Beautiful fireplace photos from here.
Project Fireplace
Task: Get the currently non-working wood-burning fireplace to work.
Reward: Chestnuts roasting by an open fire. Ceremonial burning of ugly-but-necessary slippers.
Our otherwise OK basement (high ceilings, decent floors, no musty basement-y smell) is plagued by an enormous fireplace that is out of scale, off-centre and, wait for it, semi-circular. Yes, a big brick monstrosity that looks more like a cartoon of a pizza oven than a fireplace. You can understand why I want to deal with it. And every year, right at the beginning of December, the cusp of holiday entertaining, I cast a dissatisfied eye around my worn-out house and find myself overwhelmed by the long list of things that need doing. I do believe I spend more time making lists of things to do than actually doing things on the list. This year I am taking a strategic approach: no other cosmetic issue in the house will be dealt with until that fireplace is roaring. Our slow-burn renovation is still on simmer - I intend to fix this house, I really really do - but the fireplace just won't wait a minute longer.
Today I consulted this blog about fireplaces which, aside from affirming the fact that my own blog is wildly unfocused, was a good place to get the fireplace lingo down and whittle down the list of requirements:
Here's what I know so far:
If we do a gas conversion, we want:
* An insert with an auto-starter Vs a pilot light that runs 24/7 is less wasteful - and saves $10 a month in gas.
* Ceramic glass is better than tempered glass. Something about heat transfer.
* A "squirrel cage" type fan is quieter and more efficient than the non-squirrel variety.
* Don't quote me, but a direct vent offers better indoor air quality than the other type of venting option.
Still to be determined:
*Is there such a thing as realistic-looking ceramic logs?
*Is it too much to hope for that ceramic logs might make nice little cracking sounds too?
*What becomes of the ugly brick? I think the ceiling is too low for a traditional mantel, so I need to find a simple, modern but classic cladding solution.
*What's it all going to cost?
Next stop: Marsh's Fireplace Shop to kick some tires and get some answers. And not a moment too soon - it's snowing!
2 comments:
The fireplace is installed - right on schedule! In the end we went to Fireplace Depot on Queensway and paid $2800 including installation. We love it. Our basement isn't quite as lovely as the pictures above, but when we're cozied up in front of it at night, all is right with the world.
Good news on the fireplace! It's great you found an accommodating and expert Fireplace Shop. I'm currently thinking about updating my fireplace in my sitting room too so I know what you went through!
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