Chilly days are coming. In fact, this week the temps have put an edge to the air in our living room and made our kitchen tiles cold to our feet. That made today’s purchase even more exciting to us (although I understand it’s totally mundane to most of you)– a gas fireplace insert!
As I mentioned before, our current wood burning fireplace is broken, smells like smoke even though we haven’t used it in the five years we’ve lived here, and is a hazard to the little ones because of the glass doors. We knew it was time for a change, so after a site inspection from the fireplace store we settled on a mid-range unit that looks like this (just look at the metal area– the tile/mantel will be totally different):
How exciting is buying a fireplace? Okay, not very. But if you are in the market for one, here’s what we looked for:
::: We got an electric start, NOT a standing pilot light which has a continually burning flame just waiting for you to turn it on and flare. I can’t even believe they allow fireplaces with standing pilots that just burn, burn, burn all day long whether you turn it on or not. No wonder energy is so expensive. Ours has an electric start and will only light when we flip the switch. That will also keep the glass from getting too hot because it won’t be burning all day.
::: Speaking of glass, the models with no screens and just glass fronts were beautiful because they had a clearer view. With two little ones in the house, I was worried they’d touch that hot glass so we made sure to get a unit with a screen front.
::: Saving energy is important, so we purchased a remote control that has a thermostat. We can adjust the size of the flame, the output, and even program it to stay at a certain temperature. All from our couch. {I didn’t specify that “energy saving” meant not getting up from the couch… HA!}
::: It was going to cost a ridiculous amount of money to run a gas line to the fireplace because of the way our deck and sunroom are placed, so we went with propane. The tanks will sit right outside the chimney. An easy answer to an expensive problem!
And that’s all that’s really “exciting”. I’m only sharing in case you are thinking about getting a fireplace and are interested in various options. We were totally *clueless* walking into the fireplace store and are now slightly more educated about it. That being said, I’m mostly just thrilled that soon our toesies will be toasty!
Next up? TILE. I thought this would be easy, but I need some advice!
Thinking ahead…don’t forget that there is a great tile place literally across the street from your neighborhood! We got all ours there and are very happy with it!