Products · Fireplaces and gas piping
Gas fireplaces and gas piping in Kennewick and the Tri-Cities
Gas fireplace installation and maintenance, and gas piping for fireplaces, stoves, outdoor fire pits and other appliances, from one licensed crew.
Chapter 01
When a fireplace will not light, or runs sooty
A gas fireplace that refuses to light on the first cold night is usually telling you something specific. It may be a pilot that has been starved of a clean flame, a thermocouple that has worn out, a valve that is not opening or a blocked vent. A flame that looks lazy, orange and sooty instead of clean and blue points to a different set of causes, from dust in the burner to a mismatched log set. Guessing at these is how people end up replacing a good unit.
The other common problem starts before the fireplace is even lit. An appliance gets added to a house, a range moved, a fire pit placed on the patio, and someone runs a gas line that was never sized for the load. A line that is too small starves every appliance on it when more than one is running, and a poorly made joint is a hazard that no one can see.
Our technicians look at the fireplace and the gas supply as one system. In the Tri-Cities, where a fireplace is as much a winter fixture as a furnace, that approach keeps a small repair from turning into a large one.
Close-up of a gas fireplace flame burning behind glass
The work: fireplaces, stoves, fire pits and the piping behind them
Jacobs and Rhodes installs gas fireplaces and maintains them once they are in. We also run gas piping for fireplaces, stoves, outdoor fire pits and other appliances, and we do that work with the same licensed crew that installs your furnace. There is no separate gas contractor to schedule and no one pointing at the next trade when something is not right.
A good fireplace install is careful about the parts nobody sees: the routing and sizing of the gas line, the shutoff within reach, the venting, the clearances to the framing and the stone or tile around the opening. Then it is careful about the parts everyone does see, like the way the surround meets the wall and where the flame sits behind the glass.
Because we fabricate our own sheet metal at the shop on Clearwater Avenue, custom flue and surround work is something we can build to the opening in your house. If you are thinking about a new fireplace, an outdoor fire pit or gas to a new range, tell us what you have in mind and we will start with the piping.
Chapter 03
Safety and aftercare: annual maintenance and carbon monoxide awareness
Any appliance that burns gas needs a clear path for its exhaust and a supply of air to burn with. Soot, a flame that will not settle, a pilot that keeps dropping out and a smell of gas are all reasons to shut the appliance off and call us. Carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled, which is why working carbon monoxide alarms on every level of a home are standard good practice, and why we recommend having your fireplace looked at before the heating season.
Annual fireplace maintenance is short and routine: the burner and pilot assembly are cleaned, the glass and logs inspected, the controls and safety devices tested, and the vent path checked. Most problems are caught at that visit, when they cost little, instead of on the first cold night.
Jacobs and Rhodes is licensed, bonded and insured, with ELECTRICAL/HVAC ROC#JACOBRI860DP and a general contractor registration on file. Call the office at (509) 783-3121 to book fireplace maintenance or to talk through a gas piping job. The service technicians are on call 24/7 if a problem cannot wait.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · ELECTRICAL/HVAC ROC#JACOBRI860DP · Call (509) 783-3121
A finished install, from the gas line to the mantel
This is what the work is aiming for: a stone-veneer surround, a timber mantel, the fireplace set where the room wants it and the gas line hidden behind it. When the piping and venting are right, a fireplace like this looks like it was part of the house all along.
If you already have a fireplace that has seen better winters, the same crew can service it. If you are planning to add a new one, start with a conversation about where the gas will come from.