macv - Thanks, so much for the reply. Well, with the 42" x 30" opening, our ratio is 1.4. If we had gone with the 36" opening, we would have hit 1.2 on the head. I know I should have paid more attention to previous discussions on fireplace proportion. darn. All of the imitative stone chimney enclosure is above the roof surface on the rear of the house. I think only one neighbor will have any kind of view of it during the winter when the leaves are down. Due to the slope of the lot from the road to the house, only the very top is visible from the road which is why we want this to have a nice treatment like the one you showed in the picture. I just talked to DH and he & the fireplace guy have come to a mutually agreeable to solution to trade some aesthetics for avoiding potential water issues. He said that he would write that up for me so I can post it. The corners won't be visible at ground level. However, we are using the same real stone thin veneer which will be at "foundation" level below the Nichiha shakes. DH says that there are corners for it. I know you were upset when you had to have your stamp removed from that project, so I'm sorry if I stirred up unpleasant memories. However, thank you so much for the insight. It really helps. Jo Ann

First of all, there is a 30% tax credit (on parts and labor!) on better-quality inserts right now if you can get them in service (not just paid for) by Dec. 31. I suggest you see if you can get an insert job done; Maybe Uncle Sam will pay for the insert if you cover the labor. Now for your main question about doing it without an insert. I looked into this once and concluded that without an insert, gas log conversions from any type wood burning fireplace are mainly for ambience, not heat. The best I could come up with was, I learned that some RH Petersen logs with GF in the part number are designed to work with doors closed and thus keep the heat in the firebox instead of going up the flue. Maybe we could hear from someone with GF logs. There are also some other brands that advertise "reduced vent" logs, you might ask about those. In both cases I have my doubts about, even if it does produce heat, how much, and is it practical to get it to work with a thermostat.

If the upstairs in your two story house is roasting while the ground floor is quite chilly, it sounds like our heating system hasn't been properly balanced. You don't mention what type of heat you have, but probably your best bet is to call in a good HVAC technician, familiar with your type of heating plant, and get the system properly balanced. If it's a forced air system, this will involve closing off a portion of the ducting or ducts supplying heat to the upper floor and directing more air flow to the lower floor. If it's a hydronic or radiant system, it will involve lowering the water temperature going to the upper floor, and increasing the water temperature going to radiators or emitters on the lower floor. This isn't rocket science. Any competent HVAC person should be able to get your system balanced so that the upper and lower floors are nearly equal in temperature. Most fireplaces send more heat and conditioned air up the chimney than they supply to your living spaces. Forget about the fireplace and concentrate on getting your heating system properly calibrated.

We've two wood burning fireplaces in our current house. The Family Room gets used about 30-40 times per year, living room about 5. Wood-burning fireplaces were a must for our new house. We really enjoy them. Health. The issues @Springtime raised are real issues. Relative to other risks to our health are quite low though. You are likely to loose massively more years of your life to being overweight, obese, having a sedate lifestyle, or being on or near a U.S. road than to any issues with a wood burning fireplace used EVERY DAY. That said, reducing the risks with good fireplace design and ventilation are still a good idea. For instance, outside vents directly in to the fire box provide only about 200 cfm so we run our MUA @ 400 CFM when burning a fire and for at least a couple of hours after it's gone out. This insures that combustion by-products mostly go up the chimney. I also open the flue and run the MUA when cleaning ash out. Energy. Wood-burning fireplaces are not energy efficient. But, perspective. An hour of fire with an outside ambient temp of +20°f uses the same energy as driving an SUV about 1.2 miles IIRC (need to double check that number though). We ride bicycles for nearly all of our local transportation and our cars are electric (and charged by solar) so all in all the wasted energy of all of our fires for a year is a rounding error compared to how much less energy we use for transportation than an average couple or family. Whether health or energy efficiency, every little bit helps. But we shouldn't spend a lot of time and energy swatting flies when an elephant is getting ready to crush us.