Find the right gas fireplace for your Selmer home.

For a propane insert going into an existing masonry fireplace, expect roughly $3,500 to $7,000 depending on the unit and whether a new propane tank is needed versus tying into one you already have. A new built-in direct-vent gas fireplace for a remodel or new construction—including framing, venting, and a fresh propane line—typically runs $4,500 to $9,000. Because most of Selmer isn't on a natural gas main, tank placement and line run length are bigger cost factors here than they'd be in a city with piped gas. A local dealer will give you a firm number after seeing your home.

Most homes in and around Selmer are not on a natural gas main, so propane is the fuel you'll plan around for a gas fireplace. If you already heat your water or cook with propane, adding a fireplace usually just means running a new line off your existing tank. If you don't have propane service yet, your installer coordinates with a local propane supplier to place a tank—buried or above-ground—sized for your fireplace plus any other appliances you might add later. Nearly every gas fireplace model on the market can be configured to run on propane, so fuel availability doesn't limit your options.

Yes, if you choose the right ignition system—and this matters more in McNairy County than in cities with buried power lines, since ice storms here can knock out electricity for a day or two at a time. Units with intermittent pilot ignition (IPI) run on AA batteries and light on demand even with no power, as long as you keep fresh batteries in the unit. Valor fireplaces take it a step further: their pilot generates its own electricity through the thermocouple, so there's no battery to remember at all. Either option keeps at least one room warm during an outage—ask your local dealer which ignition system is on the model you're considering.

Most new gas fireplace installations require a building permit, and any new propane line needs to be run by a licensed gas-fitter—check with the McNairy County building office or Selmer city hall depending on where your property sits, since requirements can differ slightly inside versus outside city limits. In practice, the hearth dealers who handle installs in this area take care of the permitting and coordinate the propane line work as part of the job, so you're not left managing multiple trades yourself.

A gas fireplace is a built-in unit framed into a wall—the right call for new construction or a remodel that doesn't already have a hearth. A gas insert drops into an existing masonry fireplace and uses your current chimney chase as the venting path, which is the common upgrade for Selmer's older brick-fireplace homes. A gas stove is a freestanding unit that sits on a hearth pad like a wood stove but burns propane—a good option for a room with no existing chimney where you still want a stove's footprint and look. Most homeowners here with an existing fireplace end up choosing an insert.

Because Selmer's winters are relatively mild—average lows around 30°F and about a third of the winter heating load you'd see in a colder state—most homes here don't need a fireplace sized to be the primary heat source. A mid-size direct-vent unit in the 20,000 to 30,000 BTU range comfortably heats an open living area or great room as supplemental zone heat, backing up a central heat pump rather than replacing it. Oversizing is the more common mistake locally; a unit sized for a much colder climate will run too hot for a Tennessee living room. A local dealer can size it against your actual square footage.

Plan on an annual inspection, ideally before the first cold snap in November. A technician checks the burner, pilot assembly, propane connections, and glass, and confirms the venting is clear—wasp nests in the exterior vent cap are a real issue in this part of Tennessee during the summer months and can block airflow by fall. Annual service for a direct-vent propane fireplace typically runs $150 to $250 through a local hearth or propane service company.

Vented (direct-vent) units draw combustion air from outside and exhaust it back outside through sealed venting—they're the safer, code-compliant standard and what most Selmer installers recommend by default. Vent-free propane units burn without any outside venting and release some combustion byproducts into the room, so Tennessee allows them but with strict room-sizing and ventilation rules. Vent-free can make sense for a small, hard-to-vent space like an interior den, but for a main living area, a direct-vent unit is almost always the better long-term choice and gives you more model options through local dealers.

Wood is still common around Selmer—oak and hickory split from local timber burn hot and are widely available, and a wood stove keeps working with zero utility connection during an outage. Gas trades that self-sufficiency for convenience: flip a switch, get instant heat, no ash cleanup, no stacking cordwood. Given how mild McNairy County winters run, many homeowners here choose gas for daily comfort in the main living space specifically because they're not depending on it to carry the whole house through a hard winter—a role wood heat plays more often in colder states. If backup power-outage heat matters most to you, ask about IPI or Valor ignition options so gas keeps that advantage too.

An insert does two things: it seals the chimney completely, so you stop losing air you already paid to heat, and it radiates warmth into the room through the firebox and glass. Most add a heat-exchange fan that pulls cool room air underneath, wraps it around the hot firebox, and pushes it back out warm. Your home is more efficient before you've even lit the first fire.

Fireplaces are like icebergs—bigger behind the wall than in front of it. Replacement means removing the surrounding tile or stone (the finish material laps onto the fireplace face), pulling the old unit, setting the new one in the same enclosure, and re-finishing the wall. A hearth professional can determine what's behind your wall without demolition during an in-home preview.

It's a visit where a hearth professional measures your space, confirms the model you picked actually works in your home, and walks the specs—framing, gas line, venting, finish work—before anything is ordered. Some details you just can't know until you see the house. Never make a down payment without one; it's the single most-skipped step that burns buyers.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.