Hi,
I am new here. I need your help. Here is my situation:
We have a fireplace that is no longer functional either for wood or gas because of an unrepairable defect. It has a huge stone hearth and a fantastic mantle beautifully decorated. I'd say that the hearth and mantle are the focal point of our house.
Shortly after we first moved in (9 years ago), In anticipation of a long electrical outage, we bought a propane Vanguard heater and had it installed in front of the opening to the firebox which has a glass screen in front of it. We also bought a 500 gallon propane tank that is hooked up to it and a gas stove and genny.
Last Winter, our electricity was cut off so we turned on the Propane heater. After an hour, I could not stand it anymore. My eyes were glazed over and I was sick to my stomach from the fumes. We called the company that installed it and they came out to take a look and make sure it was functioning properly. It was.
Since then, I have worried about what would happen if the electricity cut off for a long period of time. I just cannot stand that propane heater.
As a result from my concern, we have looked into the possibility of getting a wood stove. The Chimney cleaner/woodstove/fireplace installer came here this morning to survey our situation and see if a woodstove could be installed in front of our firebox on the hearth. He said that our beautiful mantle would have to be removed for good. (To me that is short of tragic. No more Christmas mantle with the oil lamps lit on each end and my beautiful tray in the middle. No more wood duck or manger scene.) Also, he would have to remove the firebox to insert the piping and then we would have to get a stone mason to block it up. He said it would look very good and be safe.
One of my problems with this, is that, although we have many trees that can be used from our acreage, my husband is over 70 and has never used a chain saw since he was very young. We wonder how long he might be able to cut the wood. Splitting it is no problem. Storing it is no problem. I am concerned that he could hurt himself with the saw. If we get someone else to saw the wood, we would have to pay and there goes our savings.
In addition, there is the usual list of pros and cons about having a wood stove such as smoke in the house, burnt spots on the carpet, dragging the wood around at an older age. Also, in a crash, there will be no gas to use a chain saw.
I guess my biggest question here is, shall we give up the beautiful mantle in order to install the stove even though we live in a fairly temperate climate which seldom goes below 32 degrees in the day time. Of course at night it can get down to 15 degrees.
Also, are there any older folks here who use a wood stove and have to cut there own wood.
Incidently, how long can we store wood for? We do have dry buildings we can keep it in or under. How do we keep out the termites? The last time we stored wood, it rotted in 6 years, so we tossed it. However it was stored under a leaky shed roof. I was thinking maybe we could cut a lot of wood now while my husband still can. In other words, we could prep on wood.
Oh, the price we were quoted for stove and installation is $4,500 and the stone mason would be about $400 more plus the cost of the chain saw. That big of an expense is kinda scary! The installer can't install the stove for us until January as this is now chimney and flue cleaning season. Which, now, brings me to the fact that we will have to pay to have this man come out once a year to clean our flue.
I am not sure what to do. As far as being ready for harder times, we have everything else in place but for a woodstove. Can any of you give me some input as to what you would do?
Here is the stove we have picked out: http://www.southernhearth.com/pacific-energy-t5-alderlea-wood-stove-with-butterfly-cooktop.html
Thanks.
I am new here. I need your help. Here is my situation:
We have a fireplace that is no longer functional either for wood or gas because of an unrepairable defect. It has a huge stone hearth and a fantastic mantle beautifully decorated. I'd say that the hearth and mantle are the focal point of our house.
Shortly after we first moved in (9 years ago), In anticipation of a long electrical outage, we bought a propane Vanguard heater and had it installed in front of the opening to the firebox which has a glass screen in front of it. We also bought a 500 gallon propane tank that is hooked up to it and a gas stove and genny.
Last Winter, our electricity was cut off so we turned on the Propane heater. After an hour, I could not stand it anymore. My eyes were glazed over and I was sick to my stomach from the fumes. We called the company that installed it and they came out to take a look and make sure it was functioning properly. It was.
Since then, I have worried about what would happen if the electricity cut off for a long period of time. I just cannot stand that propane heater.
As a result from my concern, we have looked into the possibility of getting a wood stove. The Chimney cleaner/woodstove/fireplace installer came here this morning to survey our situation and see if a woodstove could be installed in front of our firebox on the hearth. He said that our beautiful mantle would have to be removed for good. (To me that is short of tragic. No more Christmas mantle with the oil lamps lit on each end and my beautiful tray in the middle. No more wood duck or manger scene.) Also, he would have to remove the firebox to insert the piping and then we would have to get a stone mason to block it up. He said it would look very good and be safe.
One of my problems with this, is that, although we have many trees that can be used from our acreage, my husband is over 70 and has never used a chain saw since he was very young. We wonder how long he might be able to cut the wood. Splitting it is no problem. Storing it is no problem. I am concerned that he could hurt himself with the saw. If we get someone else to saw the wood, we would have to pay and there goes our savings.
In addition, there is the usual list of pros and cons about having a wood stove such as smoke in the house, burnt spots on the carpet, dragging the wood around at an older age. Also, in a crash, there will be no gas to use a chain saw.
I guess my biggest question here is, shall we give up the beautiful mantle in order to install the stove even though we live in a fairly temperate climate which seldom goes below 32 degrees in the day time. Of course at night it can get down to 15 degrees.
Also, are there any older folks here who use a wood stove and have to cut there own wood.
Incidently, how long can we store wood for? We do have dry buildings we can keep it in or under. How do we keep out the termites? The last time we stored wood, it rotted in 6 years, so we tossed it. However it was stored under a leaky shed roof. I was thinking maybe we could cut a lot of wood now while my husband still can. In other words, we could prep on wood.
Oh, the price we were quoted for stove and installation is $4,500 and the stone mason would be about $400 more plus the cost of the chain saw. That big of an expense is kinda scary! The installer can't install the stove for us until January as this is now chimney and flue cleaning season. Which, now, brings me to the fact that we will have to pay to have this man come out once a year to clean our flue.
I am not sure what to do. As far as being ready for harder times, we have everything else in place but for a woodstove. Can any of you give me some input as to what you would do?
Here is the stove we have picked out: http://www.southernhearth.com/pacific-energy-t5-alderlea-wood-stove-with-butterfly-cooktop.html
Thanks.
