Pegasus Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 We don't use the gas fireplace and I feel it is a huge waste of space as it is in the middle of a large open floor plan and is surrounded by a round stone hearth. What's holding me back is the thought that replacing it may hurt the re-sale value of the house. Friends and family have commented on loving the fireplace. What do you think? Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I think there are drawbacks to an efficient woodburning stove also. The efficient ones are so air-tight you can't really enjoy watching the flames. All the ones I have seen that are efficient (admittedly, only a few) have been less than visually appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIY-DY Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 We don't use the gas fireplace and I feel it is a huge waste of space as it is in the middle of a large open floor plan and is surrounded by a round stone hearth. What's holding me back is the thought that replacing it may hurt the re-sale value of the house. Friends and family have commented on loving the fireplace. What do you think? Pegasus There are several I've been eyeballing, and the efficiency rate is phenomenal on some. Really, a wise investment, IMHO. Plus, if you put a little planning into it, it can look quite swanky ;) and when you're listing the home for sale, be sure to point out the lowered utility costs, or improved heating efficiency. I think that would be a decent selling point in a home (of course, I'm not a realtor, nor do I follow the real estate markets well enough to be giving advice. Just the thoughts of your random Jane-Homeowner... who is eyeballing a wood stove for the living room/dining area. :cool:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 We replaced our gas fireplace this past October for a high efficiency wood burning fireplace by KozyHeat. We went with a zero-clearance, 241ZC, and if you go into their website and find it you'll see what we see most everyday---a beautiful, wood fire burning with flames. We LOVE it. LOVE IT!! The heat is wonderful. In the morning I turn the house gas furnance on to 69 so that it will quickly heat the house up to temperature from 50 degrees --- we turn it off over night --- and while it is running I get the fire going. We don't try to keep the fire going overnight, just don't need to. The house furnace runs for about 30 minutes before I shut it off for the next 24hrs. The fire place heats our home; 2200 sq ft of space for the rest of the day. The place easily stays around 69 to 72. We shut the doors to the upstairs bedrooms so that's another 2000 sq ft of space that the fireplace doesn't heat, but it does a great job of keeping the house cozy warm. We have a large, open floor plan so the fireplace is our only real source of heat this winter, except for the 30 min in the morning. I don't understand the comment about not being able to enjoy the flames cause we can certainly do that with ours, provided that I have cleaned the glass in the morning. That is easy to do using Windex (on the cool glass) and sometimes the 'flame-soot-glass remover' stuff. ))))))))))))))))))))))) All the features and benefits of our popular model 231ZC, with square doors! Now you make the choice as to whether you want your zero-clearance woodburning fireplace to have arched doors or square doors. Either way, both options deliver superior heat output to bring warmth to even the coldest days. Available with black cast iron doors only. Standard Features 65,000 BTU/hr Input 73% efficiency Secondary combustion chamber High-quality pyro-ceram glass (12" x 14") Air-wash system (keeps viewing area clean) Air-seal square cast iron doors Zero clearance Large burning area - fits up to 22" logs Adapts to an 8" HT class “A†insulated chimney 10 year limited warranty Optional Features Outside air vent - closure & non-closure vents Black, Brass, Chrome or Brushed Nickel grills Face Trim - Brass Fan kit with variable speed (2-110 cfm) 8" B-Vent heat duct kit Expanded metal face Grill extension Lintel Iron KLS gas log conversion system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 We don't use the gas fireplace and I feel it is a huge waste of space as it is in the middle of a large open floor plan and is surrounded by a round stone hearth. What's holding me back is the thought that replacing it may hurt the re-sale value of the house. Friends and family have commented on loving the fireplace. What do you think? Pegasus over gas any day. Of course it depends what wood prices are in your area of if you have a wooded lot and can gather up some yourself. Check out Jotul, they can heat a large open area. It gets cozy fast. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 The other plus with having a wood fireplace is that you have now diversified your heating methods. If something were to happen to the gas supply you still have heat. If you are in a winter storm and lose electricity for days (which has happened here) and your furnace cannot run you still have a means to heat your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 The other plus with having a wood fireplace is that you have now diversified your heating methods. If something were to happen to the gas supply you still have heat. If you are in a winter storm and lose electricity for days (which has happened here) and your furnace cannot run you still have a means to heat your home. for 4 days but cozy thanks to our woodstove...and even if you don't have a gas stove that can be lit with a match you can boil water/soup/hot chocolate on a wood stove. Well, as you can tell - I'm all for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in TN Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Have you checked with your insurance company? I've heard of companies not insuring houses with wood stoves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 We heat our home solely with our Pacific Energy wood stove (which looks much like this: http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_spectrum.php). It is extremely energy efficient ~ and lovely to watch burn, too. I have to disagree with Claire in that regard; Pacific Energy produces many visually appealing stoves. They're a Canadian company (we bought ours in Canada, but I believe there are retailers here in the States, too) and have an excellent reputation. As for hurting the re-sale value of the house, well, I don't think that could be the case with an attractive, efficient wood stove. I can't imagine not having a real fire! Gas is just not the same ~ although it would certainly be easier than cutting and stack ten cords of wood each year.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 State Farm insures our house, no problem. It was a stove recently installed by the previous homeowner. Be sure you're willing to work with the wood itself, though. My husband always says it provides you with heat three times - the time to split it, the time to load and carry it into the house, and the time it actually burns. Plus, we get exercise by chopping wood in our local national forests with inexpensive permits. If using it for heat all the time, which we do, what I dislike is the mess the ash eventually makes, and also the woody bits left on the floor from transporting it to the stove. It also is going to be a fixture in your yard when it's stacked. All that said, we really love it! Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 But it's work and it does bring in dirt. But I still love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 http://www.woodstove.com/ We have one of these & it is beautiful & heats our house well. We have electric heatpumps & rarely use them. Our electric bills have been under $100. & it kept us warm during a bad ice storm when the electricity was out. I don't know if the other stoves recommended here have this, but the Woodstock stove has a catalytic combustor which adds even more efficiency & cuts down on creosote build up. Check out Plow & Hearth for helpful items for carrying wood & such. Here is our stove installed: http://jonathan.gathman.org/Stove/index.html jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I know this one. We bought two wood stoves for Y2K, and one of the farm houses has got one. Yodel is the best, also spelled Jotul. Search them and it'll come up. We bought an expensive reproduction of classic kitchen stove, and a less expensive Yodel, and it was much more efficient, better burning, put out more heat, etc. We got ours from an Amish store, Lehman's, I think it was called. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 Wow! Thanks for all the responses. I didn't even consider that it could be an insurance issue. I'll definitely look into that before we proceed. Our gas bill this month was almost $200, which is high for us. We can easily get free wood around here if we are willing to haul and split it ourself. Folks who have trees cut down PAY to have the wood hauled off. I'd mainly want to use it to heat the main level. All the bedrooms are upstairs and can be closed off during the day. The main level is about 900 square feet. Any guesses on how much wood we'd need to use daily on cold days? Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Wow! Any guesses on how much wood we'd need to use daily on cold days? Pegasus your winter lows and what indoor temp you like, an efficient stove like Ashley, Jotul or Soapstone could heat 900 square feet very comfortably with about 2-3 cords of good wood. You'll likely have some left over which will season even better over the summer for the next year. Good wood IMHO, is a mix of hard woods like oak, birch, almond and then a little walnut, cedar and a little pine. Too much pine gums up the flue but it's a nice fire starter because dry pine burns hot and fast. Perhaps you have also other types of wood in your area that are great for heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Have you checked with your insurance company? I've heard of companies not insuring houses with wood stoves. it's often more restrictive than other states but we have had no problems with insurance. In fact they like it better if you have a woodstove instead of an open fireplace. Don't know how they view gas stoves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 We told our insurance company that we were pulling out our gas fireplace and replacing it with a zero-clearance wood burning fireplace. No problem, and no increase in the premium. We are with AIG. Oh, they did want to see the building permit signed and approved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in WA Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 [As for hurting the re-sale value of the house, well, I don't think that could be the case with an attractive, efficient wood stove. [/color][/font]It would be the case in our part of the state. No trees, and firewood's scarce and expensive. The value of a woodburning stove depends entirely on where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraciebytheBay Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Do you have to replace it or can you simply add a wood stove in another area? We have a very nice fireplace in the living room which we have never used. We also have a very functional wood stove in the family room (opposite end of the house) which is used constantly in the winter. It heats the entire first floor and even keeps the upstairs at about 62 at night. Of course, the family room gets pretty warm. We love the wood stove for warmth and also because when we had a power failure, we were able to stay in our house! We even warmed soup on the top and cooked eggs. Let us know what you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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