topic Re: Fireplaces in Home

Fireplaces

Coastalcarolina — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:05:26 GMT

I was reading a recent topic on candle safety. For those of you who have a wood burning fireplace, are you afraid of them? I know that sounds silly, but a candle can be extinguished in seconds, a fire has to burn itself out.

When we bought our house years ago, I wanted one. But my husband had gas logs installed instead. Said he didn't want the house smelling like residual smoke. Now many years later, had those removed and have an electric log insert that has a heating unit. It's pretty, safe, and does the trick.

Do you have a real fire in the fall/winter months? Inquiring minds want to know😊

Re: Fireplaces

mspatmac — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:16:05 GMT

@Coastalcarolina

I've had wood burning fireplace's in two of my homes and used them all the time. When I moved for the last time it was just me and while it was wood burning it had a gas as the starter. I couldn't handle the wood deliveries, stacking it and carrying it in so I had the gas logs installed.

While it's easy to use, and I use it to take the chill off the family room. I still miss a wood fire, the smell and the crackling. I was never afraid of it.

Re: Fireplaces

haddon9 — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:19:43 GMT

We have a wood burning fireplace in the family room. When we first moved to here 30 years ago and the house was new we would make a several fires every winter....usually over the holidays.

It became a lot of work and we would have to make sure the fire would burn down before we would go to bed. Too much work, too messy and then there is the issue of hiring a chimney sweep to clean it out.

So for several years now we have an electric insert like you....it's not the same as a real fire but I like it well enough and adds some atmosphere and warmth to the room.

Re: Fireplaces

RedTop — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:25:15 GMT

Never been a fan of a fireplace. We have a free standing wood burning stove in the basement as a back up heating source.

Re: Fireplaces

Chessa35 — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:37:15 GMT

We have a wood burning fireplace . There are glass doors that close . There is also a blower unit ; so the heat comes into the room and not all up the chimney. We don't seem to get smoke or a smell in the room .

There is a log you you can burn at the beginning of the season to remove the creosote from the inside of the chimney.(Usually, a fire could happen because of that build up.) once a year we do a chimney sweep . I feel any maintenance is well worth it .
Sure , gas is easier to maintain; but it's Gas . The possibility of gas exploding bother me much more . People love them though . Pros and cons on both .

Re: Fireplaces

Sooner — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:46:59 GMT

We had two fireplaces in our last house and converted them to gas. Wood was a pain. I will say the one in the kitchen and eating area was fun on a cold cold snowy day or when you had company.

We have three gas fireplaces here and they are used some, but not a big deal with us.

Re: Fireplaces

jlkz — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:52:54 GMT

In our great room we set up the circular glass wood burning fireplace in the Fall and take it out in the Spring.

Last year I told DH no more fireplace because I can no longer kneel down to tend to the fire. It has become a safety issue because should a piece of wood tumble and roll around ( in or out of the fireplace ), I can no longer handle it.

We both loved that fireplace: a good sized fire would burn for about 30 minutes while we had dinner along side it.

When we added the master suite about 20 years ago, we had a vented gas fireplace put in. The room got so hot that after 10 minutes we turned it off. It was a waste of $ and space. Since it has a blower installed that uses electricity, it is useless during a power outage.

Re: Fireplaces

50Mickey — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:54:07 GMT

Over the course of owning 4 homes we have had all three of these at different time. While I love a wood buring fireplace it is messy. We have a gas log insert in our current home. I get up in the morning and when it is cold I turn it on with the flick of a switch. It heats up the kitchn and the family room very quickly.

Re: Fireplaces

Desert Lily — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 23:57:11 GMT

I've had wood burning, gas, & gas starter fireplaces. I didn't want a fireplace in my new house, so I don'thave one. When I lived in NY, the fireplace was drafty & I put a cover over it. Although mantels are beautiful, I'd rather have a free-standing room heater that I can move around or easily get rid of.

When I was growing up, we had a fireplace that took up the whole wall in the family room. It had different ways to cook on it, & every week my dad made steak and popcorn. But, it was also alot of work.

Re: Fireplaces

patbz — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:07:09 GMT

I've owned 3 homes with wood burning fire places and we used them frequently but they are a lot of work! One time I fell asleep with fire still burning and felt that if I hadn't awakened pretty quickly I might have been asphixiated. I mentioned the odd sleepy feeling to a coworker the next day and she mentioned she'd lost her sister and brother in law to that! In our current home we have a gas fireplace, which we quickly adjusted to.

Re: Fireplaces

PA Mom-mom — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:19:06 GMT

@Coastalcarolina Both DH and I grew up with wood burning fireplaces and we made sure we had one in the house we built 39 years ago. We use it every Fall and Winter. We make sure to have the chimney professionally cleaned every year, because we like to cook in our fireplace. DH usually takes out any leftover embers each night and puts them in a covered, weighted metal drum on the patio. If the embers are too many, we bank them at the back of the fireplace and make sure the screen is secure in front of the fireplace. Yes, they are lots of work, but we wouldn't have it any other way. During super storm Sandy, we were so happy to have one warm room where we could cook and make coffee.

Re: Fireplaces

sweetee2 — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:27:19 GMT

We've have a 48" wood burning fire place. We have burned wood during the winter every year for 45 years. When we go grocery shopping we pick up a bundle of wood so we have a nice little stack. Granted we don't have a roaring fire and we have learned when to let it burn down so we can put the insulated cover over the front so it doesn't suck the heat out of the familyroom.

Back in the day we would go up in the mountains and cut down our own wood. Way back in the day.

Re: Fireplaces

Snowpuppy — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 02:18:45 GMT

I had a wood burner in a condo I had in my younger years and tho it is work it never grew old. 🥰

I'm considering my next move and a wood burner I think is a must have again. Just about everyone up here has a secondary heat source and many people source wood from their own property.

Places that sell seasoned firewood also offer delivery and stack services. I've never cooked in a fireplace but my coworkers who have a wood stoves do.

Re: Fireplaces

Lilysmom1 — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 10:57:49 GMT

We have a Vermont Casting wood stove and a gas fireplace. In the colder months, we use both and I love them both. I quilt by the wood stove all winter. LM

Re: Fireplaces

Jo1313 — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 11:07:10 GMT

We have a wood burning fireplace in the family room and a wood burning BBQ in the kitchen..

Will never use either!..

I have fear of open flames..I won't ever have an outdoor BBQ.

I had a counter top made for the kitchen BBQ.

The only open flame I will use is sterno in an emergency..and I'd never look away from the flame.

Re: Fireplaces

JeanLouiseFinch — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 11:52:49 GMT

I love having a fireplace with a gas starter. We have our own wood to burn from trees take down on our property. DH like the job of splitting them, though I don't like him doing it anymore. It used to be that we'd only do fires on the weekends, but since I retired, I have them several times a week throughout winter. I love the ambiance in our home when a fire is burning. Our fireplace screen has both the metal mesh sliding "curtains" but it also has glass doors. At some point in the evening we decide to let the fire die down. By the time we go up to bed, there are no logs remaining, only embers, so we can close the glass doors.

About 25 yrs. ago, or so, our area go hit one March with a terrible ice storm. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power in the region, which meant no one's furnace, water, or toilets were operational. We, and some neighbors from across the street, were thankful that we had a fireplace. We piled in our family room lived like pioneers for about 24 hrs.

Re: Fireplaces

ciao_bella — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 12:17:33 GMT

I have a woodburning fireplace with glass doors since we built the house in 1980. It's used in the fall and winter every year. My son will tend to making the fire with wood/logs, but I generally don't do it. I will, however, buy a few cases of Duraflame logs and, if I'm in the mood for a fire and he's not around, I will light one or two in the fireplace which will last for about 5 or 6 hours.

Re: Fireplaces

Meowingkitty — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 12:33:40 GMT

I live in Arizona so it sounds counter intuitive to have a fireplace but I have a wood burning fireplace. Haven't used it in years. It's either not cold enough to use it or it's a no burn day because of pollution. The few days a year that we could use it it's usually why bother. But it does look nice. We keep battery operated candles in there. I did notice when I went outside yesterday mid morning someone was burning theres. We get excited when it gets below 80.

Re: Fireplaces

DrBabs — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 13:13:27 GMT

I've switched out wood burning fireplaces for ceramic gas logs over the years. Love the look, ease of maintenance, and clean burn. Wood fires irritate my lungs and I can't stand the smell of smoke. However, with the price of natural gas rising this year I doubt I will use my fireplace much. During our catastrophic winter power grid failure in Feb 2021, that fireplace saved my life and kept me warm! I have the chimney inspected every year even though there is no buildup -- just want to make sure it's structurally safe. My current house is 46 years old.

Re: Fireplaces

FastDogWalker2 — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 14:03:21 GMT

We live in a pretty mild climate. That being said, all of our homes have had wood burning fireplaces until the home we live in now. It has a gas fireplace. I really like it. We do have an outdoor wood burning fireplace that we enjoy when we want a "real" fire. I don't miss having to clean up after an inside fire.