New to not only this forum, but fireplaces in general - not much need for them down in SOFLA, but, will be moving to the Carolinas where we currently have a home under contract.
Had the chimney inspected today-seems my realtor tells me I'm the first homeowner she's encountered who's ever had a chimney inspection done on a home their thinking of buying - really? Guess I'm lucky to do this since the chimney insp found some issues.
This was originally a wood burning fireplace and somewhere along the way, made in to a natural gas fireplace.
He said the flue tiles needed to be repaired, and while he doesn't do this type of repair, he guesstimated a new liner was something like $4K-$5K, but that was a guess, or half that amount to repair the liner. He called and found, without the company actually coming out to see it, to repair would be between $1500 on the low side and $2500 on the upper end of the spectrum. Also, the damper wouldn't open well.
I'm not willing to put any amount additional out for the house and would rather walk than have to put that much money out for something we probably won't use all that much, though would use in case of emergencies.
A little while after, my realtor called to say that the owners really want to sell but are running low on money to do repairs. They came up wtih an idea of having a vent free firebox insert with natural gas logs installed.
Since I know absolutely NOTHING about a fireplace, I'm trying to find some information on this so I can give it a somewhat educated thought before I give an answer, one I don't want to make a mistake with.
Is it correct that if I have them put in a vent free firebox insert with natural gas logs already set in (complete unit) that the damper wouldn't have to be cleaned out and repair and the few cracks that the insp. found in the existing firebox would not need to be patched due to the insert and the new firebox not being vented, thus not going up thru the chimney/flue and the original firebox not being impacted?
Can anyone tell me what elements I should make sure I list the new unit to have? I see one with blowers and one without blowers but don't know what the blower does and which I would want, with, or without?
How does a ventless unit differ in heat output compared to a vented natural gas unit? Is there any particular size to look at - would one size unit put out more heat than another? Are there any hazards in having a unit like this vs a vented unit? Is one more energy efficient than the other?
How does a ventless unit start up? I see a remote control mentioned - is this a must-have feature? What about a trim kit, is this needed? The fireplace that's currently there now is pictured below:
I was given the name of a guy who works on installing gas ventless fireboxes and he said the cost is around $1K -even though it's not my money, does this sound about right? It may not be my money but I don't want these people to be ripped off either. They'be been willing to make all needed repairs to have this sale go through and I just want to make sure I'm getting the right thing and they aren't paying too much for it.
Can anyone give some much needed advice about this, I have to give my answer sometime tomorrow (Thurs)
THANKS
Had the chimney inspected today-seems my realtor tells me I'm the first homeowner she's encountered who's ever had a chimney inspection done on a home their thinking of buying - really? Guess I'm lucky to do this since the chimney insp found some issues.
This was originally a wood burning fireplace and somewhere along the way, made in to a natural gas fireplace.
He said the flue tiles needed to be repaired, and while he doesn't do this type of repair, he guesstimated a new liner was something like $4K-$5K, but that was a guess, or half that amount to repair the liner. He called and found, without the company actually coming out to see it, to repair would be between $1500 on the low side and $2500 on the upper end of the spectrum. Also, the damper wouldn't open well.
I'm not willing to put any amount additional out for the house and would rather walk than have to put that much money out for something we probably won't use all that much, though would use in case of emergencies.
A little while after, my realtor called to say that the owners really want to sell but are running low on money to do repairs. They came up wtih an idea of having a vent free firebox insert with natural gas logs installed.
Since I know absolutely NOTHING about a fireplace, I'm trying to find some information on this so I can give it a somewhat educated thought before I give an answer, one I don't want to make a mistake with.
Is it correct that if I have them put in a vent free firebox insert with natural gas logs already set in (complete unit) that the damper wouldn't have to be cleaned out and repair and the few cracks that the insp. found in the existing firebox would not need to be patched due to the insert and the new firebox not being vented, thus not going up thru the chimney/flue and the original firebox not being impacted?
Can anyone tell me what elements I should make sure I list the new unit to have? I see one with blowers and one without blowers but don't know what the blower does and which I would want, with, or without?
How does a ventless unit differ in heat output compared to a vented natural gas unit? Is there any particular size to look at - would one size unit put out more heat than another? Are there any hazards in having a unit like this vs a vented unit? Is one more energy efficient than the other?
How does a ventless unit start up? I see a remote control mentioned - is this a must-have feature? What about a trim kit, is this needed? The fireplace that's currently there now is pictured below:
I was given the name of a guy who works on installing gas ventless fireboxes and he said the cost is around $1K -even though it's not my money, does this sound about right? It may not be my money but I don't want these people to be ripped off either. They'be been willing to make all needed repairs to have this sale go through and I just want to make sure I'm getting the right thing and they aren't paying too much for it.
Can anyone give some much needed advice about this, I have to give my answer sometime tomorrow (Thurs)
THANKS
)
