Re: Install gas fireplace okay?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/15/2007 10:22:08 AM Central Standard Time,

mouser4@... writes:

> We are wondering whether we should convert it to gas or just sheetrock

> over the fireplace

You can keep the fireplace as an attraction feature if you like by just

simply plugging up the flue so that the draft does not come down. Just remember

it's there if you ever decide to burn anything in it so that you open it up

first.

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[Guest guest]

Hi Beth. We have an old home and lost a lot of heat up the fireplace and had

very cold

drafts coming down it.

The previous owners converted it to gas-burning instead of wood. We rarely used

it. Gas

doesn't give off heat, and gas is so expensive we might as well have burned

dollar bills.

We bought a sheet of thick foam insulation board, cut it to fit the opening

tightly, covered

it in black fabric, and tapped it in. There it sat. Unused fireplace, but no

more cold drafts

coming off of it.

This year we were able to swing putting in a wood burning insert. It's a wood

stove that

fits into the fireplace opening. LOVE. IT.

It has a fan, and when the box gets up to temperature, the fan turns on and

blows warm

air into the room. We don't use it exclusively to heat the house, but we do use

it to make

the living room more comfortable and cozy. When it is roaring, the furnace

doesn't turn

on because it is so warm.

http://www.jotul.com/en/wwwjotulcom/

We bought a Jotul, the Kennebec, but there are many good brands to choose from.

HTH,