Push-button heat for Ottawa Region winters that average -14.8°C.

Typical installs run $6,000 to $15,000 CAD. An insert dropping into an existing masonry firebox with an Enbridge Gas line already nearby sits toward the low end—common in the older homes around Stittsville's original village core. A new built-in unit for a renovation or an addition in one of the newer subdivisions like Fairwinds or Poole Creek, where a fresh gas line run and full wall or roof venting are needed, pushes toward the top of that range.

Yes, and it's a common upgrade in Stittsville's older village-area homes, many of which have a masonry fireplace originally built to burn local sugar maple or red oak. A gas insert typically slides into the existing firebox with a stainless liner run up the current chimney and ties into the Enbridge Gas line, generally landing in the $6,000-$9,500 range depending on how far the meter is from the fireplace. It also sidesteps the WETT inspection insurers usually ask for on wood-burning appliances.

Enbridge Gas mains reach essentially all of built-out Stittsville, so most addresses in the community can tie a fireplace directly into existing service—if your furnace or stove already runs on gas, adding a fireplace is usually a straightforward branch line. Propane remains the fallback mainly for scattered rural properties out toward Richmond or Carp that sit beyond the Enbridge footprint. A local dealer can confirm which side of that line your address falls on before you commit to a unit.

Most models will, and that matters in a region that's seen its share of ice storms and the 2022 derecho knock out power across the Ottawa Region for days. Units with intermittent pilot ignition run on AA battery backup that kicks in automatically when the power drops. Valor fireplaces skip batteries entirely—the 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 before you buy.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit framed into a wall, the standard choice in new construction or a full renovation. A gas insert fits inside an existing masonry firebox, which is the common retrofit in Stittsville's older homes that started out burning cordwood. A gas stove is freestanding on a hearth pad, similar in footprint to a wood stove but running off a gas line instead of split maple or oak. For most existing homes here, an insert is the least disruptive route.

Yes. Stittsville falls under the City of Ottawa's building department, so you'll need a building permit for the installation, and the gas connection itself must be done by a TSSA-licensed gas fitter under Ontario's Technical Standards and Safety Authority rules. Most hearth dealers who install in the Ottawa Region handle both the permit paperwork and the gas-fitter coordination as part of the job, so you're not managing two separate approvals yourself.

Direct-vent units pull combustion air from outside and exhaust it back outside through sealed venting, and they're the standard approved for continuous residential use across Ontario, including Stittsville. True vent-free gas fireplaces are rarely approved for full-time heating under Ontario Building Code and TSSA rules, so most local dealers won't even stock them for a primary living space install. If a unit you're looking at is marketed as vent-free, confirm with your dealer that it's actually code-compliant for a permanent Stittsville installation before you order it.

Plan on an annual check, ideally in late summer or early fall before the first real cold snap rather than in January when TSSA-licensed technicians across the Ottawa Region are booked solid. A service visit covers the burner, pilot assembly, gas connections, and venting, and typically runs $150-$250 CAD. Skipping it on a unit that runs daily through a five-month Stittsville heating season is how an ignition problem tends to show up on the coldest night of the year.

Wood still has real appeal in the Ottawa Region, where sugar maple, red oak, white ash, and yellow birch are plentiful and households can cut up to 10 cubic metres free each year on managed Crown land through the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. But a wood appliance typically needs a WETT inspection for insurance and must meet CSA B365 installation code, while a gas fireplace tied into the Enbridge Gas network starts instantly with a remote and skips the splitting, stacking, and chimney sweeping. Most Stittsville homeowners lean gas for everyday use in the main living space, with wood, if they keep it, reserved as backup for extended winter power outages.

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.

Two ways, and they're both big. Looks: modern gas fireplaces are realistic enough that it's hard to believe they aren't burning wood. Cost: old units burn a standing pilot year-round (roughly $200 a year), while new ones use pilot-on-demand ignition and modern burners. Add remote controls and thermostat operation, and the day-to-day experience isn't close.

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.