We just had our Gas Logs installed.

[DawnCt1]

We have an open floor plan so "ruin one ceiling, ruin them all", is the motto here. That said, since we had all of the ceilings repainted last fall, I decided I was ready to give up our wood burning fireplace with hauling wood, the soot, the embers, the smoke, the warm air going up the flew and sweeping it out like Cinderella the next morning. The gas man came today and installed them. So far I really like them but if I don't, I can move them to the fireplace in the living room that we have never used and go back to wood.

 

[Magic Mom]

We have a gas fireplace. I thought I woul hate it, because I love the smell and look of a real wood fire place. But I love it. It keeps the downstairs warm and it is so easy. It's wonderful!

 

[tvguy]

Wow, that sounds expensive. I just know my friends with gas heat have bills twice what mine are in the winter (we're all electric). We have an insert in our fireplace, heats the house up nicely, but stopped using it when wood hit $150 a cord. I could use my heat pump and save money too.

 

[Robinrs]

We have them in our house, too. Moved in in July so NOPE haven't used them yet. Looking forward to it!

 

[simba20]

My in-laws made such a big deal a few years ago about getting gas logs. So they finally got them installed, and THEY NEVER USE THEM. What was the point? They did use them a lot the first year they were installed, but after that......haven't run the fireplace in years.

Now I don't mean to hijack the thread, but we moved into our first home with a fireplace, and we need to buy fireplace tools when they come out. Our firseplace is wood burnign with a little sliding screen in front of it for the firebox, and the firebox itself is raised about 4 inches off the floor. Since we have a 3 year old, I know we need a bigger fireplace screen to go in front of the fireplace itself, to keep DD away, but I've seen fireplaces with those glass doors on them....are they only for gas fireplaces, or can we get something like that installed on ours?

 

[DawnCt1]

My in-laws made such a big deal a few years ago about getting gas logs. So they finally got them installed, and THEY NEVER USE THEM. What was the point? They did use them a lot the first year they were installed, but after that......haven't run the fireplace in years.

Now I don't mean to hijack the thread, but we moved into our first home with a fireplace, and we need to buy fireplace tools when they come out. Our firseplace is wood burnign with a little sliding screen in front of it for the firebox, and the firebox itself is raised about 4 inches off the floor. Since we have a 3 year old, I know we need a bigger fireplace screen to go in front of the fireplace itself, to keep DD away, but I've seen fireplaces with those glass doors on them....are they only for gas fireplaces, or can we get something like that installed on ours?

You can have them installed for your fireplace, and in fact, if your opening is a standard size, Home Depot usually has a good selection when winter approaches. We bought ventless gas logs so I wouldn't have to have a lock put on the flew or watch the heat go up the chimney. With wood, we had a fire 5 or 6 times a year. It would be hot within 6 feet of the fire but pull the heat out of the rest of the house. I don't know if I will get any warmth from these but they look pretty and will provide at least some warmth during a power failure.

 

[gracie1]

When we bought our house 4 years ago, it came with the wood burning and we had it converted to gas. In the 4 years we have used the gas logs approximately 5 times (I think less!) If I were going to recommend the gas logs, I would get one that has the switch by the fireplace that you just have to turn on and off. Ours does not, and you have to reach behind the logs and turn on the igniter. Scares me to death when the flame comes flying out at you
I am thinking strongly of having the gas company come out this month to remove the gas hook up and gas logs and go back to wood burning. (plus with the price of gas now, wood burning is much cheaper!)

I have also been thinking of putting a candle arrangement in there like some places do.

 

[Gigi22]

Love my gas fireplace! Our fireplace never burned wood very well--the fireplace was too shallow, and all the heat went up the chimney. With a gas fireplace, there is no mess from wood or critters in the woodpile, no worry about embers catching on fire, and best of all the fireplace can be used during a power outage--we have a battery powered remote to start the fire up (of course the blower won't work in a power outage--but at least the pipes won't freeze). The heat stays inside the house too, because of the glass doors. Even with all the increases in the price of gas, heating our house has been 30% less expensive than using oil for years, plus if our politicians carry through on their intentions, the price of electricity in our area is scheduled to increase by about 40% from now to 2015.

 

[bballmom56]

I know we need a bigger fireplace screen to go in front of the fireplace itself, to keep DD away, but I've seen fireplaces with those glass doors on them....are they only for gas fireplaces, or can we get something like that installed on ours?

Our wood burning fireplace has both the screens and the glass doors. Lots of little burning embers can get through the screen if the wood pops!

 

[Buckalew11]

Dawn, we put 2 FPs in our new home and used gas logs in both. We used it all last witer and loved it. It put out a lot of heat--more than I thought. Not only beautiful and cozy looking but practical.

In our old house we had real wood burning with a super-duper insert/blower in it. DH would never buy wood though--he cut all his own and we used it all winter long. He decided with one bad shoulder and one bad elbow, he'd go with gas logs this time around.

Enjoy!!

 

[DawnCt1]

Dawn, we put 2 FPs in our new home and used gas logs in both. We used it all last witer and loved it. It put out a lot of heat--more than I thought. Not only beautiful and cozy looking but practical.

In our old house we had real wood burning with a super-duper insert/blower in it. DH would never buy wood though--he cut all his own and we used it all winter long. He decided with one bad shoulder and one bad elbow, he'd go with gas logs this time around.

Enjoy!!

Thank you. We are starting with one set. If we find we don't like it as much as we think we will, we can move it to the living room and go back to wood. I can't imagine doing that however. Our fireplace put out a LOT of heat....7 feet from the fireplace as is was sucking the warm air out of the rest of the house. Ours has a pilot light that I can turn off and reignite. I won't be using it this week, (the hard wood floors are being refinished) so I turned it off. When the pilot light is on, its starts with a remote.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My in-laws have one of these and they really like it. I love our fireplace but the soot and ashes after a fire always make me think twice before i decide to light it so it must be nice to just flip a switch. Hope it works out for you.

 

[DawnCt1]

My in-laws have one of these and they really like it. I love our fireplace but the soot and ashes after a fire always make me think twice before i decide to light it so it must be nice to just flip a switch. Hope it works out for you.

But then, the soot and ash creates a "Disney moment". We can feel like Cinder-ella.

 

[ndelaware]

My in-laws made such a big deal a few years ago about getting gas logs. So they finally got them installed, and THEY NEVER USE THEM. What was the point? They did use them a lot the first year they were installed, but after that......haven't run the fireplace in years.

Now I don't mean to hijack the thread, but we moved into our first home with a fireplace, and we need to buy fireplace tools when they come out. Our firseplace is wood burnign with a little sliding screen in front of it for the firebox, and the firebox itself is raised about 4 inches off the floor. Since we have a 3 year old, I know we need a bigger fireplace screen to go in front of the fireplace itself, to keep DD away, but I've seen fireplaces with those glass doors on them....are they only for gas fireplaces, or can we get something like that installed on ours?

Be warned, the glass doors get very very hot when either a gas or wood fire is burning. It is just like touching a hot burner on the stove. While the screen may let small embers through, bad burns are much less likely.

 

[SC Minnie]

We have gas logs and love them. Our old house has a wood burning fireplace but we never used it. Didn't want to deal with getting wood and the mess of ashes. We used our gas logs several times a week in the winter. It keeps the downstairs nice and toasty. The cats love to camp out in front of the heat. One of them will come running when she hears it come on.

It's also nice being able to turn them off and the gas off at night and not worry about hot embers.

 

[surfgirl]

I would love to do this... we never use our wood burning fireplace - too much hassle to store wood (away from the house to avoid critters, etc.). We have a gas one in the living room and the kids love to turn it on and have tea and hot cocoa!

Can I be so presumptuous as to ask how much it was ? Or at least a range.... are we talking $50, $500, or $5,000 ?

What all is involved ? Moving the gas line (we have one very close for the pool heater) and the logs...

thanks!

 

[Kellydelly]

We converted our natural fireplace to gas a few years ago, because my misguided husband thought it would be better for my asthma (and our family room is on a slab and we needed extra heat source). The gas does not burn clean and we have "soot" or some kind of residue on the ceiling now. To me the gas fumes from the flames are noxious. It's pretty, but not what I expected and it costs a lot to burn gas logs, thanks to the increase in natural gas prices. For our family we really need a direct vent unit (I think that is what you call the sealed units?). It stinks that I get sick when we use the fireplace .