes that originally burned red maple or white spruce and still have a working chimney chase. A gas stove is freestanding on a hearth pad, similar in footprint to a wood stove but running off a gas line or propane tank instead of cordwood. For most existing houses in this area, an insert is the least disruptive of the three.

Direct-vent units draw combustion air from outside and exhaust it back outside through sealed pipe, and they're the standard, code-compliant choice for daily use across New Brunswick. Vent-free units burn into the room air and come with strict room-size limits. Given how long the heating season runs in Westmorland, most local dealers steer homeowners toward direct-vent for a fireplace that's going to see regular daily use through a five- or six-month stretch of cold.

Plan on an annual check, ideally in late summer or early fall before the first cold snap rather than mid-winter when technicians are booked solid across Westmorland. A service visit covers the burner, pilot assembly, gas connections, and venting, plus a glass cleaning. It's a lighter job than a wood chimney sweep, but on a unit that's running daily through a New Brunswick winter, skipping it is how an ignition fault shows up on the coldest night of the year. Budget roughly $150-$250 for a standard visit.

Wood, cut from sugar maple or yellow birch under New Brunswick's household permit at about $6.10 per cubic metre, keeps working with no electricity and stays the cheapest fuel by far if you're willing to split and stack it. Pellet stoves from regional producers like Groupe Savoie or Shaw Resources, running $400-$575 a tonne, are a cleaner-burning middle ground but need power for the auger and blower. Gas wins on convenience: no wood to haul, no ash to clean, and heat within seconds of flipping a switch. A lot of Westmorland households end up running gas in the main living space and keeping a wood stove elsewhere in the house for backup during an extended outage.

Most modern gas fireplaces can—turn it on and off from the couch with a remote, or set a room temperature and let the fireplace hold the comfort zone for you. If low maintenance matters to your family, this is the feature set that makes gas the convenience pick over wood and pellet.

Because a fireplace is an iceberg—there's more behind the wall than in front of it. A low quote often covers only the unit; the full scope includes vent pipe, gas line or electrical, framing, and the tile or stone that has to come off and go back on. Make every bidder price the whole job. If a dealer can't speak to the full scope with confidence, that's your signal to keep looking.

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—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.