Enviro Gas & Pellet Fireplaces — Authorized Dealer & Installation on Chicago’s North Shore

Name: Chimney Monkey
Price range: $$

Chimney Monkey is an authorized Enviro dealer serving Chicago’s North Shore, including Deerfield, Northbrook, Evanston and Glenview. Enviro builds gas and pellet stoves, fireplace inserts and fireplaces — the practical way to turn a cold, unused masonry fireplace into a heat source the family actually uses. Call 847-994-4388.

Get in touch Call 847-994-4388

Enviro gas fireplace insert heating a living room — Photo courtesy of Enviro.

Why we love Enviro

It fixes the most common problem we find

The single most frequent condition we document on the North Shore isn’t a dangerous chimney. It’s a perfectly serviceable masonry fireplace that nobody lights anymore — because it’s messy, because it pulls heated air out of the house, and because it delivers almost no warmth to the room.

An Enviro insert answers all three. A sealed, direct-vented appliance inside the existing firebox stops the draft loss, eliminates the mess, and turns the fireplace into something that actually heats the room it’s in. It is, in our experience, the highest-satisfaction hearth project a homeowner can do.

Gas and pellet, from one manufacturer

Enviro builds both, in freestanding stoves and inserts. That means the fuel decision can be made on its merits — convenience and instant operation on the gas side, real radiant heat and lower fuel cost on the pellet side — rather than by which brand happens to make what.

Right-sized for real houses

Stoves, inserts, and fireplaces across a range of outputs. A lot of North Shore homes need a fireplace in a family room or a finished basement to do actual work, not just look good. Enviro sizes into those rooms sensibly.

Serviceable

We service what we install for a long time, and appliances that are straightforward to maintain are appliances that stay working. That’s not a marketing quality. It’s a practical one, and it’s a large part of why the brand stays on this list.

What Enviro makes

Fuel	Formats
Gas	Freestanding stoves, fireplace inserts, fireplaces
Pellet	Freestanding stoves, fireplace inserts

Models featured by the manufacturer include the Ri30, RZ41, C60T, S50, G50, and Cube. We help select the model during the site visit, because the right choice depends on the existing firebox dimensions, the flue, and the size of the room.

Enviro is the right call when…

You have a masonry fireplace you’ve stopped using
You want the fireplace to produce meaningful heat, not just light
You’re heating a family room, four-season room, or finished basement
A full fireplace rebuild isn’t the right use of money
You want lower operating cost than propane or electric resistance heat
You want a freestanding stove rather than a built-in fireplace

If you want a wood fire rather than gas or pellet, look at Stûv — same idea, different fuel.

Gas insert or pellet insert?

	Gas	Pellet
Operation	Instant, remote or wall switch	Load hopper, electric ignition
Maintenance	Annual service	Regular ash and hopper maintenance plus annual service
Fuel	Natural gas or propane line	Bagged pellets, stored dry
Heat character	Steady, convenient	Strong radiant heat
Best for	Convenience, daily ambient use	Meaningful heating, lower fuel cost

We’ll give you a straight recommendation based on how you actually live in the room. If you’ll never load a hopper, we’ll say gas.

Installing an Enviro on the North Shore

The inspection comes first. An insert goes into an existing masonry fireplace, and what’s behind that firebox determines the entire scope. Cracked firebox panels, a deteriorated smoke chamber, a spalling flue, or an offset chimney all change the job. We inspect and document before quoting. That inspection is a paid diagnostic appointment — you’re buying an answer, and the findings are yours whether or not we do the work.

Every insert needs a properly sized, listed liner. This is not optional and it is where corner-cutting happens in this trade. The liner runs the full height of the chimney, sized to the appliance, terminated and sealed correctly. An insert vented into an oversized masonry flue will condense, underperform, and eventually cause problems.

Older North Shore chimneys have surprises. Unlined flues, shared flues, offsets, tile that’s shifted, prior work that was never finished. We’ve been putting cameras up these chimneys since 2017. Whatever’s up there, we’ve seen it, and we’ll tell you plainly what it means.

Electrical. Pellet appliances need power at the fireplace. Many gas inserts benefit from it. We identify that early rather than on install day.

Commissioning and documentation. Startup, operational verification, photographs of the installation, and a walkthrough covering operation and the maintenance the appliance needs to keep running well.

Common questions

Is Chimney Monkey an authorized Enviro dealer?

Yes. Chimney Monkey is an authorized Enviro dealer for Chicago’s North Shore. We sell, install, and service Enviro gas and pellet stoves, inserts, and fireplaces in Deerfield, Northbrook, Evanston, Glenview, Wilmette, and Skokie — including the chimney inspection and liner work an insert installation requires.

Will an insert actually heat my room?

Yes — that’s the point of one. Unlike an open masonry fireplace, which typically pulls more heated air up the chimney than it delivers to the room, a sealed insert is designed to transfer heat into the space. Homeowners routinely tell us the room became usable in winter for the first time.

Do I need a chimney liner for a fireplace insert?

Yes. Every insert requires a correctly sized, listed liner running the full height of the chimney, properly terminated and sealed. Venting an insert into an unlined or oversized masonry flue causes condensation, poor performance, and deterioration. We install the liner as part of the job.

Can I put a pellet insert in any fireplace?

Not automatically. The existing firebox has to accommodate the appliance dimensions, the chimney has to accept a liner, and there has to be power at the fireplace. We confirm all three during the inspection before recommending a specific model.

How much maintenance does a pellet appliance need?

More than gas, less than wood. Ash removal and routine cleaning during the burning season, plus a professional service annually. If that sounds like more than you want to do, a gas insert is the better recommendation and we’ll say so.

What does an Enviro insert installation cost?

It depends on the appliance and on what the chimney inspection finds — liner length, existing conditions, and any corrective masonry all affect it. We inspect, document, and then quote the actual scope. We don’t price this over the phone, because a phone price for this job is a guess.

Enviro installation across Chicago’s North Shore

Deerfield · Northbrook · Evanston · Glenview · Skokie · Wilmette · Buffalo Grove · Highland Park · Winnetka · Glencoe · Lake Forest · Lake Bluff · Highwood