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Serving Des Moines, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 724-6905
Des Moines winters are long and genuinely cold. A properly built fireplace gives you a real source of warmth in the room where you spend your evenings, without running your furnace all night.
Fireplace installation in Des Moines ranges from a prefabricated gas unit installed in one to two days to a full custom masonry fireplace built from brick or stone over three to five days, plus time for mortar to cure. A masonry fireplace is built piece by piece inside your home and includes a firebox, a smoke shelf, a damper, and a chimney system designed to safely carry heat and gases out. The City of Des Moines requires a building permit for any new installation, which your contractor should pull and handle entirely.
Many homes in Beaverdale, Sherman Hill, and the South Side already have original fireplaces that were sealed up years ago and can be restored rather than rebuilt from scratch. If you are dealing with a fireplace that smokes into the room or a chimney structure that has taken years of freeze-thaw damage, that work often connects to our chimney repair service, which handles the structural and masonry side of keeping the whole system safe.
If you light a fire and smoke billows into your living room instead of going up the chimney, something is wrong with how the fireplace or chimney is functioning. In Des Moines, where many homes have fireplaces that sat unused for years, this is a common problem when homeowners try to use them for the first time.
Cracks in the mortar around your firebox inside, or in the chimney brickwork visible from outside, are often caused by Iowa's repeated winter freeze-thaw cycles. Left alone, these cracks let water in and the damage gets worse every winter - eventually affecting how safely the fireplace can be used.
If the damper on your existing fireplace is rusted shut, broken, or was never there to begin with, cold Des Moines air pours straight into your home all winter through the open flue. A masonry contractor can assess whether just the damper needs replacing or whether more significant work is needed.
If you are spending heavily on heat during Iowa's long winters and want a more efficient way to warm your main living space on cold evenings, a new fireplace installation is worth a conversation. A properly installed gas unit can take the edge off without running your central system at full blast.
We build wood-burning masonry fireplaces from brick or stone, constructed piece by piece with a properly sized firebox, smoke shelf, and chimney designed to draw cleanly in Iowa weather. We also install prefabricated gas units with surrounds for homeowners who want the warmth and look without the ongoing wood and ash routine. Each project starts with a site visit to assess your floor and foundation load capacity before any work is scoped, because a full masonry fireplace weighs several thousand pounds and needs a properly prepared base.
For homeowners who want to finish a fireplace surround with natural or manufactured stone, we tie the installation directly into our stone veneer installation work so the surround and the firebox are built to the same standard in one mobilization. If your existing chimney needs to be repaired or rebuilt as part of the project, that is covered under our chimney repair service, keeping the full system under one contractor and one written estimate.
Best for homeowners who want a traditional brick or stone fireplace built to last for decades with the full crackling fire experience.
Suited for homeowners who want reliable warmth and a finished look with lower ongoing maintenance and faster installation.
For Des Moines homes with a sealed or deteriorated original fireplace that can be brought back to working condition rather than replaced.
Needed when an existing chimney is too deteriorated to serve a new or restored firebox safely.
For homeowners adding a natural or manufactured stone surround to a new or existing fireplace as part of the same project.
Required for all new fireplace installations in Des Moines - we pull the permit and coordinate the city inspection from start to finish.
Des Moines averages around 35 inches of snow per year and temperatures that regularly drop well below freezing from November through March. A fireplace here is not just a decorative feature - it is a real source of warmth that many homeowners rely on during extended cold snaps. Natural gas is already the dominant home heating fuel across the metro, which means most Des Moines homes already have a gas line, making a gas fireplace addition more straightforward and cost-effective than in areas where gas service is less common. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends that any fireplace or chimney system be evaluated by a qualified contractor before use, especially in climates with heavy freeze-thaw activity.
We serve the full Des Moines metro, including Ankeny and West Des Moines, where newer homes are increasingly adding fireplaces as comfort features. In older neighborhoods like Beaverdale and Ingersoll Park, we see renovation projects where homeowners want to bring back an original fireplace that was sealed up during a previous remodel. Our crew knows both types of projects, and we will tell you honestly at the site visit which approach makes sense for your home.
We ask what type of fireplace you have in mind, whether you have an existing one, and where in your home you want it. We respond within 1 business day to schedule a free on-site visit.
We visit your home, assess the space, check your floors and existing structure, and give you a written estimate that covers the full scope - including the permit fee - before you decide anything.
Once you approve the estimate, we apply for the required city permit on your behalf. This typically takes a few business days. We give you a firm start date once the permit is issued.
Installation takes one to five days depending on the project type. A city inspector reviews the work before the job is closed. We walk you through operation and maintenance before we leave.
Free estimate, no obligation. We give you a written quote after seeing your home - permit included in the price, no surprises on the final bill.
(515) 724-6905Every fireplace installation in Des Moines requires a city building permit and at least one inspection. We handle all of that. A contractor who skips the permit process creates problems for you when you sell or insure your home - we never take that shortcut.
We select mortar mixes and materials rated for the repeated freezing and thawing Des Moines sees every winter. We also seal chimney caps and flashing against moisture intrusion - the specific details that keep a fireplace from deteriorating within a few seasons.
Homes in Beaverdale, Sherman Hill, and the South Side have quirks that newer construction does not - older floors, existing chimneys, and walls that need assessment before a heavy masonry fireplace can be added. We have done this work across the metro and know what to look for.
The price we give you before the project starts is the price you pay at the end. No mid-project surprises. The Chimney Safety Institute of America approach to fireplace and chimney work means the system is designed as a whole - not assembled piece by piece from separate contractors.
We install fireplaces across all 12 service areas in the Des Moines metro, from the older city neighborhoods to the newer suburbs. Every project comes with a written estimate, a pulled permit, and a final walkthrough before we consider the job finished.
Keep the chimney system that serves your new fireplace in safe, working condition through Des Moines winters.
Learn moreFinish your fireplace surround with natural or manufactured stone veneer for a look that holds up and stands out.
Learn moreFall is the busiest season for masonry work in Iowa - lock in your spot now and be ready before the cold settles in for the winter.