House with no fireplace - question (Dallas, Austin: condo, loan, how much)

[newsis]

We are relocating from the Dallas area. We put a contract on a house and are very excited about it EXCEPT that it doesn't have a fireplace. This really bothers us, we love our current fireplace! In the winter, we love to light a fire and decorate around the mantle for Christmas. Plus, we gotta have one for Santa Claus (we have 2 young kids).

Anyway, everything I've found online says that it should be about 2500 to have a fireplace installed, but when we got a quote from a contractor, it was $7-8K. WHAT???? It seems way high, but we are not in the contracting business and have no idea if it is too high, right on track or what.

Additional info: 1) there is no natural gas in our neighborhood, so it would have to be woodburning. 2) its a 2 story house. 3) we'd be removing a window to make room for it and we'd have to replace about 10 peices of siding on the back of the house b/c of this.

So, my questions are 1) does anyone know how much adding a fireplace should cost and 2) do you think having a fireplace is as big of a deal as we do? Just trying to figure out if we should just let it go or not.

Thanks in advance.

[centralaustinite]

If your only choice is wood-burning . . . well, then I would try to let it go. $2500 sounds about right for putting in an "instant on" gas fireplace (it vents directly outside with just a very small unit, no chimney).

Wood burns HOT and then you end up having to turn on the AC to deal with all the heat or open the windows, and you can't just up and leave the house with hot coals in the grate. Chimney cleaning, flues, ugh. Not for me. Plus the construction of the chimney etc. You could reach 10K pretty quick.

Here's what you do about Santa. Buy a big ornate key (there are some beautiful antique Victorian ones), then put a loop of red velvet on it and have the kids place the key around the outside doorknob on Christmas Eve. They'll love it and think of the presents you can get with the money you save!

[dick1973]

If this is the price for a traditional brick fireplace, I'd say is a good deal for all the work that needs to be done.

[FalconheadWest]

There are just as many homes in Dallas without fireplaces as there are in Austin. I've sold many houses where people just don't want fireplaces because they take up furniture room. Then, others want the fireplace just for the mantel, but don't actually want to use it.

I'll say that if you spend $7-8k to install a fireplace, you're not going to get a penny back on resale. A fireplace, unless in the master bedroom, is not something that really adds value to a home. More than likely, there are other houses in that neighborhood without fireplaces, and someone isn't going to pay a premium on resale just because you installed one.

[BichonGirl]

Fireplace do add value...just ask any appraiser!

[1mintjulep]

No idea what the average price would be to install, but it does seem like a hassle to me. But then, I don't like fireplaces to begin with. There are maybe three months out of the whole year that you'd actually use it, and it takes up wall/furniture space. I hate built-in bookshelves and entertainment centers for the same reason - I want to decide how the furniture in a room is arranged, and with built-ins, it's pretty much decided for you.

[Danbo1957]

$7000 is about right for a contractor to do it all. You can get a prefabricated fireplace (they're great) for around $1200 and you can install it yourself with a traditional chimney built by a contractor, $3000. If you can wait a couple of years, you can pay for it with a home owner's loan folded into your monthly mortage payment.

[kittymama]

wow...I lived in Alaska and we had a fireplace and never even used it because the only place our big screen TV would fit is in front of it. There, believe it or not, a wood stove is desireable, but a fireplace lets in enough cold air that you are more energy efficient not to use it. Here it seems warm enough that I can't imagine wanting to actually use the thing for heat purposes. My parents live here in Austin and have a fire place and I don't remember one Christmas where we actually got a fire going in it. They hung stockings on it, but that's about it. Having lived in lots of houses with fireplaces (come to think of it, my house in Boston had one too and we never used it there either) and never really getting around to using them, I guess I don't think they're that big of a deal. They look kind of nice, but only if they don't take up space in the living room that could be used for seating or the television. If you can hang the big screen TV above the fireplace, it looks cool. Otherwise, it looks awkward when all the seating in the living room faces the TV, because usually the fireplace is supposed to be kind of a focal point for the room, but nowadays everyone wants to face the TV. I think fireplaces LOOK pretty, but even in cold climates, they seemed like more trouble than they're worth.

[iceshots]

If the main reason you want a fireplace is cosmetic, look into installing an electric one with a fake fire. Some of the new ones have a very realistic flame and you will have your mantle for the stockings. Everyone knows that Santa can make a fake fireplace into a real one so he can deliver presents.

[doctorjef]

I have never bought and would never buy a house or condo that does not have a fireplace. I want it as a feature of the decor; I don't like burning logs at all. I especially enjoyed the gas-only fireplace that I had in my last house in Austin -- I actually got use out of it and it was very warm (the cats especially loved it). My point here is that the lack of a fireplace would be a complete deal breaker for some people, even if they otherwise liked a house.