Fireplaces in Vancouver WA

Tri-Tech sells, installs and services fireplaces across Clark and Cowlitz Counties — and because we also do the gas piping and the venting, the whole job is one contractor. Browse the full catalog, or read on if you are still deciding what kind you want.

The four ways a fireplace goes in

• Insert — slides into an existing masonry fireplace, turning a heat-losing hole in the wall into a heat source
• Built-in — framed into a wall where no fireplace existed before
• Freestanding stove — sits on the floor, vents through the wall or roof
• Gas log set — the look of a wood fire in an existing fireplace, with far less work

Gas, wood or electric

Gas is what most of our customers choose: instant, controllable, and with a direct vent system it needs no chimney at all. Wood is still the real thing for people who want it, and we handle the venting and clearances properly. Electric needs no gas line, no venting and no permit in most cases — it plugs into a standard outlet, and the heat is optional, so it works year round.

What happens in a power cut

Worth knowing before you choose. A gas fireplace with a standing pilot keeps working. Many with electronic ignition have battery backup — typically a pair of D cells or four AAs — and keep working too. An electric fireplace does not.

Converting a wood fireplace to gas

One of the more common jobs we do. There are three routes depending on the fireplace and what you want from it, and the right one depends on the existing chimney, the clearances, and where the gas line can run. A technician can tell you in one visit.

Brands we carry

Heat & Glo, Heatilator, SimpliFire and Outdoor Lifestyles — all from Hearth & Home Technologies. Sixty-four models across gas, wood and electric, including outdoor fireplaces. See the catalog.

Service and maintenance

A gas fireplace needs annual service the same way a furnace does — the burner, the venting, the glass, the ignition. Before first use each heating season is the right time. See gas fireplace repair and service for what a service visit covers.

Are your ducts the problem?

Contact Tri-Tech Heating, Inc. to schedule repair or annual service.

Browse the catalog

Tri-Tech’s fireplace line comes from Hearth & Home Technologies, and the catalog on our site is their live product feed rather than a page someone has to remember to update. Four brands, around 64 models:

• Heat & Glo — gas and wood fireplaces, gas inserts, freestanding gas
• Heatilator — gas and wood fireplaces, gas log sets
• SimpliFire — electric fireplaces and electric inserts
• Outdoor Lifestyles — outdoor gas and wood fireplaces

Gas makes up the bulk of the range, then electric and wood. By type: built-in fireplaces, inserts for an existing masonry opening, freestanding units, outdoor fireplaces and gas log sets — traditional and linear styles, in single-sided, see-through and multi-sided configurations.

Fireplace, insert, or log set?

• Built-in fireplace. A complete unit framed into a wall. The option when there is no existing fireplace, or when the old one is coming out.
• Insert. Fits into an existing masonry opening and turns a drafty original into something that actually produces heat. Usually the answer in an older Vancouver home.
• Gas log set. The simplest change to an existing fireplace. Looks the part; produces the least heat of the three.
• Freestanding. Stands on the floor and radiates from all sides, so it heats a room well without needing a wall built around it.
• Electric. No gas, no venting, no chimney. Where a gas run or a flue is impractical, this is often what makes the project possible at all.

What a fireplace installation involves

More than setting a unit in place, which is why it starts with someone looking at the space:

1. Site visit. Where it goes, what is behind the wall, and what clearances the unit needs.
2. Gas supply. A new fireplace is another appliance on the system. Whether the existing gas piping can feed it is part of the answer, not an afterthought.
3. Venting. Direct vent, B-vent and a lined chimney are different systems with different requirements. See venting.
4. Permit and inspection. Pulled by us.
5. Install, commission and demonstrate. Including how to run it, because most service calls in the first year are operation rather than fault.

Fireplace repair

For an existing unit that will not light, will not stay lit, smells, or has a pilot that keeps dropping out, see fireplace repair. If you smell gas, leave the building and follow the emergency steps on our gas piping page before calling anyone else.

Related work

A fireplace touches two other systems: gas piping for supply and venting for exhaust. For whole-house heat rather than room heat, see furnace installation or heat pump installation.

Where we work

Vancouver, Salmon Creek and Camas, and across Clark and Cowlitz Counties — including Woodland, Kalama, Longview, Battle Ground, Hockinson and Ridgefield. If you are just outside that, call and ask; the office will tell you straight.

Licensed, insured and guaranteed

• HVAC license #TRITEHI952LL
• CCB license #161426
• N.A.T.E. certified technicians
• Licensed and insured
• We guarantee our work 100%
• Financing available through Synchrony, subject to application

Fireplace questions we get

Can you put a fireplace where there is no chimney?

Usually yes. Direct-vent gas units vent through a wall rather than up a chimney, and electric units need no venting at all.

Will an insert actually heat the room?

Considerably better than the open masonry fireplace it replaces, which sends most of its heat up the flue and pulls warm room air with it.

Can I see prices or specifications on the site?

The catalog shows the range; dimensions, output and venting requirements come from the manufacturer for the specific model, and the fit depends on your space. That is what the site visit is for. Estimates on new installations are free.

Do you service fireplaces you did not install?

Yes.

How often should a gas fireplace be serviced?

Annually is sensible for anything that burns fuel indoors, and it is the cheapest way to avoid discovering a problem on the first cold evening of the year.

Talk to someone about a fireplace

Call (360) 891-2002. The office is open Monday to Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm. Emergency service is answered 24/7 on the same number. You can also send us your details and we will call you back.