We bought a new house with a fireplace we are planning to convert to gas. In our last house we had wood and used it regularly but I'm looking forward to saying goodbye to wood because of the mess. Bringing in logs, besides being a pain and heavy and opening outside doors when it's cold, means tons of dirt and debris from the said wood. I was constantly sweeping up the path we took with the logs to the fireplace. It's true that maintenance was minimal. We only removed the ashes every 4th or 5th fire as we had a sizeable fireplace. The other thing about wood is time. It takes a long time to get a wood fire to really produce heat and then for it to die down We really only made them when we planned to be home the better part of the day. Thus, rarely on weekday evenings as it wasn't worth the time investment and only after we were done going out on weekends. I'm very much looking forward to turning on a fire, using it for an hour and then doing something else. I wasn't comfortable leaving a live fire unattended for long periods of time so even going into a different room to watch a movie was problematic. Sad to say goodbye to the smell but I think it's worth the tradeoffs.

What is all this "maintenance" of a wood fireplace? We have our chimney cleaned once a year, and shovel out the fireplace as needed. At the end of the season, I move the tools and andirons down to the basement, sweep out the firebox completely and put something decorative in there until the next fall -- all told, maybe 1-2 hours of work total over the course of the fall/winter/early spring. Are people seriously cleaning down to the brick after every fire? That's where you get all your good coals for the next one...

anyone know how much it is to convert from wood to gas? I would love ot do this, hate the wood burning one for all the reasons mentioned above, plus allergies.

Above PP again -- if I could, I'd have gas fireplaces in all the rooms for ease of use and warmth, except for the big family room, where I'd have a giant wood-burning fireplace. A girl can dream.

Anonymous wrote:Have had both. Gas fireplaces, unless there is a fan system in, is just for looks, does little heating, can run your gas bill up.

Firewood burning is cheaper, does provide heat and is nice to have but not to clean.

If I had a choice, I would not have either one. They both waste energy.

As for added home value ? Means little unless the person buying really wants a fireplace.

What? Gas fireplaces are far superior for heating; that's why many people switch to them!

My personal preference is wood-burning; love the smell and the cozy feeling. Given the existence of those easy burner logs they're pretty easy to use now, too. Of course if you want easy on/off with no maintenance, gas is better.

Anonymous wrote:1. Sant ahas magic pants that don't burn
2. Do you ever see a house listing highlighting a gas fireplace? No but wood yes
3. might be a pin in the asss but everyone comes over and say sahhh what a great fire. gas is like running a video over and over same thing all the time

nothing beats the scramble of a log falling out of the fire place, the loud pops and the smell.....

uhh, yes! I see the gas fireplace listing all the time. Personally, I'd find the gas fireplace preferrable. We bought a wood burning fireplace house and then bought a gas insert.
Yes, wood is pretty and all that, but it's just annoying. In our first house, we probably had 5 wood fires a year. With the gas one, we light it 5 oor 6 times a week.

Love, love, love our gas fireplace.

They do add value (really the same for both) but I can't articulate why. Perhaps it is the appearance of class, or a way to showcase design, but they are a feature even if people never use them.

I would probably never use a wood burning fireplace in my own home. Too much mainentance and cleaning. I would, however, love to go over to someone else's house and experience their wood burning fireplace

We have two gas fireplaces and use them all the time when it gets cold. In the winter I often get up half an hour before the family, flip the switch to turn on our gas fireplace, make a cup of coffee, and sit in front of the fire reading a newspaper until everyone is up. This is one of my most favorite times of day! I would never put on a fire if it required me to actually go get wood, light the fire, and then clean up afterwards. Perhaps I am just lazy!

As for home value, I don't think it matters. Fireplaces do not tend to be a deal-breaker or deal-maker for most people.

Anonymous wrote:Have had both. Gas fireplaces, unless there is a fan system in, is just for looks, does little heating, can run your gas bill up.

Firewood burning is cheaper, does provide heat and is nice to have but not to clean.

If I had a choice, I would not have either one. They both waste energy.

As for added home value ? Means little unless the person buying really wants a fireplace.

Wood burning is can be a negative because of maintenance issues, but a few people really like them.


Gas improves the value of the home. Gas can also get very hot if you adjust the output to maximum, most are set at low.

1. Sant ahas magic pants that don't burn
2. Do you ever see a house listing highlighting a gas fireplace? No but wood yes
3. might be a pin in the asss but everyone comes over and say sahhh what a great fire. gas is like running a video over and over same thing all the time

nothing beats the scramble of a log falling out of the fire place, the loud pops and the smell.....

Anonymous wrote:We had a wood burning fireplace in our last house. We used it probably 3 times in 6 years. Our living room was small and it made the room REALLY hot, plus I hated cleaning up the ashes after the fire. I also found that the chimney made the living room really drafty and we ended up paying $1500 to install custom glass fireplace doors to cut down on the cold. That said, I love the smell of wood-burning fireplaces when I am taking a walk outside!

Our new house has a gas fireplace. We haven't used it yet, but I'm hoping to use it this winter. One unexpected downside was my 4 year old son asking me yesterday how Santa Clause was going to get into our new house to deliver presents when we don't have a chimney anymore. Hadn't thought about that one...

Santa is an issue with the wood burning fireplaces as well. DS asked us how Santa was going to bring the presents down the chimney with the fire lit. "Are we going to burn Santa?"

We had a wood burning fireplace in our last house. We used it probably 3 times in 6 years. Our living room was small and it made the room REALLY hot, plus I hated cleaning up the ashes after the fire. I also found that the chimney made the living room really drafty and we ended up paying $1500 to install custom glass fireplace doors to cut down on the cold. That said, I love the smell of wood-burning fireplaces when I am taking a walk outside!

Our new house has a gas fireplace. We haven't used it yet, but I'm hoping to use it this winter. One unexpected downside was my 4 year old son asking me yesterday how Santa Clause was going to get into our new house to deliver presents when we don't have a chimney anymore. Hadn't thought about that one...

Have had both. Gas fireplaces, unless there is a fan system in, is just for looks, does little heating, can run your gas bill up.

Firewood burning is cheaper, does provide heat and is nice to have but not to clean.

If I had a choice, I would not have either one. They both waste energy.

As for added home value ? Means little unless the person buying really wants a fireplace.

Which one is better? More charming? Adds more value to your house? Etc