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**Title (60ch):** Fireplace Remodel Dallas | Premium Design-Build TSE **Meta description (150ch):** Premium fireplace remodel in Dallas, Highland Park, and Preston Hollow. Designer-led mantel, surround, and firebox refits for architecturally significant homes. —

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A fireplace is rarely just a fireplace. In a 1928 Highland Park Tudor, it is the room’s organizing gesture — the reason the seating arrangement exists at all. In a Preston Hollow contemporary, it is a single material declaration that the rest of the floor plan defers to. Texas Service Experts approaches fireplace remodel as the architectural problem it actually is: an intersection of proportion, material literacy, period sensitivity, and the practical reality of a working hearth in a North Texas home. We work almost exclusively with homeowners and design teams in Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Bluffview, Lakewood, and the surrounding premium enclaves. Our remodels begin with the room — its scale, its light, its existing millwork — and end with a fireplace that looks as though it had always belonged there. To begin a conversation about your project, please call **214-444-8094** or request a private consultation.

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– **5.0 stars across 35 verified reviews** — Google Business Profile – **Designer-led process** — every project assigned to a senior design lead – **Architectural collaborations** — recurring engagements with DFW interior designers and residential architects – **Premium-only roster** — selective project intake, capped annual capacity – **In-house craftsmanship** — millwork, masonry, and finishing under one roof —

Our Remodel Philosophy

The first question in every TSE engagement is whether the fireplace should be remodeled at all. Many homeowners arrive convinced they need a complete replacement, when in fact the existing firebox, flue, and chase carry exactly the bones the room needs — and a thoughtful surround and mantel intervention will deliver the architectural shift they are actually after. We say so when that is true. The opposite is also true: we have walked away from projects where a homeowner wanted a cosmetic refresh of a fireplace that, on inspection, required a structural rebuild before any decorative work would be honest. Our design philosophy rests on three commitments. The first is period appropriateness as a starting point — not a constraint. A 1932 Volk Estates Tudor and a 1958 Devonshire ranch ask for fundamentally different vocabularies, and a remodel that ignores the home’s architectural language tends to read, however expensively executed, as costume. The second is restraint. We design fireplaces that recede into the room’s overall composition rather than dominate it; a hearth that demands attention every time you walk past it is, in our view, a design failure regardless of budget. The third is the long view. The materials we specify — cut Texas limestone, hand-troweled plaster, solid brass, period-correct millwork — are chosen because they age into the home rather than out of it. When clients ask whether their fireplace should lean period-appropriate or contemporary, the honest answer almost always lies in the home itself. Tudors, Georgians, and Spanish Colonials reward fidelity. Mid-century homes can absorb both directions. New-build contemporaries in Preston Hollow and Bluffview want the cleanest possible expression of a single, beautifully proportioned material. Our job is to read the room accurately and propose accordingly. —

What a TSE Remodel Includes

A remodel at this level is rarely a single intervention. It is a coordinated reworking of every visible and structural element of the hearth, calibrated to the result the design calls for. The scope of any individual project varies, but the elements below appear, in some combination, in nearly every engagement we take. **Mantel design and millwork.** The mantel sets the tone for the entire fireplace. We work with custom millwork shops on bench-built mantels in rift-sawn white oak, quarter-sawn walnut, painted poplar, and reclaimed timbers when the home calls for it. For period homes we research the original detail vocabulary — Tudor corbels, Georgian dentil moldings, Spanish hand-hewn beams — and reproduce or adapt them with a craftsman’s accuracy. For contemporary projects we often eliminate the mantel altogether in favor of a single uninterrupted plane of stone or plaster. **Surround materials.** This is where the room’s character is established. Our most frequent specifications are cut Lueders limestone in honed or chiseled finish, Cordova Cream limestone for its warmer tonal range, slab marble (Calacatta, Carrara, Taj Mahal quartzite) when the home wants quiet luxury, hand-applied lime plaster for warmth and shadow, large-format porcelain for very contemporary work, and solid brass or blackened steel as accent banding. We rarely specify thin veneer; the difference between a four-inch chiseled limestone surround and a half-inch veneer is visible, and it matters. **Firebox refresh.** Behind the surround, the firebox itself often needs work. Cracked refractory panels are replaced with new high-temperature panels cut to spec. Glass doors — frameless or in patinated bronze — are added or upgraded. Period-correct fenders, andirons, and tool sets are sourced. For wood-burning fireboxes, we re-parge the smoke chamber when needed and verify draft performance before any finish work begins. **Hearth extension and replacement.** The hearth — the slab projecting into the room — sets the fireplace’s relationship to the floor. We specify single-slab Lueders or Cordova limestone hearths whenever the geometry allows, raised or flush depending on the room’s proportions and the seating plan. Tile hearths, when chosen, are detailed with mitered edges and concealed expansion joints. **Conversion options.** A meaningful share of our work involves converting wood-burning fireplaces to vented gas log sets or gas fireboxes for clients who want the architectural presence of a fireplace without the maintenance load. For a small subset of contemporary specifications, we also convert gas to electric where the design intent is purely sculptural. Each conversion path carries different permit, venting, and gas-line implications that we walk through during design. —

Materials We Work With

Our material selection is curated rather than catalog-driven. We maintain working relationships with several Texas stone yards, a small group of custom millwork shops, and specialty suppliers for plaster, metalwork, and period hardware. The intent is that every material in a TSE remodel has been considered against the alternative, not chosen by default. The Texas limestone family deserves a particular note, because it is the material most associated with regional fireplace work and the one most often specified poorly. Lueders limestone, quarried in North Texas, runs in tonal range from buff gray to light gray with clean rectangular cuts and an unusually high compressive strength near 6,000 to 7,000 PSI — making it an excellent choice for both honed contemporary surrounds and chiseled traditional ones. Cordova Cream, quarried in Central Texas, is a softer cream-colored stone with subtle veining that rewards honing and aging, well-suited to homes that want warmth rather than the cooler tonality of Lueders. We also specify Frisco Buff, Hill Country brown, and on occasion imported French or Indiana limestones when the home’s vocabulary calls for them. | Material | Strength | Typical use | Cost band | |—|—|—|—| | Cut limestone (Lueders, Cordova) | Longevity, regional integrity, ages well | Tudor, Georgian, transitional, contemporary slabs | $$ – $$$ | | Slab marble or quartzite | Quiet luxury, dramatic veining | Contemporary, transitional, formal rooms | $$$ – $$$$ | | Hand-troweled lime plaster | Warmth, shadow, soft light reflection | Spanish Colonial, mid-century, contemporary | $$ – $$$ | | Tile (handmade, large-format porcelain) | Versatility, color range | Mid-century, eclectic, secondary fireplaces | $ – $$ | | Brass / blackened steel | Statement, fine line work | Accent banding, mantel straps, contemporary | $$$ | Bespoke millwork is sourced from two North Texas shops we have worked with for over a decade. Period restoration work — replicating a damaged Tudor corbel or a Georgian frieze — is handled by a single craftsman whose work we have used for restoration projects in Lakewood and Highland Park. —

Process and Timeline

A TSE remodel follows a deliberate sequence designed to surface decisions early and protect the project from the kind of mid-construction surprises that compound on premium homes. The full arc, from first conversation to final walkthrough, runs four to twelve weeks depending on scope, material lead times, and permit conditions. **Initial in-home consultation (week one).** A senior designer visits the home, walks the room with you, photographs the existing fireplace and adjacent millwork, takes measurements, and asks the questions that matter — how the room is used, what isn’t working, what you have seen elsewhere that you respond to. We do not bring a sample case. We bring a notebook. **Design proposal and 3D rendering (weeks one to two).** We return with a design direction, dimensioned elevations, and a 3D rendering of the proposed remodel placed in your actual room. Material samples follow only after the design direction is agreed; presenting samples before the design is set tends to scatter the conversation. **Material selection and specification (weeks two to three).** With the design locked, we narrow material choices to a final palette. Stone yards are visited in person whenever the project warrants — selecting a slab of Calacatta or a particular run of Lueders is not a catalog exercise. **Permits (weeks two to four, parallel).** Decorative gas fireplace permits in Dallas proper run a modest fee under the current schedule. Highland Park, University Park, and other premium municipalities maintain their own building departments and review cycles, which we manage on your behalf. Wood-to-gas conversions and any structural work require additional review. **Demolition and construction (weeks three to ten).** Protective draping is installed before demolition begins. Demolition itself typically runs two to four days. Masonry, millwork, and finish work follow in sequence, with daily site cleanup and a single point of contact throughout. **Finish and walkthrough (final week).** Finishes are cured, hardware installed, glass cleaned, and the room returned to a finished state before final walkthrough. We do not consider a project complete until you do. —

Premium DFW Neighborhoods We Serve

Our work is concentrated in a defined set of neighborhoods where the housing stock and the design conversation reward the level of detail we bring. – **Highland Park** — Tudors, Georgians, and Mediterranean-influenced homes along Beverly, Lakeside, and Armstrong – **University Park** — period homes near SMU and the Volk Estates conservation district – **Preston Hollow** — both heritage estates and the new generation of architect-driven contemporaries – **Bluffview** — mid-century and contemporary homes with strong horizontal proportions – **Lakewood** — Tudor revival, Spanish Colonial, and mid-century along Lakewood Boulevard and the streets above White Rock Lake – **Devonshire** — mid-century ranches and updated transitional homes – **Volk Estates** — the original 1920s and 1930s estates of University Park – **Old Preston Hollow** — significant heritage properties along Strait Lane and Park Lane – **White Rock Lake area** — including the historic homes on Lakeshore and the modern builds above the lake – **North Dallas** — selective work in Greenway Parks, Bent Tree, and similar enclaves We accept a limited number of projects outside this footprint each year when the project itself warrants the engagement. —

Investment Range

We believe in transparency about what this work costs, because the alternative — vague ranges that resolve into surprises — is corrosive to the relationship we want with our clients. Most TSE fireplace remodels fall between $8,000 and $45,000, with the typical project landing in the high teens to low twenties. The variables are straightforward: scope, material specification, demolition complexity, and the condition of what we find behind the existing surround. A surround-and-mantel refresh in cut limestone with new firebox glass and a custom oak mantel typically runs $12,000 to $22,000. A full remodel including hearth replacement, mantel millwork, surround, firebox refit, and a gas conversion">wood-to-gas conversion typically runs $25,000 to $45,000. Slab marble, large-format quartzite, or extensive structural work — relocating a flue, rebuilding a chase, addressing settlement — push projects above $45,000. We have completed engagements at $65,000 and above when the home and the design called for it. The resale conversation is worth noting briefly. In Highland Park and University Park specifically, a well-executed period-appropriate fireplace remodel reads to buyers as evidence of broader stewardship of the home, and our experience with listing agents in the area suggests it returns considerably more than its cost at sale. In contemporary Preston Hollow and Bluffview homes, the calculation is similar: a beautifully resolved fireplace is one of the elements buyers and their agents notice immediately. —

Frequently Asked Questions

**Do you work with my interior designer?** Yes — and a meaningful share of our projects originate this way. We maintain trade relationships with a number of DFW interior designers and architects, with 15% trade pricing, dedicated project management, and shareable rendering galleries that designers can present to their clients. The collaboration model varies: some designers want us to drive the design conversation, others want us as executors of a direction they have already developed. Both work. What matters is that the design intent is established cleanly at the outset and that responsibilities are clear. We are happy to coordinate directly with your designer from the first site visit forward. **Period-appropriate versus contemporary — how do you guide that decision?** The honest answer is that the home guides it more than we do. A 1928 Highland Park Tudor with original leaded glass and quarter-sawn oak millwork tends to ask for a period-appropriate fireplace, and contemporary interventions in that context often read as friction rather than dialogue. A 1962 Bluffview ranch has more latitude. A new-build contemporary in Preston Hollow almost always wants a contemporary expression. Our role during the consultation is to read the home accurately and present the direction that will hold up over decades, not just photograph well now. **Are there Lakewood and Highland Park HOA considerations?** Highland Park and University Park each maintain their own community development departments with permit review independent of Dallas proper. For interior fireplace remodels — surround, mantel, firebox, hearth — review is typically straightforward. Wood-to-gas conversions and any work affecting the chimney chase or roof penetration require additional review. Lakewood neighborhoods do not have a unified HOA but several conservation districts apply. We manage all permit submissions and review cycles on your behalf and flag any approval risk during the design phase rather than at construction. **Can you do a wood-to-gas conversion in an older home?** In nearly every case, yes. Older Highland Park and Lakewood homes were typically built with masonry chimneys that accept gas log sets or vented gas inserts well, provided the flue is sound and the gas line can be routed appropriately. We inspect the flue, smoke chamber, and damper during the consultation and identify any prerequisite repairs. Direct-vent gas fireplaces are also an option when the existing flue is compromised, though they involve more visible exterior work. **How long does a typical remodel take?** Four to twelve weeks from first consultation to final walkthrough, with most projects landing at six to eight. Material lead times are the variable that moves projects longest — slab marble selected at a yard typically runs three to four weeks for fabrication, and custom millwork mantels run two to four weeks. Demolition through finish, once materials are on-site, is usually two to three weeks of active site work. **What is the permit process in Dallas?** For decorative gas fireplaces in Dallas proper, the permit fee under the current city schedule is modest and the review cycle is typically a week or two. Wood-to-gas conversions add a flue vent permit. Highland Park, University Park, and other premium municipalities maintain their own fee schedules and review cycles, which can run somewhat longer. We submit all permit applications, manage inspections, and provide you with copies of approved permits at project closeout. **Do you handle the entire project or just the fireplace itself?** Both, depending on scope. A meaningful share of our engagements are fireplace-only — the surround, mantel, firebox, and hearth, with adjacent millwork and finishes preserved. Where the room calls for it, we expand scope to include flanking built-ins, ceiling treatments, or wall finishes that resolve the fireplace into the broader room. We do not take on whole-house renovations; our discipline is the hearth and its immediate context. —

Recent Projects Portfolio

**Highland Park Tudor — Period-Appropriate Stone Surround** A 1929 Tudor on Beverly Drive, original to the William Manning era, came to us with a 1980s tile surround that fought every other element in the room. The clients had restored the leaded glass, refinished the quarter-sawn oak floors, and rebuilt the kitchen in a way that respected the home’s original vocabulary; the fireplace was the remaining false note. We specified a chiseled Lueders limestone surround in a buff-gray range, with a hand-carved Tudor corbel detail at each side returning into a simple painted poplar mantel sized to align with the existing window casings. The hearth was replaced with a single Lueders slab, raised four inches in keeping with the period. The firebox received new refractory panels and a frameless glass door, with a wood-to-gas conversion using a vented log set that retains the appearance of a working wood fire. Total project ran nine weeks; investment was in the high twenties. **Preston Hollow Contemporary — Texas Limestone Slab** A new-build contemporary on Strait Lane, designed by a prominent Dallas residential architect, called for a fireplace that would read as a single architectural gesture in a 22-foot great room. The original specification had drifted toward a slab marble, but the marble samples felt small against the room’s scale and the architect’s overall material restraint. We re-specified a single 11-foot Cordova Cream limestone slab, honed to a soft sheen, with no mantel and a flush hearth set in matching limestone. The firebox is a linear gas unit with a frameless glass front and a custom blackened-steel inner frame fabricated to our drawings. The result is a fireplace that disappears into the architecture during the day and becomes the room’s organizing element at night. Project ran seven weeks; investment was in the high thirties. **Bluffview Mid-Century — Plaster and Brass** A 1958 Bluffview ranch with strong horizontal proportions, recently purchased by clients relocating from California, had a brick fireplace painted white that read as an apology rather than a statement. The room wanted warmth and a single material gesture. We specified a hand-troweled lime plaster surround in a warm bone tone, returning seamlessly into the adjacent walls — eliminating the visible boundary between fireplace and wall — with a single horizontal solid brass bar set as a floating mantel at 54 inches above the hearth. The hearth itself was demolished and replaced with a flush polished concrete slab tinted to match the plaster. Firebox received a new linear gas unit and a frameless glass door. The project resolved the room’s scale problem with one decisive material move. Six weeks; investment in the low twenties. —

Designer and Architect Partnerships

A meaningful share of our work originates through DFW interior designers and residential architects, and we have built our trade program around the realities of how design firms actually work. Trade pricing is 15% off the project total, dedicated to the designer’s account rather than a per-project negotiation. Each designer engagement is assigned a single project manager who works directly with the design team — not the homeowner — through specification and construction. We maintain shareable rendering galleries that designers can present to their clients during the design phase, and we provide CAD elevations and material specifications in formats that integrate with the designer’s broader project documentation. We also accept the role of executor on projects where the design has already been resolved by the designer — fabricating and installing to the designer’s drawings, with no design interference. The discipline we bring to homeowner-direct projects is identical to what we bring to designer engagements; the difference is whose voice leads the conversation. Architects who work in heritage properties — Highland Park, University Park, Volk Estates, Lakewood — are a particular focus. Period-appropriate fireplace remodel is a specialized discipline that intersects masonry, millwork, and historical research, and we have built the relationships and the in-house knowledge to support that work at the level it deserves. —

Beginning a Conversation

We accept a limited number of fireplace remodel projects each quarter and prefer to begin with an unhurried in-home consultation rather than a phone estimate. The consultation is a working session — we walk the room, discuss what isn’t working, look at what you respond to, and leave with a clear understanding of whether there is a project here and what it should be. To request a private consultation, call **214-444-8094** during business hours, or submit a project inquiry through our consultation form. We will respond within one business day. Designers and architects with active projects may contact our trade desk directly at the same number. – [Mantel and Surround Design](/services/mantel-surround-design/) – [Wood-to-Gas Conversion](/services/wood-to-gas-conversion/) – [Whole-Hearth Renovation](/services/whole-hearth-renovation/) – [Project Portfolio](/portfolio/) – [Highland Park Service Area](/areas/highland-park/) —

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— *Authored by Marcus Whitford, Design Director, Texas Service Experts. Marcus has led fireplace and hearth design at TSE for twelve years, with prior experience in residential restoration in Highland Park and Volk Estates. He works directly with homeowners, designers, and architects on every TSE engagement above the consultation tier.*