Yeah, I haven't been on this forum in a while. Work got bizzy and I had no more spare time. Sorry for the long post.
Anyway, it's been a couple years since I had the chimney swept. I was intending to have it done before we started using the FP this year but (famous last words, right?). And yup, we had a chimney fire. Not too bad, fortunately -- I think it burnt out the available creosote and went out. Sorry, no pics.
I have 3+ paragraphs of details, but I'll put them in a reply to the post. My main question is this: the flue is damaged and must be replaced. So how do I convince my dear wife that we should go with a woodstove or insert, rather than just rebuilding / replacing the s/s Class A 12" flue? Either way is gonna cost $$$. Some of which may be covered by homeowner's insurance.
There are 2 issues w/ a stove or insert: 1) my DW doesn't like the idea. She wants to have the open FP for aesthetic reasons. 2) the room (den) where the FP is located is maybe 150 sq. ft., give or take. One 32" door to the rest of the house. One operable window (and about 60 sq. ft. of fixed windows). We live in sunny so. calif. where the lows rarely go below 40 (F) and extremely rarely below freezing. Today it we had a high of 80 and lows in the 50's. Have not turned on the furnace and wouldn't have a fire in the FP if it were safe to use.
I need to find a stove or insert that my wife will like, will look good in the FP, and won't cook us out of the room! I like the Jotul F 3 CB. For a small stove it accepts relatively large splits (18"), has "open door viewing" option, and short leg option, so it just might fit in the FP and not stick out over the hearth. On the other hand, even a fraction of its 42,000 btu capacity could bake us straight out of the den on all but the coldest of nights, while the layout of the house almost assures it won't do much to heat the rest of the house.
Any other suggestions? Any suggestions on convincing my dear wife?
Peace,
- Sequoia
Anyway, it's been a couple years since I had the chimney swept. I was intending to have it done before we started using the FP this year but (famous last words, right?). And yup, we had a chimney fire. Not too bad, fortunately -- I think it burnt out the available creosote and went out. Sorry, no pics.
I have 3+ paragraphs of details, but I'll put them in a reply to the post. My main question is this: the flue is damaged and must be replaced. So how do I convince my dear wife that we should go with a woodstove or insert, rather than just rebuilding / replacing the s/s Class A 12" flue? Either way is gonna cost $$$. Some of which may be covered by homeowner's insurance.
There are 2 issues w/ a stove or insert: 1) my DW doesn't like the idea. She wants to have the open FP for aesthetic reasons. 2) the room (den) where the FP is located is maybe 150 sq. ft., give or take. One 32" door to the rest of the house. One operable window (and about 60 sq. ft. of fixed windows). We live in sunny so. calif. where the lows rarely go below 40 (F) and extremely rarely below freezing. Today it we had a high of 80 and lows in the 50's. Have not turned on the furnace and wouldn't have a fire in the FP if it were safe to use.
I need to find a stove or insert that my wife will like, will look good in the FP, and won't cook us out of the room! I like the Jotul F 3 CB. For a small stove it accepts relatively large splits (18"), has "open door viewing" option, and short leg option, so it just might fit in the FP and not stick out over the hearth. On the other hand, even a fraction of its 42,000 btu capacity could bake us straight out of the den on all but the coldest of nights, while the layout of the house almost assures it won't do much to heat the rest of the house.
Any other suggestions? Any suggestions on convincing my dear wife?
Peace,
- Sequoia