Both are true.

DIY gas projects is how people kill their family members.

>If you have to ask questions about it, you don't know enough to be sure you won't unalive yourself.

Thats a good rule of thumb for most things

be very very careful.

I personally would pay for repairs.

I’m certain about the fan. Sure you could start it but it’s not going to be very efficient

Are you certain? Ours is similar, has “milivolt” gas valve operation such that the power to switch it on is derived from the pilot light. And the fan was an option we never had installed, it heats the nearby space fine without it. In the pinch of a power outage, I’m sure it will provide some useful heat.

Not asking if I should do it… this isn’t my first time doing it. Had a question on spring length.

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Gotta say, I know where your wife is coming from, it's kinda plug ugly, just stuck in corner like a pimple on your backside. That said, I would keep for timebeing and later conside taking down all the surround and mantle and then build it into floor to ceiling feature wall. Think it would turn a boring room into a pleasant den. I think it would addvalue to your house.

Did it once ? Back breaking for those without construction experience. Secondly having a fireplace is better than not having it. I'd keep it unless absolutely not needed

Most other houses in the area do not have a fireplace in this room (upstairs family/bonus room). Usually only on the main floor and sometimes in the basement. So I don’t think it’s required though it may be nice to have.

Removing it might also affect your resale value, just something to think about.

You could reframe it to the ceiling. Do rock or something to change the look and feel

There are portable indoor propane and kerosene heaters. Also there are wall mounted ones that vent outside but are basically just a slim box on the wall instead of a whole thing with a mantel and hearth.

And I'm not saying you can't have a whole thing with a mantel and a hearth if you want one, but if you don't want it, you can just have a blank unobtrusive white box on the wall.

Hard agree, we’ve lost power 3 separate times this winter…it’s far better to have it and not need it than the other way around. Plus, if space is an issue, I’d just move or replace the couch

So you never need to make a fire? Gas isn’t so great but if you can light it when the power is out it is handy.

How exactly?

It probably also nicely heats that room. Is that snow I see on the roofs through the window? Keep that shit I just spent 10k installing one last year. If you don’t like the tile surround… just retile the surround.

If you have to ask don't do ot

Great practice at telling your wife NO.

You might want to get an HVAC opinion on this to get an idea how removing this heat source will affect the overall climate of the space, especially cold Edmonton winters (based on your username). In some places a fireplace like that is purely decorative. In others, however, the appliance might be functioning as an extension to your central heating system.

Looks like a very large space to heat, considering the high ceilings. Make sure whatever else is heating that space has the capacity to do so without also putting extra stress on the rest of the house. Where is the thermostat in relation to this room? If there is a thermostat in the room is it wired to the central air system? Or is it wired to the fireplace?

I don't see any electric baseboard heaters under the window. Check whether that register ("vent") under the window is supplying heat or if it's an air return. How many total windows and registers are there around the room?

Trick is to prime it after first patch and sand as it pulls the dust out of the little pockets and shows where you need more mud.

It is 100% possible to DIY the removal of this. Gas(if it's gas) can be capped, electric can simply be made into an outlet(assuming it's not already just plugged in), drywall patched/repaired/filled in.

Until you start pulling it apart it is hard to tell exactly what all it will entail though.

That looks like a gas fireplace, I do everything on my own with one exception. I don’t touch gas, there is to much insurance risk if something goes bad. Plumbers have insurance to cover your house if it blows up. You don’t. Hire a professional.

I’ve removed one of those before. The removal usually takes less than a day. It’s the repair to the wall, baseboard, floor, painting, etc that takes the most time. You’ll have to figure it for yourself, but it’s more than a weeks job. If you work 9-5, you’ll be doing this in the weekends and it will take you more than a month.

Also, don’t remove it. Use it. They are really nice to have.