How much does a fireplace remodel cost?

Fireplace remodel cost depends on the scope. A cosmetic refresh (new tile, new mantel, no permits) is the lowest scope. A gas conversion with permits and new surround is mid-scope. A full architectural remodel with new appliance, structural framing, custom built-ins, and premium materials is the highest scope. Prime provides a fixed written estimate after an in-room walkthrough.

Do I need a permit to remodel a fireplace?

A purely cosmetic refresh (new tile, new mantel, no gas or structural work) generally doesn't require a permit. Any work involving the gas appliance requires a mechanical permit and gas piping permit. Structural work requires a building permit in addition. Prime identifies required permits at the design walkthrough and includes permit fees in the written estimate.

How long does a fireplace remodel take?

A cosmetic refresh takes one to three days. A gas appliance conversion with permits is typically one to two weeks including permit processing. A full architectural remodel with custom materials is four to twelve weeks, driven primarily by material lead times and permit processing.

Can I change a wood fireplace to gas as part of a remodel?

Yes — it's one of the most common remodel combinations. The existing masonry firebox becomes the housing for a new gas insert; the existing chimney becomes the liner path; the surround and mantel are updated as part of the remodel scope. Most Eastside masonry fireplaces are strong candidates.

Who does fireplace remodels on the Eastside?

A fireplace remodel requires a contractor who can handle both the gas appliance installation (licensed, permit-pulling) and the finish elements (mantel, surround, hearth). Prime does both — we don't subcontract the gas work and hand off the finish scope to a separate crew. One project, one estimate, one point of contact across Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, and Medina.

Design · Installation · Permitting · Eastside WA

Fireplace remodel.

Most fireplace remodels fail for the same reason: the homeowner starts with Pinterest inspiration and ends up with a contractor who thinks about the appliance and not the room. The fireplace is one element in a wall, and the wall is one element in a room. We start from the room and work backwards to the appliance — because that’s the sequence that produces a result that lasts.

Schedule a design walkthrough

The three scopes of a fireplace remodel

Three remodel levels,
three different projects.

“Fireplace remodel” can mean a new tile face and mantel or a full architectural rebuild. The scope determines the permit requirements, the material lead times, and what the project actually costs. Most homeowners discover which scope they’re actually in after the conversation starts.

Cosmetic refresh

The existing firebox stays. What changes is everything visible: the mantel, the surround tile or stone, the hearth material, sometimes the paint or plaster on the wall above. This scope doesn’t require a permit (no gas work, no structural work), has the shortest timeline, and produces the most immediate visual transformation per dollar. A tired 1990s builder-grade mantel with outdated tile becomes a clean contemporary surround with a floating wood shelf. No appliance change, no venting work.

Gas conversion or appliance upgrade

The existing gas appliance is replaced or the room converts from wood-burning to gas. This scope triggers permits (mechanical permit + gas piping permit in Bellevue and most Eastside cities), involves new venting work, and typically includes a surround update because the new appliance’s proportions rarely match the old one. See: gas insert installation and wood-to-gas conversion for the full process. The permit closes with a City inspection before the unit is commissioned.

Full architectural remodel

The existing firebox format changes: a traditional box fireplace becomes a linear unit in a new wall location, or the fireplace becomes the anchor of a built-in millwork feature wall with flanking cabinetry, display niches, and custom material surfaces. This scope involves structural framing (new firebox opening, new chase or wall cavity), full permit package, material sourcing with real lead times, and design coordination across the appliance, the millwork, and the wall treatment. It’s a project, not a product. It produces the most dramatic room transformation — and it requires the most coordination to land well.

What triggers a permit

Most fireplace remodels
require a permit.

The one scope that doesn’t require a permit is a purely cosmetic refresh — new tile, new mantel, new paint — with no gas work, no structural work, and no change to the appliance. Every other scope triggers one or more permit types in Bellevue and most Eastside cities.

· Gas appliance change triggers a mechanical permit for the new appliance installation and a gas piping permit for the supply connection. Required whether it’s a new-to-gas conversion or a like-for-like appliance swap. Prime pulls both from the correct city jurisdiction before work begins.
· New venting assembly (new direct-vent termination, new chase framing, new liner) is covered by the mechanical permit. The City inspector reviews the venting path and clearances as part of the permit final inspection.
· Structural work — new firebox opening, new chase framing, or wall recessing for a deep linear unit — requires a building permit in addition to the mechanical and gas permits. For full architectural remodels, this is the third permit in the package.
· What a permit means for your remodel. A permit means the City has reviewed the plans, an inspector has walked the install, and the work is documented in the building record for your home. An unpermitted gas appliance or structural firebox modification will surface on home inspection at sale — and the remediation cost is substantially higher than the original permit fees. Prime includes permit fees in every estimate.

How we approach it

Room first.
Appliance second.

Most fireplace remodels that underperform do so because the decision sequence was wrong. The homeowner picked a unit, then designed around it. The right sequence starts with the room.

The room comes first

What does the room need from the fireplace? Is it the primary focal point of the living zone, or is it one element in a connected open plan? Is heat output a real priority, or is it primarily visual? Does the design vocabulary call for minimal and frameless, or warm and architectural? These questions determine the format — insert vs. linear vs. built-in — before any appliance catalog is opened. A written estimate that comes out of a real design conversation is a different thing than one that comes from a phone call.

Then the appliance

Once the format is clear — and the venting path, recessing depth, and surround scope are mapped — the appliance selection is a process of matching the unit to the design intent and the room’s performance requirements. Heat & Glo’s Crave for a wide-format linear with clean glass face. Valor H5 for a compact insert with strong radiant heat. Mendota FullView for a high-output great room unit. The brand conversation follows the room conversation.

Materials with real lead times

For full architectural remodels, the material sourcing timeline drives the project schedule more than the installation labor. Book-matched marble slabs, large-format porcelain tile, custom millwork, and specialty stone have 4–16 week lead times in the PNW market. A well-planned remodel accounts for those timelines at the beginning of the project, not after the install is scheduled. Prime identifies lead-time-sensitive materials in the design walkthrough and factors them into the project timeline in the written estimate.

A fixed number at the end

Prime’s estimate for a fireplace remodel is a fixed number — not a range, not a per-unit price with scope TBD. The estimate shows every line item: the appliance, the venting assembly, the gas line work, the mantel and surround, any structural work, permit fees, and the homeowner walkthrough at closeout. The number in the estimate is the number you pay.

Common questions