Fireplace installation in Ventura CA - a vented gas fire that fits your fireplace
Fireplace that looks nice but leaves the room cold? We install a vented gas insert or fireplace that actually warms the space.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What's involved in putting in a fireplace in Ventura?
Fireplace installation in Ventura, CA usually means fitting a gas insert into the fireplace you already have, or putting in a new gas fireplace that vents outside, so the room gets the heat instead of the chimney.
Most people who call have a brick fireplace that looks good and does little, or a room that never had one and they've been meaning to add it. The price turns on what's in the wall now, whether gas already reaches the room, how far the vent has to run to get outside and whether the firebox brick needs work first, and the schedule mostly turns on the permit step and getting the unit in. California's contractor license board counts installing fire brick, the heat-resistant lining of a firebox, as masonry work, and that's the part of this job our masons handle. If the chimney above needs attention, that's chimney repair, and I'll tell you if it should come first. Your estimate writes all of this up, what I'd do and why, so you see your own figure instead of a guess.
How can you tell your fireplace is ready for an upgrade?
Room stays cold by the fire
You light a fire and only feel warm sitting right in front of it, while the rest of the room stays chilly. That usually means most of the heat is heading up the chimney, and every winter you keep buying wood that mostly warms the outside air.
Smoke drifting into the room
A whiff of smoke or a gray film on the mantel usually points to a draft problem or a worn flue, not just a bad log. Left alone, it stains the brick and the walls, and it's worth sorting out before anything new goes in.
Crumbling brick inside the firebox
Cracked fire brick or joints that fall out when you sweep mean years of heat have worn the lining down. Waiting lets the gaps open further, and the repair gets bigger the longer the fireplace stays in use.
How we approach fireplace installation
I start by finding out what kind of fireplace you have now, a masonry one built of brick or a factory-built metal unit, because that decides what can go in. Then we check whether gas already reaches the room and where a vent can get outside, since we stick with gas units that vent outside for the sake of the air in your home. On the day, our crew protects the floor, repairs any firebox brick that needs it, sets the unit, runs the vent, finishes the face around it and cleans up before we leave.
Most fireplace jobs touch the wall around them too. If you want that wall faced in stone, we do stone veneer installation as part of the same job, and if a new fireplace needs a wall built to carry it, or you want matching walls out in the yard, we lay those up as concrete block walls.
Gas insert in a brick fireplace
This suits a house with a masonry fireplace that's in decent shape and that you'd like to use for heat. The insert sits inside the firebox and vents up through the chimney, so the room gets warmth without a new opening in the wall.
New vented gas fireplace
This suits a room that never had a fireplace, or one with an old factory-built unit you'd rather replace than fit. We build the surround, set the unit and vent it outside, then finish the face to match the room.
Fix the wood fireplace and keep it
This suits you if you light a fire a few times a year for the look and don't need the heat. Sometimes that's the better call, and I'd rather repair the firebox brick and joints so it's sound than sell you a unit you won't use.
Get a written fireplace estimate at your house
We reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out, look at your fireplace with you and write up what I'd do and why. The estimate is free and there's no obligation.
(805) 507-9163- Based in
- Ventura, CA 93001
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a fireplace in Ventura?
Here's how a fireplace job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, with me there at each step.
Tell us about your fireplace
Call (805) 507-9163 or send the form, and tell us whether your fireplace is brick or factory-built and whether gas reaches the room. We'll set a time for me to come out.
Look at it together
I come out, look at the fireplace and the wall around it with you, and answer your questions before I write anything up. Ask whatever's on your mind, because I'd rather answer it there than have you guess later.
Get your written estimate
You get a written estimate that says what we'd do and why, with the unit, the vent and any brick repair spelled out so you can see what drives the cost. Once you're ready, we line up any permits and set a start.
Install, check, then walk through
I run the job on site with our crew and check the work as it goes. At the end we walk it together so you see the finished fireplace before we pack up.
Why Ventura homeowners call A&B Ventura Concrete and Masonry for a fireplace
I look at every job myself
I come out to look at every fireplace myself, and I'm on site running the job while our crew of experienced masons does the work. You're talking to the person who decided what goes in, not passing messages along.
In business since 2021
I ran a landscaping business for years, then learned masonry properly under an older mason before starting this company. Five years in, I'd still rather explain a job twice than have you sign off on something you don't follow.
Fully licensed and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, and I'm glad to show you that before any work starts. A fireplace ties into your walls and roof, so you want the people doing it covered.
Older brick is what we know
Brick and mortar repair on older homes is what we're best known for around Ventura, so worn firebox joints and loose brick are familiar ground. We fix that first, because a new unit can't make up for a weak lining behind it.
Getting the unit matched to what's in your wall is most of the job, so it starts with a look. Contact us and tell us what you've got.
Fireplaces, chimneys and stonework in Ventura
Ventura's Permit Services office issues Simple Permits that need no plans and Complex Permits that go through plan review, and the list it publishes names jobs like water heaters and re-roofs but not fireplace installation. That list doesn't settle whether your fireplace needs a permit, so we check with the city, or the county office if that's who covers your address, before we start, then handle the application and set up the inspections when one's needed. The city also keeps a map of High and Very High fire hazard areas, and while nothing we've seen ties it to fireplace work, it's part of what we keep in mind when we ask about your address.
Around Ventura we see plenty of older brick fireplaces with tall chimneys, and the same on jobs in Ojai and Camarillo. National FEMA guidance offers retrofit plans that cut the falling hazard from existing masonry chimneys in an earthquake, though it says they may not prevent damage or collapse, so if yours is old and tall, we'll talk it over before an insert goes in.
Questions about fireplace installation in Ventura
How much does it cost to install a gas fireplace insert in Ventura?
Across the US, installing a gas fireplace insert usually costs about $2,500 to $8,000 per job, materials and labor included. That's a national market figure, not our price, and where your job lands depends on the unit, the vent run and any brick work the firebox needs. When you compare quotes, ask whether each one covers the vent run, since average direct-vent prices include labor and a new vent setup.
Will any fireplace insert fit my existing fireplace?
No, the kind of fireplace you already have limits which inserts can go in. A factory-built fireplace, the metal kind sometimes called zero-clearance, needs an insert designed and tested for that unit. If you're not sure which you have, a photo of the inside of the firebox when you call helps.
Can a gas fireplace run without a vent to the outside?
It can be done, but the EPA doesn't support gas stoves that skip outside venting because of indoor air quality, and some places make installing them illegal. A direct-vent model sends its exhaust out through a side wall or the roof and draws in outside air, so the room's air stays out of it.
Where do I apply for a fireplace permit in Ventura?
Start with the city's Permit Services counter at 501 Poli Street, Room 117, or call it at 805-654-7869. Its list doesn't name fireplace work, as covered above, so ask there about your job, and if your address is outside city limits, ask the county office that covers it. We take it from there when a permit's needed.
What is the best way to get more heat from an old wood fireplace?
Compare inserts, because the EPA calls an open wood-burning fireplace a very inefficient way to heat a home, with drafts pulling warm air up the chimney. For more heat and less smoke, it points owners to gas, pellet or EPA-certified wood inserts, and the ones we install are vented gas.
How do I protect my family from carbon monoxide with a gas fireplace?
Put in a carbon monoxide alarm, since one gas fireplace maker strongly recommends a detector or alarm wherever gas-fired appliances are in use. Whichever unit you choose, read its manual for what that maker asks for.
Other masonry work that goes with a fireplace
Stone veneer installation
Want the wall around a new insert to have a stone face? Veneer gives you that over the existing surround without rebuilding the whole fireplace.
Concrete block walls
If a new fireplace needs a wall built from scratch, or the yard needs one too, a block wall gives it a solid, square base to build on.
Cities we serve around Ventura
A&B Ventura Concrete and Masonry is based in Ventura, CA, and we install fireplaces in the cities around it, including Oxnard and Thousand Oaks. The 12 cities below have their own pages, and if yours isn't listed, call and ask.
Ventura, CA
Book a look at your fireplace
Tell us whether your fireplace is brick or factory-built and whether gas reaches the room, and I'll come out ready with the right questions.