4 1/2 years ago Tool Lady and I purchased our first home together. We knew it wouldn't be our forever home, but that it would work just fine for at least the 5 years we planned for. We were happy to have our own home, happy to move in, happy to make some changes. Yes, of course, when we moved in, we made a short list of all the things we wanted to change/fix/replace...light fixtures, the yards, the counter tops and the fireplace, to name just a few (remember, this is a short story, not a novel). A few of those items have been taken care of, however, there is one thing that has not been fixed and is currently the focus of just a little frustration.
Yes, I love our home and many of it's little quirks. And, yes, I hate the fact that we do not have a working fireplace or a wood burning stove to heat our home. There's just something special about a fire...especially on the cold nights we've been having recently. And, you know, when the Zombies attack, it would be great to have a heat source, too.
We've put up with this for too many years, and now that we think we'll be here for another 4-5 years or so, I think it will be more than worth the cost to fix this little problem up. So, this brings me to a few questions...
Have you encountered a similar situation?
Have you replaced you fireplace or put in a wood burning stove?
Do you have any ideas about how we might be able to remedy this sad, sad situation?
We're thinking that the spring (or summer) is probably the best time to do anything fireplace/wood burning stove related because the experts will be having sales and will have slowed down work-wise, which means they'll probably be happy/happier to deal with us and our questions. So, any advice or ideas you can offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Please don't forget to enter my little giveaway! You have until Friday night to enter :-)
This giveaway is now CLOSED.
This giveaway is now CLOSED.
Nothing like a little tape and plastic for home decor. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can be much help at all- but I used to share a house with two other women, and our fireplace had a similar situation. Until we could pay to fix it, we had it sealed internally, and instead set up several candle holders to create a cluster. We ended up liking it so much we just kept it. Although, I do like a hearty fire (and scent!), but it was nice to just quickly light up the candles and blow them out.
maybe something worth looking into until you figure out a solution!
I could have written this post...my husband and I bought a house this fall that was supposed to have a working fireplace and woodstove and turns out between a little funny business on the part of the sellers and too much money sunk in by us to walk away, we ended up with a house that has two bad chimneys...our furnace works but the fireplace chimney had a massive chimney fire at one point and it cracked the lining and the woodstove chimney is also cracked and is so saturated with creosote that its oozing down the outside of the cinderblocks and the whole chimney will have to be torn down and rebuilt before it can be used as a woodstove again...
ReplyDeleteWe plan on having the fireplace chimney lining fixed by some new technique our chimney guy knows (for the tune of $2000) this summer (assuming we get a good tax return) because in New England with our weather and when power outages are common we need another source of heat, and then the woodstove chimney is going to sit indefinitely but our long term plan is to replace it with a pellet stove to cut down on fuel costs and because it can be vented out the existing chimney without rebuilding...however, that has all of the costs of buying a new stove and installation etc.
Whew. I doubt you wanted to know all that, but hopefully, maybe, its helpful...
Laura Emily - I've thought about putting candles in it...I do like the way that looks! Thanks for your ideas...at this point, we'll try just about anything :-)
ReplyDeleteErica - Oy...It sucks to be in the same boat, but at least we're not alone, ha! Sounds like we both have some planning to do! Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciated reading about it and your plans to move forward. I look forward to the day when we are both warming our toes by our wonderful fires ;-)