The wood stove isn't happening. :( Not right now anyway.
The guys came out Monday morning, measured everything, talked about where we wanted the stove. We all decided leaving the two gas fireplaces alone and adding the stove to the corner where it could be easily removed and the gas fireplaces wouldn't have to be taken out was the least expensive option and probably the best because a future owner might not want to mess with a wood stove.
Vince and I had talked about it and we had a price in mind that we had decided we would do.
The price quoted us for leaving the two fireplaces alone and putting in the black wood stove was very close to double what Vince and I had said we would pay. Really, they have to put one hole through a wall, and add the stovepipe. The pipe does have to go from the basement to the top of the main floor (basically two stories) and I think he said 8' above the roof but when Vince and I were making our calculations, we looked at the prices for double and triple walled stovepipe.
In addition, and no matter who puts in the stove, we will have to move the radon pipe. Vince talked to the guy from Kansas City who installed our system and he will come and move the pipe. It will have to go through the deck, which isn't ideal but it's a big deck and if I had my way, I would have made it smaller when we re-did it several years ago so I'm not concerned about the pipe going through the deck.
There's a Mennonite guy who does some work for us and Vince is going to call him. I'm sure they install quite a few wood stoves in their community. They do such good work and are usually reasonable.
So, while this isn't the way I had expected it to go, there's still hope.
I have a wood stove in my fireplace and I don’t like it or use it. I don’t like the mess and smell of burning wood. I have considered taking it out and putting in gas logs. Then I think of the expense and would probably have to have a new line put in chimney, so I guess I’m stuck with it. Another issue is we don’t have gas lines in our development so would have to use propane tanks and their cost in our area is high. Guess maybe I’m just being practical and cheap..lol
ReplyDeleteI agree. Being practical AND cheap makes it difficult to make changes that aren't absolutely necessary. Our gas "fireplaces" aren't real fire - nothing is real and they don't put out much heat at all unless you're right in front of them but yet they burn through the propane like crazy. They make it look cozy but if the temps drop down to around zero, the electric heat pump (HVAC) nor the gas fireplaces put out enough heat to keep the house anywhere near comfortable. We do have the gas heater that we had in the greenhouse in Texas and we could use it to keep the house livable and the pipes from freezing but I love having a fire going and I love the house smelling like a wood fire. Reminds me of my grandparents' and great grandparents' homes.
DeleteWe've had a wood stove for almost the entire time we've lived in our house - close to 45 years now - and it's the only heat in our large living room. We used to have a fan to circulate the heat to the rest of the house, but now that the kids have all moved out, it's not really necessary. Our wood stove has a window in the front, so you can watch the flames if you want, which is nice, and a pull-out tray under the fire box to remove the ashes. Makes life much easier. It also helps keep me in shape, because I do all the splitting of the wood with the maul or a wedge & sledge hammer. (My doctor just shakes his head every year at my checkup when he asks if I still split wood. :-) I turned 71 yesterday and yes, I still split wood!! :-)
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