PrincessMommy Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Ugh - so here's the backstory: We moved into our current house last Jan. It had what we were told by our homeinspector was a gas fireplace that needed to flue open (can't even remember what he called it). Tried it out once... it was ugly and COLD! All the hot air went out the chimney. We put some money asside from the sale of our old house (we had it 20yrs and made some money) to do a few nice fix-ups on this one. One was to get an insert like we had at the old house, which I loved. So I picked out a gas insert and the guy came out to do the measurments and make sure everything was in order. Well, it wasn't. :bored: It's a vent-free gas fireplace. The line was completely hidden behind a box a previous owner put in. I couldn't even get my own hand in there to turn off the valve (home inspector never caught that). The line comes out the floor and around the front of the fireplace - the new guy said it should come in through the outside on the side of the chimney. He says we can't get an insert unless we want to pay $$$ to move the line - because the insert is flush with the fireplace front. He told me the vent-free is much cheaper to replace (we have no idea how old this thing is - and did I mention is was ugly!!). It was much warmer with the flue closed, but still - very ugly. FF to today. I got the quote.. It is much cheaper but I wanted to do a little research. I'm worried because it's completely open and exposed and our particiular fireplace has no step - it's flush with the floor. Later this year we'll be keeping our grandchild 2-3 days a week while dd works. It uses gravel to cover up the base. I'm thinking gravel and toddlers in the same room don't mix. Then, I found this Epinions on vent-free gas fireplaces: http://www.epinions....3647578244?sb=1 Ugh. Now it looks like their unsafe too (at least according to this guy) I looked at free-standing vented gas fireplaces ... but right now I'm mostly overwhelmed and discouraged. I feel like I'm just going to be stuck with an ugly hole in the wall. Anyone got some good ideas? Anyone know of some good sights that give helpful advice and point people in intelligent directions. Pictures are nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garddwr Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 No experience or opinions to share, but I'm listening in because the home we bought two years ago also came with an old, ugly gas fireplace. The previous owners said they had never tried to use it in the 10 year they lived in the home, and after sitting unused for that long I didn't even dare try. I need to have someone come out and look at it. I'm actually hoping that if the gas insert is removed we could convert it to a regular wood-burning fireplace, but I can't tell if it was designed that way or just for the gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddykate Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Is there anyway you can take out the gas insert and put in a wood burning stove? I don't know the size area you have, but you could insulate and brick the hole, then put a stove there in its place. If there is a chimney already in place, you could use it for the wood burning stove too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 well... there's no gas insert to take out. As I said in my OP - I basically have a hole in the wall with gas logs. A pellet stove is one option I'm open to. Anyone??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I love pellet stoves. We had one and it was a wonderful source of heat and very pretty to look at. One of the benefits is that you can leave them burning when you leave the house (I would never do that with gas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Is there anyway you can take out the gas insert and put in a wood burning stove? I don't know the size area you have, but you could insulate and brick the hole, then put a stove there in its place. If there is a chimney already in place, you could use it for the wood burning stove too. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 well... there's no gas insert to take out. As I said in my OP - I basically have a hole in the wall with gas logs. A pellet stove is one option I'm open to. Anyone??? My sister who lives in Washington state loves hers.....I am still unclear though on why you can get the fireplace working. You need a new gas line installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Scarlett, the gas logs work. It's old and ugly and after reading the epinions piece I linked to in my OP I'm not sure vent-free gas is safe anyway. I'm looking for something else. I'll say it again, because it seems that it's been misunderstood. I *do not* currently have a gas insert. There are gas logs in the open fireplace with pebbles around the base (no doors or screen). The gas line comes from the front of the fireplace (outside on the wall) so I cannot put an insert in with this configuration because it would butt against the gas line.. I will have to re-do the line, which the fireplace guy said is $$$ and probably includes tearing out a section of the ceiling in the basement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Scarlett, the gas logs work. It's old and ugly and after reading the epinions piece I linked to in my OP I'm not sure vent-free gas is safe anyway. I'm looking for something else. I'll say it again, because it seems that it's been misunderstood. I *do not* currently have a gas insert. There are gas logs in the open fireplace with pebbles around the base (no doors or screen). The gas line comes from the front of the fireplace (outside on the wall) so I cannot put an insert in with this configuration because it would butt against the gas line.. I will have to re-do the line, which the fireplace guy said is $$$ and probably includes tearing out a section of the ceiling in the basement. Oh boy. Yeah, I don't think the ventless is safe either. It seems to me that any option is going to cost you money. So would you prefer the gas fireplace or do you want to go with something like a pellet stove? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 We sealed ours up and put bookshelves on the hearth. The actual fireplace opening (after sealing it up) got a set of doors and is a toy cubby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 can you post a pict?? have you called the gas company and asked them? They handle all the gas line work around here and we would have to go through them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 I'm about to leave for an appt. I'll try to post one later. Thanks for the idea about calling the gas company. I hadn't thought of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 My mom has a gas stove that looks like a cast iron Woodstove. It is cozy, warm and beautiful. I wonder if you could just close up the opening somehow and do that instead. I think it is going to cost you a bi tof money no matter what. Fireplaces, stoves etc are always a money hog in a house. You never know what you are get with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Here's my fireplace. the yellow line you see at the bottom right is the gas line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 We have a wood-burning insert with a blower, and we love it! We use it as supplemental heat and we burn salvaged pallet hardwood in it. Not everyone has to go that route, obviously! We paid about $2500 for the insert, intall, and a full stainless-steel liner for our chimney. It has been worth every penny. We live in the Northeast, so a gas fireplace would be pretty, but not at all useful for actually heating the house. I think it depends on what you want it to do. This is like what we have - same brand, different model: http://www.regency-fire.com/Products/Wood/Wood-Inserts/I1200.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Here's my fireplace. the yellow line you see at the bottom right is the gas line Not near as ugly as you painted it. ;) But yeah that gas line is a problem. Also the fireplace isn't very big so anthing you try to 'insert' might be a problem. I would probably pay to have the line fixed and keep using as a gas fireplace except you need a screen of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.