Steady heat for Riverview's damp Fundy winters.

Installations here typically run $6,000 to $15,000 CAD. A direct-vent insert dropping into an existing masonry firebox in one of Riverview's older homes near Hillsborough Road or West Riverview, with a gas line already nearby, lands toward the low end. A new built-in unit for an addition or renovation—especially one needing a line extension from Liberty Utilities (Gas NB)—runs toward the top of that range once venting and gasfitter labour are factored in.

Yes, and it's a common project in Riverview's older stock of homes, many of which still have a masonry firebox originally built to burn sugar maple or yellow birch. A gas insert typically slides into that existing firebox with a liner run up the current chimney, and most homeowners land in the $6,000-$9,500 range depending on whether a new gas line has to be run from the street. It also sidesteps the WETT inspection insurers often require for solid-fuel appliances, since gas inserts fall under a different code path.

Liberty Utilities (Gas NB) serves a real portion of the Riverview-Moncton corridor, but coverage isn't universal—some streets on the outer edges of Riverview and further into the Albert region sit outside the distribution network. If your address isn't served, propane with a tank set is the standard fallback, and most gas fireplace models a local dealer carries can be configured for either fuel.

Most will, which matters given how often nor'easters and ice storms off the Bay of Fundy knock out power in this area. Units with intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) run on AA battery backup that kicks in automatically when the power drops. Valor units skip the battery altogether since their pilot's thermocouple generates its own current. If outage resilience matters to you, ask your dealer which ignition system is on any model you're considering.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit framed into a wall, typical in new construction or a full renovation. A gas insert fits inside an existing masonry firebox, which is the common route in Riverview's older neighbourhoods where homes originally had a wood-burning fireplace for sugar maple or red maple cordwood. A gas stove is freestanding on a hearth pad, similar footprint to a wood stove but tied to a gas line or propane tank instead of a woodpile. For most existing Riverview homes, an insert is the least disruptive route.

Yes. You'll pull a building permit through the municipal building department, and the gas connection itself has to be done by a licensed gasfitter working to the CSA B149.1 gas code. Most local hearth dealers who install in Riverview coordinate both the permit and the gasfitter portion of the job as part of the quote, so you're not managing two separate trades.

Direct-vent is effectively the standard here—unvented gas appliances aren't approved for the kind of daily, all-winter use most Riverview homeowners want out of a fireplace under the code your municipal building department enforces. A direct-vent unit pulls combustion air from outside and exhausts it back outside through sealed venting, which is also the safer choice for a tightly sealed, well-insulated home built for a long heating season.

Plan on an annual check, ideally in September or October before the first real cold snap rather than mid-winter when technicians are booked solid across the Moncton area. A technician checks the burner, pilot assembly, gas connections, and venting, and cleans the glass—usually $150-$250 CAD for a standard visit. Skipping it on a unit running most days through a five-month-plus heating season is how an ignition problem shows up on the coldest night of the year.

Wood still has a real place here—New Brunswick's cutting permits through DNRED run about $6.10 per cubic metre, with a household allowed up to 14 cubic metres a year for roughly $85 total, and sugar maple or yellow birch split from your own woodlot is hard to beat on cost. But wood needs splitting, stacking, and an annual WETT inspection for insurance, and it won't help if you're not home to feed it. Gas wins on convenience and consistency—no chimney to sweep, heat on demand, and, with the right ignition system, it keeps running through an NB Power outage. A lot of Riverview households end up running gas as the primary living-room heat source and keeping a wood stove elsewhere as backup.

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.

Ask three questions: Is it ugly? Is it drafty? Does it actually work? Most old fireplaces fail at least two. Beyond looks, an old unit leaks air around the damper year-round and—if it's gas with a standing pilot—quietly burns a couple hundred dollars a year. A modern replacement seals the wall, heats the room, and changes how the whole space gets used.

In most jurisdictions, yes—fireplace and stove installations involve venting, clearances, and often gas or electrical work that gets permitted and inspected. That's a feature, not a hassle: the inspection protects your family and your homeowner's insurance. A professional installer pulls the permit, installs to code, and stands behind the inspection. If someone suggests skipping it, keep looking.