Real fire, log fire, no fire...?

[NikNak]

OK chaps & chapesses.....


We currently have an open fire.... and nice and cosy it is too....



and during the summer months i've made a nice MDF panel that fits snuggly in front of the fire and between the recess of the fire place, all colour matched to the room.

But..... 'she' says to me the other day "do you think it would be worth thinking about (that means she's trying to persuade me to do it...) having a log burner installed..?"

OK i fully understand that an open fire is nowhere as efficient as a wood burning stove, but up until now (read 20+ years) all the wood has been free...

So my question(s) is/are.....

1... keep it as it is..?

2... Change to a wood burning stove..? and would it fit in the hole..? as there's no way i want something sat in the room on the hearth.... (hammer)

or... very controversial

3... take it out all together and block the hole up (but not so that it cant be used in the future by someone else) and replace it with a massive flat screen telly 8) (homer) ccasion5:


Room measures approx 27' x 13'.... bay window to the front and 3 large windows to the rear (2 x french door + 1 x fixed panel)

If we go option 1.... no cost.
If we go option 2... no idea of cost :shock:
If we go option 3... how much do 65" telly's cost.? :lol:



Nick

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Woodburner. Far better to watch than TV. Expensive though. Maybe 2-3K for decent stove+flue liner+cowl etc with competent installation.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Stoves are brilliant but I doubt you'll get one in without wrecking the fireplace, or at least making it look very ugly. You've no real option but put the stove under the flue (as you can't bring the flue out through the front of the existing fireplace without ruining it), so it would have to be very small. In my last house I had a Victorian marbled fire surround taken out for the same reason. For the amount of money it saved me over 12 yrs I never regretted it.

 

[bugbear]

I have a gas central heating system for heat.

I have an open, wood fire in my living room just because it makes me feel good.

BugBear

 

[cusimar9]

Log fire with a huge window - simply brilliant

 

[NikNak]

sorry.... s'pose i should have also mentioned that what you're looking at is an outside wall and the chimney stack runs up on the outside of the house. It's also relatively 'new' house... i.e. only about 25 yrs old, so we do have full gas central heating, and the fire (as it is now) is used as a free 'top-up' to that. Last winter i think we only lit it 2 or 3 times due to the very mild weather. But in the past few years it got lit most evenings.


Nick

 

[t8hants]

We have a small fireplace like that one, and after investigation we could find no log burning stove that would fit, so the real flame fake coal gas fire is going, and a small log grate will give an alternative to the TV to watch, as the CH warms the house, and the workshop keeps creating offcuts. My guiding principle was, 'the original fireplace will not be harmed'.

 

[Self Taught]

NikNak,

" How much do 65" tally's cost ?. " More than you would be left with after the divorce!!. Jamey

 

[DiscoStu]

Personally is leave it alone, an open fire is far nicer to watch.

If you want a telly you could always stick one above the fire place - although you'd want to see how hot it got first.

 

[John15]

Two years ago as part of a more open plan arrangement I took the bold step of blocking up the fireplace in my sitting room. At first it seemed very alien and I was thinking 'what have I done?' but I soon became used to the new layout and now don't miss the fire at all. The room is just as inviting, maybe a little less cosy,but no more dust or drafts, and without a fireplace as the main focal point I find there are more options for the room layout.

John

 

[david123]

Had a wood burners for 30 years and would hate to be without it. They are IMHO brilliant.

 

[Alex H]

Option 4 - gas fire?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Had a wood burners for 30 years and would hate to be without it. They are IMHO brilliant.

I agree 100% - but he's not going to get one in there, is he?

 

[paulm]

I have a gas central heating system for heat.

I have an open, wood fire in my living room just because it makes me feel good.

BugBear

Likewise, me and the missus and the dog all love the open log fire and wouldn't be without it

Cheers, Paul

 

[david123]

Had a wood burners for 30 years and would hate to be without it. They are IMHO brilliant.

I agree 100% - but he's not going to get one in there, is he?

Not without opening up that lovely fireplace. Best woodburners I have ever had is a Morso Squirrel lasted us for 20 years. It was kept on for 24 hous a day in winter, for those that use wood burners, when I say it's a diffrent sort of heat, they will know what I mean.

 

[bugbear]

IMHO an open fire isn't only (or even mainly) about heat, which is just
as well, since they're well known to be appallingly inefficient!

BugBear

 

[RogerP]

Before you have an open wood fire consider the effects on your health. As when cigarettes were first found to be a major health problem there are many conflicting opinions. Here's just one of hundreds on-line. I don't begin to know which is right but best to be informed and make up your own mind.

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/pdfs/woodsmoke_health_effects_jan07.pdf

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Had a wood burners for 30 years and would hate to be without it. They are IMHO brilliant.

I agree 100% - but he's not going to get one in there, is he?

Not without opening up that lovely fireplace. Best woodburners I have ever had is a Morso Squirrel lasted us for 20 years. It was kept on for 24 hous a day in winter, for those that use wood burners, when I say it's a diffrent sort of heat, they will know what I mean.

I have to say I'd assumed that changing the surround etc would be part of the job. If it were mine, it would go. If you plan to keep it, possibly best to leave well alone. But maybe an inset stove would fit. The smaller sizes are often meant to fit a typical existing fireplace hole, and the flue liner can be connected through the inside of the stove to avoid disturbing the surrounding tiles/whatever. Like these

http://www.contura.eu/English/Stoves/Inserts/
http://www.stovax.com/stove-fire/riva-w ... s/riva-40/

It might look a bit strange though.

There are quite a few good reasons to go for a closed stove - efficiency (possibly not a pressing concern if you have free wood), control, reduced draughts (it is just possible for an open fire to make the room colder !), and less likely to set your house on fire if left unsupervised.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Don't forget that open fireplaces have a negative heat value when not lit, as well as being inefficient when lit.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I have a wood burning stove and you're not going to get one in that space so its a moot point. If you could get one it would be so small as to be useless. Further they are very expensive to buy and install properly (flue liner etc) and in any event there's nowt wrong with an open fire when you're not worried about its inefficiency since you don't need to rely on it.

Strategy: Show the Missus a quote for circa £3K on headed paper, agree its better spent on a decent holiday and a massive tele.......job done