Fireplace Thinking About Going Back to Wood

[Nyboy]

I have a fireplace in my livingroom, it was wood burning, I had changed to gas. One of the reasons was it is weekend house, if I built a fire Sunday, there is no way to put it out when I leave. The gas just turn off. I do own about a 1,000 trees, but don't think fireplace adds much to gas bill. 2 years ago I had chimney liner cleaned and damper replaced, man said all in good shape. When using a wood burning fireplace does everything smell of smoke ( clothes, furniture rugs) Do get get soot on everything? How do you leave house when fire burning?

 

[so lucky]

I haven't had a wood burning fireplace for years, but when I did, I became allergic to the smoke. Your clothes and stuff shouldn't smell smoky but it takes a little skill to know when to open up the dampers and how to get that draft going properly.
Right now we have an unvented gas fireplace that we can't use because the gas smell (something left after the gas is burned) gave DH and me headaches, chest congestion. We were told it was something the gas company adds to the gas.

 

[Nyboy]

I willn't leave gas fire burning when I go to bed. Always been afraid fire will go out and gas will fill house, I am sure there is some safety to prevent this.

 

[thistlebloom]

My folks heated with wood when I was a kid, though I had nothing to do with the building or tending of fires in those days.

DH and I rented a little house whose heat source was wood when we were newlyweds. There's some interesting stories attached to that experience...

We are still wood burners decades later.
We burn in a woodstove, which is less worry over a log rolling or a spark escaping. Easier to control too IMO.
So Lucky is right about the skill required to operate a wood fire, but it's a pretty steep learning curve and after you've smoked the house up a few times you tend to learn from your mistakes and make rapid progress.
I know this firsthand.

Generally, once you've learned the intricacies of keeping the smoke going up the chimney, your house and clothes should not smell like smoke.
A lot of that is also dependent on how well your chimney draws.
The type of wood you burn makes a big difference too. There are many factors to how much heat different species produce, it's tendency to spark,
how much creosote it creates, how much it smokes, etc.

Wood is a lot more work, you have to cut it yourself or buy from someone, then haul it in and ash out.
But I love wood heat and wouldn't trade it for any other heat source, so to me it's worth it.

I do think it's nice to not be dependent on outside sources for heat in the winter. What do you think of having an insert put into your existing fireplace?
I think that could eliminate the worries of leaving a fire to burn down when you leave. Plus they are more efficient sources of heat.

Our woodburner is small, and a fire will not burn untended for more than a couple of hours, so that's not a big issue with us, the leaving while it's burning. It does make for some chilly mornings before we get it going again though.

 

[Lavender2]

Smoke detectors in most homes now days will help out with that learning curve. It sure lets me know if I have the damper closed too far, usually about the time I notice a little haze. Other than that, there is no smokey smell or soot. Fireplace guy told Mom and Dad that if you're having soot or smoke problems, something is wrong with your fireplace (assuming you have the flue open)

We have a Franklin that we use some years more than others. If I had a choice I would prefer wood. Like @thistlebloom , I like knowing that if the power goes out we will always have heat. And when it's REAL cold out, we can crank the heat up to 80°with the wood stove, with a toasty heat. Of course someone has to go out and get the wood, and coin flipping does not appear to be 50/50.

 

[Nyboy]

For me the fire is more decorative then for heat . Gas does make for a nice high flame. Going to look into inserts, can you see the fire with one?

 

[baymule]

Some wood burning heaters and fireplace inserts have glass in the doors. So you can see the flame. You could always open the door if you were in the room and wanted to see the flames.

 

[thistlebloom]

Our stove has a window, which I love, because that's part of the appeal to burning wood, is watching the fire. It does need cleaning about once a week to keep the view pretty.
Also handy to know when to reload without having to open the door to peer in.


This is ours three years ago. I see the wall behind wasn't done from the remodeling we did, and...I should show dh this pic, because it still isn't done.
There is no urgency to complete a project when it's your own and the builder/ remodeler lives in the house.

 

[Lavender2]

Love the stove @thistlebloom ! And the wall does not look that bad.
We have the old black Franklin with no windows. Often we have the doors open to see the fire, but a screen in place. Although it heats better with the doors closed.

Boy do I know about those almost done projects! I don't think my 5 year limit on patience is all that unreasonable. I think some have turned into 'retirement projects'.

Question, @Nyboy ... why do YOU want to go back to wood?

 

[thistlebloom]

I was promised stone and a mantle on the wall. And new baseboards after the tile was put in...

I have just learned to push my impatience off with a reminder that my house would be a dream castle to many in the world.
I wasn't always so philosophical about my sweet hubbys procrastinations in the project finishing department. Not that I have ever been a nagger, but the internal frustration isn't worth it.