More on the Wood Stove

 Like everything I do, I think I explained the current "fireplace" totally incorrectly.

What we have now is basically one of those "fake" - totally fake - the chimney is fake, there's a vent outside if that lets air in or takes air out. If you stand less than 2' from it, you feel heat - move any farther away and there's zero heat. What we have is probably not an "insert" - I guess it's just a fake fireplace with a fake fire. I think it's pretty but I'm more about function than pretty.

The last house we built in Louisiana had a fireplace with a blower and a thermostat and the whole house and separate duct work from the regular HVAC. We could set the thermostat and it kept the upstairs and downstairs nice and warm. Of course, it was southwest Louisiana and zero degrees doesn't happen there. In fact, when we built the house, we had decided not to put central heat in and just use the fireplace. The builder said "You may not live here forever and having no central heat may affect your ability to sell the house." We lived there two years and I'm very glad we listened to the builder.

Here's another question for you.

Here's the room with no furniture.  

(1) Here's what I think they're talking about with the wood stove. We'll know more Monday. The stove (probably the black Lopi) will sit in front of the hearth, the pipe will go into the hole where the insert is now and I don't know what happens after that - not sure they can vent it up the current "chimney" or it has to come out and go up.

(2) Here's a thought I had. Tell me if this is a dumb idea. To the right of the fireplace - basically that corner. What if we left the fireplace as it is and put the red stove over there kinda in the corner. That way, if when we start to sell this house, the new person has no interest in a wood stove, they can take it out, patch the one hole in the wall, put in new floor covering (because we'll have to have tile under and around the wood stove) and everything is back to normal.

I'm thinking I might like it better in the corner or almost in the corner because from where we have our furniture, we'd be facing it and be able to see the fire.

It would be a good bit less expensive because they aren't having to tear out the insert and retrofit everything there. And, because the stove wouldn't be sitting in front of the hearth, it would take up a bit less space.

Dumb idea?