Fireplace installation in Auburn AL - a hearth built around how you use the room
Gathering in a room with no fire? We build a fireplace that suits your fuel, your room and the house it's going into.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What does it take to add a fireplace to an Auburn home?
Fireplace installation in Auburn, AL usually means building in a factory-built fireplace, where the firebox, chimney and roof parts come from the maker and we put them together on site as one unit, then build the hearth and finish the wall around it.
Most people who call us have a room they use every evening and no fire in it, or an old fireplace they quit trusting years ago. The price mostly turns on whether you want gas or wood, whether the room has ever had a fireplace or chimney, how the chimney gets out through the roof and whether you want stone, brick or a plain finish around the opening. The schedule turns on when the unit arrives, any permit paperwork the job needs and how much finish work goes around the firebox, and my estimate lays out what we'll do and why so you can weigh it before anything starts.
How do you know it's time to add a fireplace?
No fire where you gather
If the family room or den is where everyone ends up at night and there's no fireplace in it, that's usually the room worth building one into. Putting it off doesn't cost you much except the cold evenings you'd have spent in front of it.
A remodel with open walls
When the room's already torn back to the framing for other work, that's the easiest time to plan a chimney run and a hearth. Waiting until the drywall and paint are done usually means opening finished walls again and paying for that part twice.
An old firebox you avoid
Smoke that rolls into the room, cracked firebrick or a fireplace nobody's lit in years usually means it was built poorly or has worn past an easy fix. Let me take a look first, because sometimes a repair is all it needs and sometimes a new unit makes more sense.
How we handle fireplace installation
I start by asking what you plan to burn and how the room gets used, because a gas fire for quiet evenings and a wood fire for a full house call for different layouts. Then we pick the spot, build the hearth and any chase, the enclosure the chimney runs up through, and put the maker's firebox, chimney and roof parts together as one unit, since a factory-built fireplace is made to work as a set. We finish the face around the opening and clean up, and before we're done we talk through the chimney cap, the detectors and the yearly upkeep a new fireplace brings with it.
Most homeowners want the fireplace wall to look like it's always been part of the room, so we often face it with stone veneer installation to match the house. When the chimney runs up an outside wall or the hearth needs a solid base, we build that core from concrete block walls before the brick or stone goes on.
Factory-built gas fireplace
This suits a room you want warm at the flip of a switch with little cleanup, since there's no wood to store and no ash to carry out. Most people adding a fireplace to a room that never had one ask about gas first.
Factory-built wood-burning fireplace
This suits people who want the crackle and smell of a real fire and don't mind the work that comes with it. You'll be handling ashes after fires and keeping up with chimney sweeping.
Brick or stone surround
The face around the opening is where most of the look comes from, and it's often where the price moves the most. Brick usually suits an older brick house, and stone suits a room that can carry something heavier.
Get a free on-site estimate for your new fireplace
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come look at the room and send a free estimate that says what we'll do and why, with no obligation.
(334) 780-0060- Based in
- Auburn, AL 36830
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a new fireplace?
Here's how a fireplace job runs from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
Call or send the form
Reach us at (334) 780-0060 or through the form on this page. We'll get back to you and set a time to come out to the house.
I look over the room
I come out myself, look at the room, the roof line and any old chimney, and ask a lot of questions about what you'll burn. The estimate spells out what we'll do and why, so you can see what's driving the price before you decide anything.
Paperwork first, then the build
We take care of the permit paperwork when the job needs it. Then we build the base and hearth, set the unit and its chimney, and finish the brick or stone around it.
Walk the finished job together
When we're done, we walk the job with you and show you how your fireplace runs. If anything doesn't look right to you, that's the time to tell me.
Why Auburn homeowners call United Auburn Concrete and Masonry for a new fireplace
The owner on every job
I come out to look at every job myself and work alongside our crew while it's built. The person who asked what you'll burn is the one making sure the build matches it.
In business since 2020
I learned brick handing it to my dad on his jobs and started this business in 2020, so we've been at it six years now. Most of that time has gone into working out why masonry fails, and that's a good habit to bring to something new.
Licensed and insured for this work
We're licensed and insured. In Alabama, the Home Builders Licensure Board oversees home building and remodeling to protect homeowners, so asking any contractor about licensing before a fireplace goes in is a fair question.
When you've got a room in mind, contact us and I'll come out and take a look.
Fireplace installation, permits and codes in Auburn
Auburn's Inspection Services Department takes permit forms through its portal or by email, and its list names remodel, electrical, gas and roofing work but not fireplace installation, so that list alone doesn't settle whether your job needs a permit. We check with the office that covers your address and take care of the paperwork when a job needs it. The city builds to the international residential, fuel gas, mechanical and fire codes, with Alabama's changes to the residential code. Its building official notes that a factory-built chimney now needs an insulation shield, a sleeve that keeps the required space between the chimney and the insulation around it, so we plan for one when we set the chimney.
Many of the homes we work on are older brick houses, and a new fireplace on one of them should look like it belongs to the house, so we match the brick or stone to what's already there. We're based in Auburn and do the same work across the cities around it, including Opelika and Valley.
Questions about fireplace installation in Auburn
How much does it cost to add a gas fireplace in Auburn, AL?
A new gas fireplace in a room that's never had one usually runs about $4,500 to $12,000 for the job across the US, so that's a national range, not our price. Where yours lands depends on the unit, how the chimney gets out through the roof and what goes around the opening, and our estimate breaks that down for your room.
How do I find out if a new fireplace needs a permit in Auburn, AL?
Ask the city's Inspection Services Department, which takes permit forms through its portal or by email. Its list doesn't name fireplace installation, so it's worth confirming for your address, and we check that for you and handle the paperwork when a permit is needed.
How often does a fireplace chimney need to be checked and cleaned?
Once a year, someone should check the gaskets, the door seals and the chimney, and a chimney sweep should clean it whenever it needs it. That yearly look keeps creosote, the tarry buildup smoke leaves behind, and anything else from blocking the chimney.
What is the best way to keep a new chimney from getting blocked?
Put a cap on top of it, because a cap keeps debris and animals from getting in and closing it off. You can ask for one as part of the job, and we'll bring it up when we plan your fireplace.
What safety gear should a home with a fireplace have?
You should have a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector, both with working batteries, and a fire extinguisher close at hand. Plan where the furniture goes too, keeping chairs, books, newspaper and anything else that burns about three feet back from the fireplace.
What should I never burn in a fireplace?
Don't burn garbage, rolled newspaper, charcoal, plastic, or painted or treated wood, because they give off dangerous, heavily polluting fumes. When you clean out the ashes, put them in a container that can't catch fire, with a tight-fitting lid, and keep it away from the house.
Related masonry work for a new fireplace
Stone veneer installation
Thin stone set over the fireplace wall or chimney gives a new fireplace the look of solid stone without the weight or depth of full stone.
Concrete block walls
Block makes a strong core that won't burn for a chimney chase, a raised hearth or an outdoor fireplace that gets faced in brick or stone later.
Fireplace installation in Auburn and nearby cities
United Auburn Concrete and Masonry is based in Auburn, AL, and we build fireplaces in the cities around it, including Tuskegee and Tallassee. Seven cities have their own page below, and that's not the full list of places we work.
Auburn, AL
Plan your new fireplace with us
Have the room picked out, any old fireplace or chimney noted and a fuel in mind, and that first visit gets us a lot further.