Masonry repair
Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Gelco Fireplace Repair in Marietta: What to Know First
Gelco fireplace repair in Marietta typically runs between $185 and $640 depending on what’s failed, and most jobs are completed in a single visit. We’re an independent Gelco service provider – not a manufacturer affiliate – which means we diagnose the actual problem and give you a written price before any work starts. If you’ve got a Gelco unit acting up, call (478) 796-8742 and a live person will answer.
This page is for Marietta homeowners who own a Gelco gas or wood-burning fireplace and want straight answers: what breaks, what it costs, and whether it’s worth fixing. We’ve been repairing these units in Cobb County since 2002, and Nathan Corliss and his crew have seen just about every failure mode a Gelco firebox can throw at you.
Key takeaways:
- Most Gelco fireplace repairs cost $185 – $640, with labor and parts quoted separately and put in writing before we start.
- Common Gelco issues include pilot light dropout, failed thermocouples, and warped damper assemblies.
- Every repair carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it fails within the guarantee period, we return and fix it at no charge.
- We stock common Gelco-compatible parts, and non-stock items typically arrive in 3 – 5 business days.
How Gelco Products Fail – and How We Fix Them
Gelco built a reputation for affordable, straightforward gas and wood fireplaces in homes across metro Atlanta. But every brand has its weak points, and Gelco is no exception. Here’s what we actually find when we open these units up in Marietta:
- Pilot light dropout on Gelco Advantage series gas logs. The thermocouple sits too close to the burner on older Advantage units, and once it starts reading flame temperature inconsistently, the pilot cuts out mid-burn. We replace the thermocouple with a properly positioned OEM-spec part and verify the pilot holds for a full 15-minute cycle before we pack up.
- Sticking damper assemblies on Gelco wood-burning fireboxes. In Marietta summers, humidity creeps into the firebox and swells the damper frame. What starts as a stiff handle becomes a damper that won’t seal at all. We don’t just lubricate it and hope. We pull the assembly, check for rust-through, and replace worn pivot pins or the entire damper plate if the metal’s too far gone.
- Cracked refractory panels in Gelco’s Classic and Heritage wood-burning lines. These panels take direct flame heat for years. Eventually the refractory material hairline-cracks, and then one cold morning you light a fire and a chunk falls out. The fix is panel replacement, but the real skill is matching the panel thickness and heat rating to the original spec so it doesn’t fail six months later.
- Gas valve chatter and intermittent ignition on Gelco insert models. When a gas valve starts chattering instead of opening clean, it’s usually a worn solenoid or a millivolt reading that’s dropped too low. We test the valve under load with a manometer before condemning it, because replacing a $300 valve when the real problem was a weak pilot generator is a mistake a homeowner should never pay for.
- Burner pan corrosion on Gelco ventless log sets. Gelco ventless burners use a thin stainless pan, and in Georgia’s humidity, condensation from the gas line settles in the pan and eats pinholes through it over five or six seasons. We’ve opened units near Lake Allatoona where the burner looked fine from the top and was Swiss cheese underneath. Replacement pans are available, and we always pressure-test the line before reinstalling.
Styles & brands we work with





Our Gelco Fireplace Repair Process
Here’s how a Gelco repair goes when you call Ashby Chimney Marietta:
- 1
You call, a person answers. Day or night, someone picks up the phone and schedules your visit. You get a real arrival window, not a four-hour gap.
- 2
We show up and diagnose. We open the firebox, check gas pressures, inspect the pilot assembly, damper, refractory panels, and log positioning. We look before we quote.
- 3
You get a written price. Before we turn a single screw, you see exactly what the repair costs. OEM parts when the warranty or safety demands it, quality aftermarket equivalents when they perform identically and cost less. You decide, not us.
- 4
We do the repair. Parts get installed to spec, clearances checked, and every connection verified.
- 5
We test it in front of you. Gas units get a full ignition cycle test. Wood-burning units get a smoke test on the damper and a visual check of the firebox. You see it working before we leave.
- 6
The guarantee goes in writing. Every Gelco repair carries the Kingswell Guarantee in writing. If it fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it free. That’s not a sales promise. It’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and we’ve backed it since 2002.
See the difference
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After
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AfterWhat Gelco Fireplace Repair Costs in Marietta
Here’s the honest math on Gelco repairs in Marietta, based on what we’ve billed over hundreds of jobs:
- Thermocouple or thermopile replacement on a Gelco gas log set: $185 – $265
- Gas valve replacement (including pressure testing and adjustment): $340 – $520
- Refractory panel replacement (per panel): $190 – $310
- Damper repair or replacement: $220 – $480 depending on access and whether the frame needs replacement
- Full burner pan replacement on a ventless Gelco set: $310 – $640 including parts and gas line testing
What moves the price? Access to the unit, whether the gas line needs to be shut at the meter, and whether we’re matching OEM Gelco parts or using a quality equivalent. Every quote is line-itemed and written down before work begins. Call (478) 796-8742 for a free estimate. The number we quote is the number you pay.
Why Marietta Homeowners Call Ashby Chimney Marietta for Gelco Work
Most of the Gelco repairs we walk into start the same way: the homeowner called someone else first. Either the tech never showed, or the price doubled after the unit was already in pieces on the hearth. We run on a different system. The Kingswell Way means five things on every single job: tell you the price first, show up in the window, leave it cleaner than we found it, put the guarantee in writing, and come back if it fails.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and trained specifically on Gelco units alongside other brands we service – DuraFlex liners, HeatShield resurfacing systems. That matters because a tech who only knows one brand will always find a reason to sell you that brand’s fix. We’d rather tell you what’s actually wrong. Nathan Corliss has been doing this work for going on twenty-two years, and the field guide on masonry repair that he’s had since trade school is still in his truck. Tell you the price first, show you the work, put it in writing – that’s the whole job.
FAQs
If your Gelco unit is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, we can perform the repair, but the warranty is between you and Gelco directly. As an independent Gelco service provider, we don’t process manufacturer claims on your behalf. We’ll give you clear documentation of what was wrong and what we fixed, which most warranty departments accept. Call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll walk you through what to send them.
Common Gelco-compatible parts – thermocouples, thermopiles, damper assemblies, refractory panels – are typically on our truck or available same-day from our Marietta suppliers. Specific OEM components that have to ship from a Gelco warehouse usually arrive in 3 – 5 business days. We’ll tell you which situation you’re in before we schedule the repair, not after.
If the firebox itself is intact and the unit is under 15 years old, repair is almost always the better money. We’ve fixed 12-year-old Gelco Advantage sets for under $300 and they ran another five seasons. The replacement conversation only makes sense when the firebox has structural cracks or the cost of parts exceeds 60% of a new unit’s installed price. We’ll tell you plainly which side of that line you’re on. Estimates are free.
A pilot that won’t stay lit is a nuisance. A cracked refractory panel with flame reaching the firebox surround is a fire hazard. A corroded burner pan leaking gas into the firebox can release carbon monoxide into the room. If your Gelco unit is showing any of those symptoms, don’t run it until a trained professional has looked at it. Call (478) 796-8742 and we’ll inspect it – the diagnosis price is set before you book.
Written by Nathan Corliss, Owner, Ashby Chimney Marietta at Ashby Chimney Marietta, serving Marietta and nearby areas.