"Lee" wrote in message
I've looked at several houses recently, and thought that if they had
regular fp's I might convert that to gas since I like the idea of being
able to turn it on and off. But some of the houses don't have any fp's at
all. Is it possible to put a decent looking "after market" fireplace in a
house, without having to do a major renovation? Something that doesn't
look like the "fireplace in a box" things that they sell on HSN? I
wouldn't be using it for heating a house (except maybe if there was a
power outage), but as a supplemental heater, sort of like a pretty space
heater.

I guess I'd entertain the idea of electric as well if they look decent.
The last electric one I saw quite a while ago was only a step above a fan
with orange tissue paper!

I haven't even gone to look at any yet. Just thought I'd ask here to see
if this is even practical to consider, or to find out what I should look
for if I go looking.

Thanks

Take a ride to a local fireplace dealer. There are plenty of free standing
gas and propane units that look better than anything electric.
http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/fireplaces/