On-demand heat for winter nights that average -9.2°C.

Most installs in London run $6,000 to $15,000 CAD. A direct-vent insert going into an existing masonry firebox near an existing gas line—common in older neighbourhoods like Old North and Wortley Village—lands toward the low end. A new built-in unit for a renovation or addition, with fresh gas line runs and venting through a wall or roof, pushes toward the top of that range. Homes past the Enbridge Gas footprint that need a propane tank set instead of a gas line tie-in should budget a bit extra for the tank and fuel line.

Yes, and it's a common request in London's older housing stock—plenty of homes near downtown and in neighbourhoods like Old South were built with masonry fireplaces that burned local sugar maple or red oak for decades. A gas insert typically slides into that existing firebox with a liner run through the current chimney, and because the masonry chase and hearth are already in place, the job usually lands in the lower half of the $6,000-$15,000 range. It also sidesteps the WETT inspection insurers ask for on wood-burning appliances, since gas units fall under a different inspection standard entirely.

It depends on your address. Enbridge Gas covers the great majority of London, so if your furnace or water heater already runs on natural gas, adding a fireplace is usually a straightforward tie-in for a licensed gas fitter. Once you're out past city limits into the more rural stretches of Middlesex, natural gas lines often don't reach, and propane with a tank on the property is the standard fallback. Most gas fireplace models a local dealer carries can be set up for either fuel—the appliance doesn't change, just the orifice and regulator.

Most will, which is worth knowing given how ice storms and high winds off Lake Huron can take down power lines across Middlesex in a bad winter. Units with intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) run their electronics off a battery backup that kicks in automatically. Standing-pilot models, like some Valor lines, don't need a battery at all—the pilot's thermocouple generates its own current. If outage resilience matters to you, ask your dealer which ignition system is on any unit you're considering before you commit.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit framed into a wall, typical in new-build homes and full renovations around London's newer subdivisions. A gas insert fits inside an existing masonry firebox, which is the common route for older homes in areas like Old North that already have a wood-burning fireplace and chimney chase. A gas stove is freestanding on a hearth pad, similar footprint to a wood stove but run off a gas line or a propane tank instead of cordwood. For most existing London homes with a fireplace already in place, an insert is the least disruptive option.

Yes. You'll need a permit through the municipal building department, and the gas connection itself has to be run or signed off by a technician licensed under Ontario's TSSA gas-fitting rules—that's separate from the general building permit. Most hearth dealers who install regularly in London coordinate both pieces and the final inspection as part of the job, so you're not managing two separate approvals on your own.

Not really—vent-free (unvented) gas appliances aren't approved for use under Canadian gas codes the way they sometimes are south of the border, so almost every gas fireplace or insert sold and installed in London is direct-vent. Direct-vent units pull combustion air from outside and exhaust it back outside through sealed venting, which also means there's no debate about indoor air quality or extra ventilation requirements. It's a non-issue here in practice—your dealer will spec direct-vent by default.

Plan on an annual check, ideally in September or early October before the first real cold snap rather than mid-winter when technicians are booked solid. A technician checks the burner, pilot assembly, gas connections, and venting, and cleans the glass—a much lighter job than sweeping a wood chimney, but skipping it on a unit that runs daily through London's five-month heating season is how a pilot or ignition problem shows up on the coldest night in January. Expect roughly $150-$250 CAD for a standard visit.

Wood has real advantages in Middlesex—sugar maple, red oak, white ash, and yellow birch are all abundant locally, cutting permits on Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources managed land are free up to 10 cubic metres a household per year, and a wood stove keeps working without electricity during an outage. But wood also means an annual WETT inspection for insurance, CSA B365 installation requirements, and the ongoing work of splitting, stacking, and sweeping. Gas skips all of that and, with Enbridge Gas reaching most of the city, is usually the simpler choice for a primary living-space fireplace—many London homeowners run gas day to day and keep wood as a backup heat source elsewhere in the house.

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.

Yes—modern gas fireplaces have a battery backup for the ignition system that lasts for weeks, so no power equals no problem. Your furnace can't say that: no electricity, no blower, no heat. It's one of the most common reasons families add a fireplace, and worth confirming on any model you're considering.

Four numbers tell you what fits: the front width, the front height, the back width, and the overall depth of your existing fireplace opening. Grab a tape measure, jot those down, and snap a photo of the wall—those two things do more to move your project forward than anything else you can do today.