Free download
The Guide We Wish You'd Read First
Most people start shopping for a fireplace by looking at fireplaces. That's the expensive way round. This is the short version of what a good salesperson would tell you before you ever pick a model—written for Utah specifically.
What's in it
Six Things That Decide the Whole Project
01 · Where you live changes the appliance
There are 4,400 feet between St. George and Park City. High-altitude conversion, heat output, and even fuel choice all move with elevation.
02 · Red air days are a legal constraint
Wasatch Front inversion brings mandatory no-burn days. Which fuel you choose decides whether your fireplace is usable on the coldest days of the year.
03 · Venting decides more than the model
Where the vent can run rules out more units than budget does. It's the first question a good shop asks and the last one most websites mention.
04 · The five situations
Blank wall, open fireplace, dated fireplace, new construction, outdoor living. Naming yours narrows the catalogue faster than any filter.
05 · What "installed" actually includes
Unit, venting, gas line, framing, facing, permit. A quote that covers only the first one isn't a quote.
06 · The questions worth asking a dealer
A page of them, in order, so you walk into a showroom sounding like someone who's done this before.
Get it
Where Should We Send It?
One email, the guide attached, and nothing else. We don't run a newsletter and we don't sell your address.
The guide, in the browser
Answer a few questions about your room and the browser builds the shortlist around them—the same guidance, without waiting on an email.
Not ready to hand over an email?
Fair enough. Most of this is on the site already—start with the resources or go straight to the shop that covers your street.
Why we made it
The Cost of Starting in the Wrong Place
Picking a model first
The most common way this goes wrong. People fall for a unit, then find out it can't vent where the wall goes—and the second choice always feels like a compromise.
Shopping on price alone
A unit price and an installed price are different numbers, sometimes by thousands. Comparing one against the other isn't comparing anything.
Ignoring the air
A wood-burning unit on the Wasatch Front is unusable on the days you most want it. Better to know that before, not after.
Fair questions
About The Guide
Is this actually free?
Yes. No cost, no card, no trial. This whole site is free to homeowners—the shops are the ones who benefit from a customer who walks in already knowing what to ask.
Will I get put on a mailing list?
No. There's no newsletter to be added to. You get the guide, and if you asked to be matched with a dealer, that dealer gets in touch. Nothing else.
Do you sell my email address?
No. Your details go to the dealer that covers your zip code if you asked for that, and nowhere else. We don't sell data and we don't run ads against it.
How long is it?
Short enough to read in one sitting before a showroom visit. It's meant to make the visit better, not to replace it.
Or Skip the Reading Entirely
Enter your zip code and let the shop that serves your street answer it in person.