Gas Fireplace Repair in Thousand Oaks

Most gas fireplace repairs fall into a short list. The pilot will not light or will not stay lit. The main burner will not come on even though the pilot is burning. The flame is weak, uneven or yellow. The remote or wall switch has stopped working. The unit lights, then shuts down after a few minutes. Each of these has a handful of usual causes: a dirty or failing thermocouple or thermopile, a clogged pilot orifice, a worn valve, a dead receiver battery, a loose wire or a blocked vent that trips a safety switch. We test each part in order rather than swapping parts until something works, and we tell you what failed and why.

Water is a cause more often than people expect. A thermocouple that keeps failing every winter, burner ports clogged with rust flakes, a valve body with green or white corrosion, a control module that stopped after a storm: these usually trace back to rain getting into the vent or the firebox. If we replace the part without fixing the water, the new part goes the same way. So part of every gas fireplace repair with us is a look at the vent termination, the wall or roof penetration and, for log sets, the masonry flue above them. For routine upkeep that keeps faults from building up, see gas fireplace cleaning.

A direct-vent gas fireplace draws air in and sends exhaust out through a sealed, two-layer pipe. If rain gets into that pipe through a damaged termination cap or a gap in the flashing where it leaves the roof, the water runs back to the firebox. On a horizontal vent through a wall, a cap that was installed without the right slope can send water inward. We check the termination for the correct cap, damage, clearances and sealing at the wall or roof, and look for staining or rust along the pipe where it is reachable. Repairs to the vent are quoted in writing, and we only use parts listed for that fireplace, since a direct-vent system is tested as a unit.

Safety comes first in any gas repair. If you smell gas, turn off the fireplace, leave the house and call the gas company before calling us. Every home with a gas appliance should have working carbon monoxide alarms. When a fireplace is old, has parts that are no longer made or has a firebox rusted from years of water, repair can cost more than it is worth. In that case we will say so and lay out the replacement options. A new gas insert in an existing fireplace runs $2,650 to $5,300 installed with us, and the fireplace inserts page explains what is involved.