Fireplace installation in brief
Fireplace installation means fitting a fireplace where there wasn't one. That can be a factory-built (prefabricated) unit with its own metal chimney or vent, a site-built masonry fireplace and chimney, or a gas fireplace with its venting and gas supply. The job covers the location, the framing or masonry, the flue or vent run, the damper, roof flashing and the surround, then a check of the draft or burner before first use. We do gas fireplace and gas appliance work and work on all major brands. The full scope is on our fireplace installation service page.
What Glen Ellyn's rules mean for a new fireplace
Three published Village rules shape a new fireplace project in Glen Ellyn. Each one is listed below with its source, along with what it changes about planning the installation.
New fireplaces go through plan review
The Village of Glen Ellyn's 'What Application to Use' guide assigns new interior and new exterior fireplaces to the Small Building Permit with Plan Review (source: Village of Glen Ellyn – What Application to Use). This covers a fireplace added inside the house and one built outside it. Because plans are reviewed, the design should be settled before you apply. That means the type of fireplace, where it sits and how it vents.
Prefabricated and masonry fireplaces both count
The Village of Glen Ellyn's list of work that requires a building permit includes new, enlarged or altered mechanical work, naming prefabricated fireplaces and masonry fireplaces (source: Village of Glen Ellyn – Work That Requires A Building Permit). Choosing a factory-built unit over a masonry build doesn't take the project off that list. The list also covers enlarged or altered work, so ask the Village which application fits if you're changing an existing fireplace rather than adding one.
Keeping vents and metal chimneys off the front roof plane
Glen Ellyn's Historic Preservation Maintenance and Alteration Guidelines say that for new construction, roof hardware such as vents and metal pipe chimneys should not be visible from the front roof plane (source: Village of Glen Ellyn – Historic Preservation Maintenance and Alteration Guidelines). This matters most for prefabricated and gas units, which usually exit through a metal pipe or vent. Where the guidelines apply, the fireplace location and vent route should be chosen so that hardware lands on a side or rear roof slope. Ask the Village whether the guidelines cover your property before the plans are drawn.
Planning a new fireplace around these rules
Estimate visit
We look at the room, the framing or foundation, and the roof, and talk through prefabricated, masonry and gas options. Estimates are free.
Fix the vent route
The chimney or vent path is chosen early, keeping roof hardware off the front roof plane where the historic preservation guidelines apply.
Permit with plan review
The plans for the new interior or exterior fireplace go to the Village under the Small Building Permit with Plan Review.
Installation and first-fire check
Once the permit is issued, the firebox, flue or vent, damper, flashing and surround go in, and the draft or burner is checked before use.
Plan review comes before the build
Because new fireplaces are assigned to a permit with plan review, leave room in your schedule for that review between settling the design and starting work.
When a new fireplace is the right job, and when it isn't
- No fireplace today: a new installation, prefabricated, masonry or gas, is the job.
- An existing masonry fireplace that burns poorly or that you'd rather run on gas: an insert or a conversion inside the existing opening may suit you better than a new build.
- A worn-out factory-built unit: replacing the prefabricated fireplace is usually the right path rather than starting over.
- Deciding how a gas unit should vent: read our guide to direct vent vs ventless gas fireplaces before the estimate.
- A brick chimney with crumbling mortar joints: that calls for chimney tuckpointing in Glen Ellyn, not a new fireplace.
More for homeowners in Glen Ellyn
For the full picture of the job, read how a fireplace installation project runs. Everything else we do in the village is on our Glen Ellyn service area page, and mortar-joint work on existing chimneys is covered under repointing brick chimneys for Glen Ellyn homes. When you're ready, request an estimate.
Sources (1)
The sources of the Glen Ellyn facts on this page.
- 1Village of Glen Ellyn - What Application to Use; Village of Glen Ellyn - Historic Preservation Maintenance and Alteration Guidelines; Village of Glen Ellyn - Work That Requires A Building Permit
