Finally Finished

Following removal of the old insert, trimming of some stones, and removal of the old hearth, the new insert was put in place.  It is wider and taller than the old insert.

The gas line was hooked up, new electrical wiring to accommodate the new remote.

 The unit viewed from the cut in the chimney.

It looks very much like a small furnace.

 The chimney was closed off about eight feet up and the new fireplace vented to the outside.  The workers re-assembled the shingles which were removed for the cut.

 Look at that.

You cannot tell where the cut was made.

 The lower hearth stones were placed and cemented.

The gas logs were inserted and connected.  The wiring was completed.  A glass panel was placed to seal the fireplace and then the frame was placed around the unit.

The county inspector came out twice during the process to make certain everything was done safely and properly.

 So after 10 days and a ton of money we went from this...

 To this.  TaDa!

The fireplace has gentle blowers which, when activated, suck the cooler air from the floor and send it out through the sides.  That plus the radiant heat from the glass warms the room quickly.  The remote has functions we will likely not use and can be programmed like your furnace thermostat to automatically come on or shut down at certain intervals.  You can set a temperature and the fire will adjust itself to keep that temperature.  There is even a light inside to illuminate the fireplace when there is no fire.  The frame doors will open if you choose and you never have to put a log on the fire.

We are absolutely delighted with the fireplace.  How wonderful to have a warm fire with my morning coffee.  We just love it.  And Lucy loves the warm hearth which is so much easier on the neck now that it is not so tall.

A Fireplace That Heats the Room

When we built our mountain home, we wanted a wood-burning fireplace.  We paid quite a bit extra for a fireplace that would burn wood, especially considering the fact that the chimney would be almost two stories tall.  We gave the height and width of the desired fireplace to our contractor, assuming (and NEVER assume) that the depth of a fireplace was standard.

 It is a very tall chimney

So we did get a wood-burning fireplace but despite a very deep chimney box, the fireplace itself was almost as shallow as the condo-sized fireplaces designed to burn logs from the grocery store.  We were disappointed to say the least, but decided to install gas logs so we would have a fire.  The fireplace was beautiful and the fire was beautiful, but it gave us no warmth at all.  All the heat was pulled up the tall chimney.


In mid-October, I read Betsy's blog.  (here)   Betsy is a dyed-in-the-wool lover of wood-burning fireplaces.  Yet she described a gas log insert that actually warmed the room.  I showed the post to my husband and we began researching these new types of vented gas logs.

Before the construction began

We visited a fireplace and hearth showroom and talked with the owner.  He was delighted that I had several pictures of the fireplace on my iPod.  We decided on a unit made by Mendota.  After some discussion, the owner gave us a "ballpark" figure for removing the old insert and replacing it with the new unit.  I gulped audibly but my husband said, "great."  So the owner came to our house for a home evaluation.  Imagine our surprise when he said they could begin installation in mid-November and we would have the new fire for Thanksgiving.

The work was more extensive than I had imagined.  They cut a large hole in the chimney and did a lot of the work from the deck outside.  The weather was perfect, albeit a bit chilly, and the workers were precise.  They lettered and numbered each shingle as they removed it and stacked them in order so they could be replaced in exactly the same spot.

 A couple of workers, one inside the firebox and one in the great room.

 Looking through the firebox to the deck outside.

 And looking through the hole from the outside to the floor of the room inside.

Each evening the workers carefully closed up the hole with insulation and plywood.  Despite some of the coldest weather we've had, our great room was actually warmer even with the cut.  That made us realize just how much heat had been sucked up the chimney, even when we didn't have a fire.

The next step would involve cutting through some of the stone (one-and-a-half inches on each side and three inches from the top).  While they made every attempt to keep the dust level down, it was still quite messy and I covered the furniture with sheets.  Cutting through stone inside a room is simply messy and there's no way around it.  After the tedious job of cutting the stone, it was time to place the new insert.  Next would come the electrician to wire for all the remote-controlled activity and the lights inside.  (Yes, the insert has lights that we can turn on to illuminate the logs when they are not burning, or even when they are.)  The gas line was already present but needed to be upgraded.  And then would come the tedious task of removing the hearth.

More to come...

We Love Lucy

The new fireplace is finished and we love it.  I am pleased to tell you that Lucy does not mind at all that her eight-inch hearth as been taken down and the new hearth (actually the top of the old hearth) is a mere two inches high.  She finds it very comfortable indeed.  And it doesn't stretch her neck so much.

Please don't make me get up.  This is so cozy.

We will be repeating Thanksgiving dinner for some days to come.  Dear husband brought home a fresh turkey.  A 15-pound fresh turkey.  The man will happily eat turkey until the turkey is all gone.  We had a quiet dinner and a lovely day.

French novelist Marcel Proust gives us our quote for the week:
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy.  They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

There is no better person than the one who makes us happy.  In times of trouble and stress, we turn to these people and we are so grateful to them.  I hope you have these wonderful gardeners in your own life.  Tell them just how important they are to you and how grateful you are to know them.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE AND GIVE THANKS FOR ALL YOUR BLESSINGS.