Bigdog,
We had one done in Mass. 12 years ago. It is in a great room on the main floor of a two-story colonial. The fireplace is brick and the house was 10 years old at the time. The reasons we did it was to get quick and easy heat when we wanted it, to get instant effects with little work and to keep the area cleaner.
Wood = Dirt.
We use the gas insert often when we are in Mass, which is about 50% of the time in the winter. It is still the same unit we installed 12 years ago, we are on natural gas and are happy we did it.
When we bought our place on the lake, we decided to stay with wood. Even though the gas fireplace in Mass. is convenient, there is nothing like a wood fire. So we installed a very heavy, cast iron insert into our stone fireplace at the place in NH. We are happy with that decision as well.
Able Stove on Rt. 3 in Tilton (I think) did the work in NH, and the Fire Place store on Rt 114 in Middleton did the work in Mass. The gas fireplace insert takes in air at the top of the chimney, so it does not draw air from the house. They ran the intake and the smoke pipe in the existing flue. They also drilled through the brick for he gas line and sealed around it to make it air tight.
It is nice to walk into the place in Mass., grab the fireplace remote and hear the little poof as the gas ignites. However, it is great to sit near the wood fire place in NH. The cast iron insert gives ten to twelve hours of burn, once the fire is established.
I hope this helps.
R2B
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