Gas Fireplace vs. Natural Fireplace?

[DisneyFan32WI]

We are getting ready to begin our new home build. We go into selections next week, and we are torn between wanting a natural or gas fireplace. We like to make a lot of fires during the winter months (living here in a cold climate). It just seems like a lot less work to have a gas fireplace. But, I'm worried that the gas won't give off enough heat. Anyone with any suggestions?

 

[firefly_ris]

I like both for different reasons.

The house we are currently in had 2 wood-burning fireplaces when we bought it. Upon having the chimney cleaned, he informed us that there was evidence of past chimney fires because they weren't properly built/pitched and advised us to not burn wood in them anymore. So we converted both of them to non-vented natural gas fireplaces. The irony here is that we also have cleared about 50 trees from the property (don't worry, there's still a bajillion left) since we bought it in 2012 and had to give away and sell all that good free firewood (we can use some for the fire pit, at least). I had been looking forward to listening to the crackle of the fire in our living room, but unless we wanted to remove and rebuild the chimney (not happening for the foreseeable future), it was unfortunately not to be.

We went with non-vented to keep more heat in the house. They definitely do the job, the living room can get quite warm very fast. We have cold winters in Buffalo. I do enjoy not having to drag firewood in from outside during winter, make sure enough wood is split, vacuum up dropped wood crud on the way in, and no chimney maintenance. It also has a remote control. I'm thinking about upgrading to the remote that has the built-in thermostat. I have 3 zone heat in my home and many evenings in the winter I can shut off the living area zone and just run the fireplace instead. It can add some humidity into the house, but our winters are so bone dry that doesn't affect anything. Vented gas fireplaces will lose a lot more heat.

Ultimately I wish we were able to do something like make one of the fireplaces gas and the other wood, but not meant to be. My parents have both -- actually they have 2 wood-burning fireplaces and 2 propane fireplaces (their house is substantially larger than mine). They use both, but for different purposes. If they want to just sit in front of the fire and read a book with some wine, they will choose to sit in the library with the wood burner. If they want to watch a movie and aren't staring at the fire/listening to it, then they sit in the family room and use the propane one.

 

[jliehr]

We were without power for several days in our 1300 square foot house after an ice storm, despite single digit temps a single gas fireplace kept the house in the 60’s for a few days, you shouldn’t have an issue.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Real fireplace. I have gas now.

Gas is nice for "ambience" & easy to flip a switch at any time. No clean up.

I just prefer real fireplace because I grew up with it and I like FIRE!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

The gas gives off heat just as well as wood. Because wood uses a conventional chimney for exhaust, it actually sucks air out of your house for combustion. A gas fireplace utilizing a conventional chimney with an insert would do the same. But because you're building a new home, you can do either a direct vent gas fire place or a ventless. Oh and you can on some models install a thermostat to control it. Direct vent brings outside air in from the outside for combustion and vents exhaust gasses outside. It does not suck hot air out of your home for combustion. It burns behind sealed glass and should have a safety screen so you don't touch the glass. A Ventless has technology that essentially cleans the exhaust clear of the bad stuff.

With gas you won't get any of this.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ac6d9652-c7a6-424e-8698-eca0f8204209

Further, because when building a new house, you don't have to build the full chimney, the savings cost of not building the full height chimney will offset some or possibly all of the direct vent gas logs.

 

[dotfurio]

It really doesn't get that cold here, but I prefer a natural fireplace aesthetically. However, where I live I'd have to choose gas because we have mostly "no-burn" days throughout winter due to bad air quality. Gas fireplaces are exempt.

 

[mnrose]

I don't like wood smoke smell. It's bad for people with allergies. Gas offers the heat without the annoying side effects. Our gas fireplaces have very realistic looking logs in them, so all the upsides, none of the downsides.

 

[ThisIsJason]

Gas. Never really wanted a fireplace in the first place, but the condo I am in now has one. Love it.

One thing you might want to look into: insurance rates.

When I was switching my insurance from the the rental I was in to the condo the rates for a real fireplace was something like $15 more a month. A small amount but can add up over the years.

 

[ronandannette]

I've got a great wood-burning fireplace with a gas log lighter. It's original to the house which was built in the late '70's. Wood burning fireplaces don't conform to Building Code here for new construction anymore so it's 100% sealed-unit gas now which IMO is like watching the fireplace channel on tv.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We have a gas one in our house. It gives off a lot of heat though we also have a double-sided one. One side would still give off good heat when left on for an hour or so. What would help in pushing the air out is installing a blower onto the gas fireplace. Our builder does not add a blower on unless we would have paid for it but they did wire for one so we have two switches (one for the fireplace and one for a blower in the future).

I did grow up with a natural fireplace at my dad's house and I usually was the one assigned to start it with newspaper and long matches and my mom's house does have a natural fireplace though she's only used it a handful of times in the 20+ years she's lived in that house).

I like gas TBH because it's less mainenance and I wouldn't worry about ashes getting the carpet or stone, etc and then ensuring the flue is in working order every year.

We do have a stone firepit in our backyard though so for us we can get our 'real' fire fix that way though no we're not out in dead of winter lol.

 

[ols386]

I voted gas fireplace, because it’s so convenient and doesn’t make a mess.

I love a natural fireplace, and the smell of wood burning, but it’s messy and you have to buy wood.

 

[runwad]

I love my gas fireplace cause I can do it myself! Plus it's nice on cold mornings when you get up, just flip a switch and instant fire. Our's is very warm and we tend not to leave it on to long cause we get to hot!

 

[tvguy]

My parents house had 2 fireplaces, each with a gas starter. Gas is just too expensive to heat with when so much of the heat goes up the chimney. They'd get the wood going, and shut off the gas.

I have a natural fire place with an insert. When wood was $50 a cord delivered it made sense. Now it's $350 a cord, and an additional charge. Just cheaper to run my electric heat pump, even cheaper now since I have solar panels.

 

[ronandannette]

We have a gas one in our house. It gives off a lot of heat though we also have a double-sided one. One side would still give off good heat when left on for an hour or so. What would help in pushing the air out is installing a blower onto the gas fireplace. Our builder does not add a blower on unless we would have paid for it but they did wire for one so we have two switches (one for the fireplace and one for a blower in the future).

I did grow up with a natural fireplace at my dad's house and I usually was the one assigned to start it with newspaper and long matches and my mom's house does have a natural fireplace though she's only used it a handful of times in the 20+ years she's lived in that house).

I like gas TBH because it's less mainenance and I wouldn't worry about ashes getting the carpet or stone, etc and then ensuring the flue is in working order every year.

We do have a stone firepit in our backyard though so for us we can get our 'real' fire fix that way though no we're not out in dead of winter lol.

Fan-kit rough-in must be a universal standard; that's what we sell ours with as well. The fan-kit itself is an option.

My parents house had 2 fireplaces, each with a gas starter. Gas is just too expensive to heat with when so much of the heat goes up the chimney. They'd get the wood going, and shut off the gas.

I have a natural fire place with an insert. When wood was $50 a cord delivered it made sense. Now it's $350 a cord, and an additional charge. Just cheaper to run my electric heat pump, even cheaper now since I have solar panels.

Ever try to roast a marshmallow over a solar panel? The ambiance just isn't the same... I've never considered the fireplace a supplemental heat source, just a cosy feature. And AFAIK, nobody uses a log lighter for anything other than igniting the wood.

 

[loves to dive]

We actually have a wood burning fireplace that had a gas starter. We converted it to gas logs before we moved into the house. We live in Georgia so it doesn't get horrible cold and it would never serve as our primary heat source but it's clean, it's easy, it's pretty and it does put off a little heat.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've never considered the fireplace a supplemental heat source, just a cosy feature.

I only know of 1 person who uses a wood burning stove (they don't have a fireplace but rather a stove system instead-same thing just without seeing the flames) as an actual heat source but they also have an earth contact home (3 sides into the ground with the roof being grass) so they're not exactly the norm to go by lol.

 

[robinb]

As a fellow Wisconsinite, wood all the way.

 

[minniecarousel]

We have quite a few “Spare the Air” days here in the SF Bay Area. I get to run my gas fireplace while the neighbors with their wood-burning fireplace can’t have a cozy fire. That’s why I prefer gas.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We have 2 wood burning fireplaces (living room and bedroom) and a buck stove in the basement. I love the smell and look of wood burning. We do get the fireplaces and chimney cleaned/checked every year. Wood is cheap here, and we can often get it free from a friend, so that’s not an issue.

 

[RangerPooh]

We currently have a wood fireplace. While it's nice I liked gas better. It was cleaner. Both have their downsides thought. Buying a cord of wood locally is pricey. But when we had gas it was expensive to fill the tank, about $600 and it lasted about 3 months. The plus of both though was that they worked during power outages. Our current house the wood fireplace doesn't provide enough heat to heat the home. Partially due to the vast living room and vaulted ceilings. In our old home, our gas burning fireplace made it more than toasty, and quick. If we had the option of a new build with fireplace selection, I'd go gas and request that it's tied to a city line rather than having a truck come out to deliver gas. That was a pain to schedule in a rural area.