Trading Firewood for Gas Logs in North Canton Homes

Is the Switch From Wood Worth It?

Wood fires are wonderful when you have the time. Most people who call us have simply stopped making the time. Buying or splitting wood, keeping it dry, building the fire, waiting for it to die down before bed and hauling ash in the morning add up. Gas logs remove every one of those steps.

What you give up is the crackle, the smell and, with vented logs, much of the heat. If you love tending a fire, keep the wood. If the fireplace has turned into a decoration, conversion usually pays off in use alone.

• Light it in seconds with a key, switch or remote
• No wood storage, bugs or bark on the floor
• No ash pile and far less creosote in the flue
• Shut it off instantly when you leave the room or go to bed

Ranch and Split-Level Fireplaces We Commonly See

North Canton's mid-century ranches often have a wide, low brick fireplace on an outside wall, with a basement directly below. Split-levels frequently put the fireplace in a lower-level family room, sometimes with a second flue serving the furnace in the same chimney. Each layout affects where the gas line enters and how the damper is handled.

In a lower-level family room, the chimney is taller, which usually helps a vented set draw well. In a wide, shallow ranch fireplace, we pay attention to depth: a set that is too deep will push flame toward the opening and soot the face brick. We measure front width, rear width and depth so the log set and burner pan fit with room to spare.

Controls That Make the Fire Easy to Use

If convenience is the reason you are converting, the control system deserves as much thought as the logs. A plain match-lit set with a key valve is the simplest and least expensive to maintain, but you will be kneeling with a long lighter each time.

A safety-pilot set keeps a small standing pilot that lights the main burner when you turn the valve. Many of these can be paired with a wall switch or a handheld remote, and some remotes add flame height adjustment and a thermostat mode. Because a thermopile pilot generates its own small current, these systems keep working when the power goes out.

Where the shutoff goes

Even with a remote, you need a manual shutoff valve that can be reached without reaching into the firebox. On match-lit sets the key valve does that job. On safety-pilot sets we place an accessible shutoff on the supply line, often behind a decorative access panel in the hearth or just below in the basement.

Getting the Firebox Ready for Gas

Before the install, have the chimney swept so leftover creosote from years of wood fires is gone. Remove the old grate, andirons and any ash. If you have glass doors, keep them; we will check whether the log maker allows them and how they must be positioned while burning.

We install a damper clamp for vented sets so the flue cannot be closed while gas is available, run a branch from the basement piping up to the firebox, and set the burner. If the house has older gas pipe or the run is long, our North Canton gas piping service covers that work. Homes on a tank can use our propane line installation instead.

When a Different Upgrade Makes More Sense

If the room is cold and you want the fireplace to really heat it, a sealed gas fireplace insert may be a better investment than logs. If your brick is in poor shape, repairs should come first. For a broader look at log types and options across the county, visit our Stark County gas log page.