I’ve been a long-time lurker here, but thought I’d throw out a “what would you do” to you guys.
Here’s the situation: I currently burn wood recreationally in an open fireplace in my 1930s bungalow. This has been a source of enjoyment and ambience for the past few years, but it also comes with all the drawbacks of an uncontrolled, inefficient burning experience. The addition of a fireback this year has markedly increased radiant heat in the room (1.5 degree increase with the fireback versus without), but it is still inefficient. As much as I love the ambiance and sound and light of an open fire, and I truly do, I think it might be nice to find some sort of wood burning appliance that not only makes better use of the wood I burn, but also looks nice while doing so.
Here’s what I have: The current fireplace, which is original to the house, is located centrally with a brick-and-clay chimney that has a slight zig-zag on its way up to the peak of the roof; flue size is 13”x13”. The fireplace itself is 36”w 29.5”h 25”d, tapering gently to a rear width of roughly 27”. There is 23” of slate in front of the fireplace, and the slate sits 3/8” above the wood floor of the living room. The slate is supported by a concrete “wedge” that sits in front of the brick base/support for the fireplace and chimney, and which is supported in the crawlspace by the wood that was used to form it when originally poured; this wood is tied in to the floor joists. (see attached pictures). The house is roughly 1100 square feet, with the bulk of that on the main level and one finished room upstairs.
What I think I would like to do: I would like to get a good looking supplemental heat source into my house to augment my forced air system. We currently have a very low heating bill, despite the un-tight nature of our house, since we keep the thermostat down around 65 degrees. I have no interest in the house being 75+ degrees, ever, so I suspect a smaller stove or insert with a decent viewing area would be appropriate. I would anticipate that the stove would be fired in the evening and reloaded before bed, and since we’re usually gone long enough during the day to make an all-day burn unrealistic (9-12hours), we’d probably not be able to keep it going during the day. Lastly, I suspect that the wood support of the concrete/slate area in front of the fireplace does not constitute a noncombustible surface, so from what I understand about this stuff we’d probably need to keep a stove or insert within the confines of the fireplace itself.
What I don’t want to do: I do NOT want a plate steel insert with a brassy handle. It would not look right with the plaster or woodwork in the house, and since we spend 90% of our family time in this room the aesthetics are very important in selecting a wood burning appliance. Though we will likely continue to live here for some time, I do not anticipate being in this house long enough to justify the cost and work of cutting up the floor or making major structural changes to the hearth area.
What I need to know: if you were in my shoes, what would you be considering for an insert or stove? Would a smaller stove capable of fitting inside the hearth area be capable of meeting my heating needs? Or would you suggest I just stick with recreational burning in an open fireplace since mid-day fire tending is out of the question?
Thanks in advance for the input!
Here’s the situation: I currently burn wood recreationally in an open fireplace in my 1930s bungalow. This has been a source of enjoyment and ambience for the past few years, but it also comes with all the drawbacks of an uncontrolled, inefficient burning experience. The addition of a fireback this year has markedly increased radiant heat in the room (1.5 degree increase with the fireback versus without), but it is still inefficient. As much as I love the ambiance and sound and light of an open fire, and I truly do, I think it might be nice to find some sort of wood burning appliance that not only makes better use of the wood I burn, but also looks nice while doing so.
Here’s what I have: The current fireplace, which is original to the house, is located centrally with a brick-and-clay chimney that has a slight zig-zag on its way up to the peak of the roof; flue size is 13”x13”. The fireplace itself is 36”w 29.5”h 25”d, tapering gently to a rear width of roughly 27”. There is 23” of slate in front of the fireplace, and the slate sits 3/8” above the wood floor of the living room. The slate is supported by a concrete “wedge” that sits in front of the brick base/support for the fireplace and chimney, and which is supported in the crawlspace by the wood that was used to form it when originally poured; this wood is tied in to the floor joists. (see attached pictures). The house is roughly 1100 square feet, with the bulk of that on the main level and one finished room upstairs.
What I think I would like to do: I would like to get a good looking supplemental heat source into my house to augment my forced air system. We currently have a very low heating bill, despite the un-tight nature of our house, since we keep the thermostat down around 65 degrees. I have no interest in the house being 75+ degrees, ever, so I suspect a smaller stove or insert with a decent viewing area would be appropriate. I would anticipate that the stove would be fired in the evening and reloaded before bed, and since we’re usually gone long enough during the day to make an all-day burn unrealistic (9-12hours), we’d probably not be able to keep it going during the day. Lastly, I suspect that the wood support of the concrete/slate area in front of the fireplace does not constitute a noncombustible surface, so from what I understand about this stuff we’d probably need to keep a stove or insert within the confines of the fireplace itself.
What I don’t want to do: I do NOT want a plate steel insert with a brassy handle. It would not look right with the plaster or woodwork in the house, and since we spend 90% of our family time in this room the aesthetics are very important in selecting a wood burning appliance. Though we will likely continue to live here for some time, I do not anticipate being in this house long enough to justify the cost and work of cutting up the floor or making major structural changes to the hearth area.
What I need to know: if you were in my shoes, what would you be considering for an insert or stove? Would a smaller stove capable of fitting inside the hearth area be capable of meeting my heating needs? Or would you suggest I just stick with recreational burning in an open fireplace since mid-day fire tending is out of the question?
Thanks in advance for the input!
