Every Christmas I would beg my husband for a fireplace. I love winter and decorating! A mantle with flames underneath creating the perfect ambiance is exactly what I have dreaming of since I was little.
We were expecting our first baby in the coming year and I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to start the tradition of sitting by the fire on Christmas night reading our Christmas stories.
I finally had him convinced it would be a great investment for the house in the summer. Just enough time to get that fireplace installation before the weather was cold and there were sales happening!
Uxbridge HVAC Contractors
We live just east of the GTA area. It is perfect, we don’t like the big city vibes and when the house went up for sale here we knew it was for us. My husband and I work in the Oshawa and Pickering area, only a 30 minute commute to Uxbridge. Totally worth it.
Our little town in Durham Region is full of all the amenities we need. So finding a contractor in our area near Uxbridge wasn’t too difficult, and we had options.
I did plenty of research on the different companies that would service our Uxbridge Ontario area. My husband said to find a contractor that had a list of credentials.
- Fully licensed contractors
- Years of experience
- Year round maintenance
- Gas line installation
- Sell the product
- Great online reviews
I didn’t need to call any other company after I spoke with the top reviewed local one, 45 great reviews and backed up by an informative website. This company had checked off all the boxes my husband had asked for.
Planning For Fireplace Installation
Turned out the wall I had chosen for a fireplace wasn’t the greatest and would end up costing double the price for installation and renovations. Interior walls make for costly installation. So we chose the exterior wall for the fireplace installation.
The contractor had given us many things to think about. We had to choose what style we wanted, colours, stone, size…. It was a bit more overwhelming than I had anticipated.
Choosing an Insert
The fireplace installation contractor sent me a link to look at gas inserts. We could choose and tweak the fireplace insert to whatever we wanted. I must admit I had quite a bit of fun swapping out different wood types and flames.
It was a great company they chose to use. The options were endless, we even got to select the back wall stone or mirror.
We went with the largest one, black mirror background so that the stone we choose won’t clash and the flame reflects off of it when burning. Gorgeous! And real life looking logs! Once we chose that we sent the contractor our preference.
Building the Rough-In Frame
Once we purchased our fireplace insert the contractor could come and build out our fireplace rough-in. He cut the hole for the exterior vent and patched it up temporarily so we wouldn’t get any bugs or critters. The wood frame being installed made the whole room feel different. In a good way!
Choosing Brick/Stone
Then onto the exterior design. The fireplace installation company had us go to a local masonry shop that had so many gorgeous choices for stone. We didn’t want a modern style fireplace that was more trendy. We wanted a cozy cabin style with a wood beam.
The store employee was so great at explaining the different types of stone. We agreed on the brown family with hints of charcoal and rust. Our house is pretty neutral with the colour scheme so having this unit bring the vibes was important.
The stone wasn’t too expensive either. We had thought that it would be more than the cost of the fireplace. Especially since we were having it installed floor to ceiling with no hearth.
Gas Line Installation
About a month after we gave the green light to the fireplace installation contractor was our gas line installation day. I really had no idea what that was going to be like. But I did know one thing, I have a huge fear of gas lines and explosions lol
They assured me nothing like that would happen. And since we already had a gas water heater and furnace they would just be creating a new pipe to thread over to the wall where we are installing the fireplace.
I went for a walk while they did that. Being pregnant I didn’t want to risk any fumes harming the baby.
When I got back, about 45 mins later they were already done and to my surprise the house didn’t smell at all! They had cleaned up any mess they made.
Fireplace Installation
Later that week our fireplace insert had arrived. The installation contractor asked if he could be there later that day to install it. I was over the moon with how quickly everything was coming together.
It took the fireplace installation contractor maybe 2 hours to install and test it. They were thorough with inspections and cleaning. Exactly what I had read in the reviews.
My logs were looking real and the heat pumping out was cozy. Then the stone arrived.
The contractors spent the afternoon putting up the custom wood beam and masonry. They put plenty of thought into the pattern of the stone and made sure it didn’t look cheesy or off balanced. Which pleased my OCD heart.
My husband was amazed when he got home from work and saw that the whole project had been completed. There was zero mess and all professional installation.
The contractor left his business card for us to keep up with annual maintenance, and any other future projects that we may have brewing.
Being pregnant and going through this installation wasn’t a tad stressful. I am so grateful our town has such an amazing contractor to service us with all of our mechanical needs.
Now to just convince my husband that we need one of these installed in our basement family room…
Fireplace Installation Contractor Information:
- Marx Mechanical Contracting
- 124 Main St N, Uxbridge, ON L9P 1C7
- (289) 301-0720