Good Things

[dancerjodi]

A new Henry Rollins DVD http://henryrollins.shop.musictoday.com/Product.aspx?cp=14511_14540&pc=1HAM22

Getting a ventless gas fireplace for our den.

Dorky karaoke and rock band in an Elks Hall.

Reading on the couch with the cats.

Lots of good, homemade food.

Comments

[buxom-bey.livejournal.com]

I'd love to hear about the gas fireplace, pros & cons vs. a wood fireplace, cost and such. Jon and I are starting to house hunt and we really want a fireplace. however there's not a lot on the market that has them. Installing a gas one could open up our options a lot.

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"I'd love to hear about the gas fireplace, pros & cons vs. a wood fireplace, cost and such."

Our options were: gas fireplace or a stove (either wood, pellet or gas) given the room we have to work with. A wood fireplace would require a real chimney and more space in the room (which we don't have) so it wasn't even an option.

As far as stoves go, wood requires more work in the room to make the area for it safe (ripping out part of our carpet and building a stone or ceramic floor and wall to surround the stove area), requires more space around it from furniture, requires permits/inspections from the fire department. Its more risky to use since its a fire in your house (versus just a burner). Its less efficient to heat. It releases more toxins in the air. It would however give us real fire, give us a nice crackle noise, allow us to burn whatever paper/wood we come by (so costs to operate it once installed could potentially be lower). It would not need electricity to operate. They'd vent it out of some kind of steel chimney that would go either through the exterior wall or out through the roof.

A pellet stove would require similar work to the room for the heat (carpet/tile) and permits/inspections as far as I can tell. It releases much less toxins in the air, and would be powered by pellets which we'd need to purchase and/or store somewhere. Its a sort of real fire, not sure of the crackle sound. They are excellent at regulating heat. They do require more upkeep (cleaning/tuneups) as there are lots of working parts. They do require electricity to keep ventilation fans going. They'd vent out of some kind of steel chimney. Using it if its in perfect working order is much easier than building a real stove - you fill it with pellets, push a button and walk away. I've heard you really need to baby the things to keep them from gumming up though. My coworker spends a couple of hours cleaning hers monthly (they use it as their primary heat source).

A gas stove or fireplace would be simple to operate: hit a button and the fire comes on, hit a button and it shuts off (we'd have a fireplace ideally, so faced with the choice of gas fireplace or gas stove, we chose the fireplace). A ventless gas fireplace/stove is simply just like a gas stove you'd have in your kitchen, just with a huge burner, so it doesn't need a special vent or chimney. We need a plumber to install the gas to it which in our case should be simple, since its in a room over a crawlspace that's next to our basement and is easily accessible from the side of our house. It will work in a power failure (just need a lighter), and will heat more efficiently than wood. We'd be paying for the gas to fire it of course (which may or may not be cheaper than wood or pellets, depending on what's happening in the industry at the time) but the gas used should be quite low. We aren't using it as a primary heating element as much as a 'taking a chill of' capacity. This room is the converted porch, so while its all insulated now and has a radiator its quite cold compared to the rest of the house.

What we will miss will be the real wood smell and crackle. The lack of crackle bums me out, but the toxins, permits/inspections, cost, safety risk, efficiency and the prep work we'd need to do in the room to make it fire safe made this the best alternative for us after a lot of thought over the last couple of years. The mantle plus the firebox cost us about $680 at Lowes yesterday (we bought an intermediate sized one given the size of our room - they do come larger to heat larger spaces and come in various mantle styles - ours is a kind of simple arts&crafts kind of style in a dark maple color). I'm guessing the plumber's fees will be a few hundred (we're still waiting to hear back) to shut off the gas, run a new pipe in, connect to the stove and check for leaks - nothing major I'd imagine.

Good luck with your search! I think what you can do ultimately in a house will all be dependent on where the chimney is, how big the rooms are and that kind of thing. Doing the research ahead of time may help you know when you are checking out a house what kind of thing is feasible or not.

[leilaland.livejournal.com]

We've looked at those fireplaces at home depot and the like. I keep having to remind Rain that we don't own this place, and that would probably be a great deal of trouble and expense for a rental. :)