ok so i have a working woodburning fireplace in the new house but i have a few questions…
would mounting my flatscreen on the decrative stone part of my chimney have any adverse effects? doesnt seem like it gets very hot but i would have 2x4’s on either side that the tv mount would then attach to so there would be a little gap between the 2. the only thing i could think of would be the soot given off by the open fire…which leads me to question 2…
would it really be worth it to pay the $1200.00 to convert it to a gas log fireplace? i called a fireplace specialist yesterday and that 1200 seemed somewhat high to be esp if it already has a working gas pilot…? but what the fuck do i know…
NG is nice and convenient, but I would much rather have a wood burner. Makes the house smell so nice, crackling logs, the real deal.
You’re probably fine putting the TV above the fireplace. That’s what I did with mine and I have no problems after a couple of years. Just make sure first: Get a nice fire going and check the temperature where the TV would be. Tape a thermometer there. It probably won’t be much hotter than ambient.
Smoke/soot shouldn’t be a problem since it doesn’t go into the room if you do it right. If anything, cover the TV when you clean the fireplace and don’t use the TV if you get a really hot fire going. Temp doesn’t matter if the thing’s not on. The only problem with heat is the electronics not being able to cool themselves properly while they’re working if their in a high ambient temp condition.
I’ve got a wood-burning insert in my fireplace and I have my screen about 8" above the top of the insert when the screen is down; I get a little bit of soot if I have the doors open and the fire’s not burning right; but otherwise I’ve had no issues in the 4 years of having that setup.
I shovel the burnt coals out probably once/twice a week depending on how often/long I have it burning.
I can heat most of my house with it; I use it to suppliment the furnace. I keep the house at 60° with the furnace, and can get most of the house >80° within a couple hours and keep it there as long as I’ve got a fire going. I’ve got a blower unit with mine that blows the heat into my living room, then I use a tower fan to circulate it to the rest of the house. If I don’t have the tower fan going my living room will get unbarably hot with the fireplace blower on; to the point I can sit on my couch in just a pair boxers with it being 0° outside and still be sweating.
Normal open fireplaces will warm the room their in, and a little to the rooms next to them; but it takes longer without the blower. They are also a lot more inefficent and can/do leak cold air when not in use.
edit - I’ve got a 1700sqft 2-story house, with no insulation in the walls, old windows, but good insulation in the attic.
I have a 2 fireplaces(one in basement that is unused) which i love smell etc… problem is it sucks all the air outt of the room. and almost makes it colder unless you are right next to the fireplace. Insert time?
If you have High efficiency(with the fan etc) wood burner you can easily heat your entire house. If you have forced hot air just turn on the fan to circulate the air.
That’s my problem. I’ve got a nice steel insert, but it pulls combustion air from inside the house and no fans so it makes the rest of the house colder with the exception of a 5’ radius around the fireplace.
I just fall asleep on the floor in front of the fire while the wife bitches about how cold it is.
I have thought about heating up some large “slugs” of steel by the fire then moving them to the bedroom at night. It is great if you have access to large slugs of steel and don’t mind moving them while they are 1000 degrees. lol
I’ll dig it out, but I think it was something like Clean Sweeps Chimney Sweep or something. I barely used the fireplace last winter cuz my ex wife always freaked out whenever I did, so I didn’t get it cleaned this year. But they’ve always been right around $100-$120 and I normally have them come once a year. If you call them in the summer or later summer it’s a LOT cheaper because no one is thinking about it. If you wait till now or later their prices are much higher.
The other thing you have to remember with a wood burning fireplace is the wood itself. Wood prices have and are going to rise even more with the ash borer beetle, a lot of wood dealers can’t get wood anymore or not the qty they could get. There are deals to be found, but you have to keep your eyes open for it early. I lucked out and got a great connection for firewood this year, and signed on to keep getting wood from him for many years to come.
TV is fine above the fireplace. However, I would highly recommend a shelf mantel in between the two, if you don’t already have one.
1200 is high for gas logs. Hell, you can get a natural vent insert for 2000 and direct vent starting around 2500. My best seller (and one of my most expensive) is a ‘dual listed’ log setup. You can run it vented, vent free, or anywhere in between. I used it during the October storm and at 38,000 BTU, with the damper just cracked open an inch or two, it pushed me out of the house. (Installed for ~$950ish)
We do cleanings with written inspections for $99.95. I don’t know how these other stores stay in business doing it higher. Shit, we pull the camera out and everything if needed.
How high up does the TV sit when you mount it there? It’s easiest to watch TV when it is eyelevel, most Fireplace mounts wind up really high (more like standing up watching TV height). Just something to keep in mind.