I guess my fireplace DOESN'T have smoked glass

[golfgal]

When we moved here we were so excited to have a gas fireplace, flip a switch on the wall and instant fire. We thought it was odd that you couldn't see the flames very well and couldn't understand why someone would put in smoked glass into the fireplace.

Well, fast forward 4 years to last night and me trying to get the pilot light lit-I finally figured out how to get the glass off so I could see what was up with the pilot light and OH MY the SOOT . I wiped the glass clean and now you can see the "logs" and everything. Once we get the repair guy over to fix it we will have a lovely looking fire going .

 

[Keli]

LOL! That's something that could happen to me!
Well at least you'll have a good view of your fires from now on

 

[arminnie]

I bought a 17 year old condo (which is really not that old) several years ago. It was in a fabulous location - right on the water on two sides.

But of my gosh - it was so trashed inside. I thought this must have been a rental for years. But no - the original owners had lived there the entire time. They were a couple in their 60s - but were major alcoholics who smoked.

It took me quite a while (mainly to get the money) to fix it up, but I did make hundreds of thousands of dollars on that place. I still can't believe someone could trash a place that badly.

 

[golfgal]

I bought a 17 year old condo (which is really not that old) several years ago. It was in a fabulous location - right on the water on two sides.

But of my gosh - it was so trashed inside. I thought this must have been a rental for years. But no - the original owners had lived there the entire time. They were a couple in their 60s - but were major alcoholics who smoked.

It took me quite a while (mainly to get the money) to fix it up, but I did make hundreds of thousands of dollars on that place. I still can't believe someone could trash a place that badly.

I am guessing the previous owners didn't know how to get the glass off either. They were probably like me and kept looking for screws or something to unlatch to get the front off the fireplace to get to the glass. It was only by chance, me knocking into the front as I slipped that I noticed that you only had to LIFT UP on the front to get it off .

I am amazed at people that don't keep their homes up though (the rest of our house was just fine). Heck, when we were looking for this house there would be pictures on the internet with kitchens full of dirty dishes and crap all over the counters-WHY would any real estate agent do that . We didn't look at those houses.

 

[Pigeon]

My BIL and SIL are not clean people. He is a doctor, so you'd think they'd know about the germ theory.

We once house sat for them. I was doing a little cleaning up, and thought they'd put some kind of opaque film on the downstairs windows. Nope, the windows had such a thick coat of yecchhh on them that you couldn't see out.

 

[Disfan3]

We just demolished a brick hearth and face around a wood burning FP...tore it all out, including the inside of the FP and the STEEL chimney!! Took us all weekend but now the new one is ready to go in!!!

 

[C.Ann]

When we moved here we were so excited to have a gas fireplace, flip a switch on the wall and instant fire. We thought it was odd that you couldn't see the flames very well and couldn't understand why someone would put in smoked glass into the fireplace.

Well, fast forward 4 years to last night and me trying to get the pilot light lit-I finally figured out how to get the glass off so I could see what was up with the pilot light and OH MY the SOOT . I wiped the glass clean and now you can see the "logs" and everything. Once we get the repair guy over to fix it we will have a lovely looking fire going .

You're kidding, right? It took you four years to figure out why you couldn't see the flames very well?? Didn't the previous owners at least leave the manual for you to read? If I couldn't "see" the flames, that glass would have come off one way or another within days of moving in- LOL..

 

[golfgal]

You're kidding, right? It took you four years to figure out why you couldn't see the flames very well?? Didn't the previous owners at least leave the manual for you to read? If I couldn't "see" the flames, that glass would have come off one way or another within days of moving in- LOL..

Once they got going we could see them. They did leave the manual but it didn't have any info on how to remove things, I looked because I was trying to get it off to see what was up with the pilot light. Now we can see the logs all the time .

 

[C.Ann]

Once they got going we could see them. They did leave the manual but it didn't have any info on how to remove things, I looked because I was trying to get it off to see what was up with the pilot light. Now we can see the logs all the time .

Thank goodness! That would have driven me insane.. What's the point if you can't see the logs - right?

 

[horseshowmom]

We just demolished a brick hearth and face around a wood burning FP...tore it all out, including the inside of the FP and the STEEL chimney!! Took us all weekend but now the new one is ready to go in!!!

We're considering purchasing a house that is going to require a LOT of work. We wouldn't consider it under normal circumstances, but it's one of two houses on 100 acres of land, and our daughter and son-in-law are very interested in the place (it has two houses, and they'll take the larger one in case they have a family later on).

The fireplace in the den (that would become my dining room) is in horrible shape. It actually has been closed in with wood and had a gas heater mounted in it. YUCK!

I had been considering removing the wood and heater and sealing it up completely and then painting the bricks and putting a gas fireplace on the hearth. Did you actually rebrick everything you tore out?