Looks great in the picture. Very attractive

2900 square feet on one level?

Is the fireplace against an outside wall?

How many cords of wood did you burn last winter?

How bad is the temperature differential across that big space?

Yes, my home is one level and 2900 sq feet. 4 bedroom/3 bath/ and an office. I do keep one bedroom shut off in the winter time. My fireplace is against an outside wall, but as you can see, I framed the fireplace inside that wall instead of framing it outside. I didn't move in until January, so I can give a correct per/season amount of wood. I am expecting to burn about 5 ricks (4'x8'x16", this is what we call a rick in AR.) Keep in mind, out winters in NW AR are nothing like up north.

The heat distribution is good. All of my rooms stay very comfortable with the exception of my master bathroom which gets a little chilly on really cold mornings.

Darn! 5 ricks, which is equivalent to two clydes, 3 lukes, and 0.5 daisy dukes, and is only . . .
1.66 cords!

Man, that's awesome. Great setup sir . . .

That was funny. Isn't a rick also known as a face cord?

One of the reasons I believe this fireplace heats my home so well is b/c of the insulation and low ceilings. I put 9' ceilings in my house throughout vs. 10' which is popular in my area now. I also spent a few extra dollars and had the cellulose blown in all walls and a little extra deep in the attic.

I doubt the 1 foot ceiling makes a difference. It's a nominal 10% reduction in volume of air to heat, but that's only .16 cords of wood - not much.

The insulation in the walls and attic is where it's at, IMO.

I just put in R-39 worth of cellulose spray in in one of my attics on top of 6" fiberglass frags. I think it's going to make a big difference.

"Isn't a rick also known as a face cord?"

Well, depends on where you are at. A rick, as I've heard it, is a pickup bed worth of wood. The rick, as you define it, is, in fact, a face cord.

We just had an article in our paper last week explaining that it is against the law in our state to sell anything other than a FULL regulation cord. No ricks, truck loads, face cords, etc. There is a particular state agency that regulates this. See if that is the same in your state. If it is, then your wood dealer faces criminal charges.

Ummmmmm,

I don't think we are going to have any criminal charges in my situation. I am my own wood dealer. I cut, split, stack and burn my own wood. If someone thinks they can regulate how much wood I cut, stack, and burn according to "approved measures" we will have a problem Houston.

I'm sure you were thinking that I was purchasing my wood from someone. Nope, just me, my saw, a maul and plenty of time for the oak, cherry and whatever else is handy to dry out.

As I stated, the regulations are for sellers.

"I am my own wood dealer. I cut, split, stack and burn my own wood."

I think you should have yourself arrested, is what I think.

Xan, you are soooo serious sometimes.

And I'll throw in on a political note that it's a really sad sign that we are so feeble that we need the government to protect us when we buy wood.

What kind of stone is that around the fireplace? That's real pretty stuff.

Agreed.

As a wood burning American, you are responsible for knowing the amount of wood you are buying. If your dealer brings you wood and it isn't the amount you ordered, pro rate the amount of money you give him. If he disagrees, tell him to reload the wood on his truck and to have a nice frigging day...If you're intimidated by him, go to your local firing range, get a course on handguns, buy one, attend a concealed carry course and start packing. Note: there will be no need to let him know you have a handgun unless he starts to attack you. Most likely there would never be a need for the handgun. The most common response will be, "Mam, I'm sorry I didn't bring you a full cord. I will take your pro rated money or I will go get the rest for you and accept full payment"......End of story

Obviously, my comments were viewed out of context.

It's the same protections as when we buy anything else. Nothing unusual about it. No matter what is sold, the government has some kind of regulations on it. I'm going to guess that at least 50%-70% of the people who buy wood are ripped off because they don't know what they are buying or what they should be buying. I am just trying to educate those who don't know the difference.

People demand help from the government when it comes to disasters, welfare, healthcare and such, but they seem to resent the government making regulations about how business is done and taxes are paid. I am not pro-government in the slightest, but I do acknowledge that they protect the population and they do us a lot of good. Case in point: Just look at what happened in New Orleans when the people thought there was no law for a couple of days. Imagine what our lives would be like without laws and regulations. Regulating that only full cords be sold is just another measurement like ounces and pounds that goods must be advertised at.

And I do NOT want a political debate. Again, I am not a political person. It's only for educational purposes only.

All seriousness aside, I wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers. I agree with your point, I was just trying to be funny or maybe even write something interesting to read.

I would absolutely hate it if the government didn't regulate measures such as gasoline....could you imagine buying a gallon of gas and only getting .8 gallons for every gallon you purchase??? Gov regs a good thing in most cases, I just wanted to make a point that anyone purchasing wood should speak up if they don't receive what was agreed upon during the phone conversation.....

"People demand help from the government when it comes to disasters, welfare, healthcare and such . . ."

Not me.

"I am not pro-government in the slightest, but I do acknowledge that they protect the population and they do us a lot of good."

In the end, big government is what killed America. What you see as "a lot of good," I see as a slow wearing away of what made America successful.

"Imagine what our lives would be like without laws and regulations."

It's not a question of all or none, is a question of degree. The more laws and regs and govt. agencies, the less sustainable the society.

America is dying. For those of you who havnen't been following the various economic happenings of the past 8 months, get ready for an oppresive recession.

In doing some quick research on the cordwood measurements I found out that it is illegal not only in the USA but in Canada as well for ANYONE to sell anything OTHER than a full regulation cord or a fraction of a cord, such as 1/2 cord or 1/4 cord. If anyone tries to sell you anything called anything else, then it is illegal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tips on buying wood

It is permitted in Illinois. This is from IL Dept of AG website:

The use of terms such as "truckload," "face cord," "rack" or "pile" as the method of sale of firewood is not allowed. Firewood is to be sold by the cord or fractions of a cord (such as "half of a cord" or "quarter of a cord").

Oops. hit return by mistake
Agreeing with Xaandra on word usage. Fractions - good; adjectives - bad.

For sale:

1 rick of red oak, split and seasoned

firewood needs to be sold by dry weight and not this archaic volume measurement. this is why buying coal is so much nicer, a ton of coal from one mine is the same amount as a ton of coal from a different mine.

Types of wood vary greatly in density. Therefore, it would not make sense to sell wood by dry weight. i.e imagine buying 1 ton of balsa wood and 1 ton of oak! You wood have two very different size stacks of wood!

Rudysmallfry,

I'm sorry, I didn't see your question. The stone in the picture of my fireplace in my thread isn't stone at all. It's good old concrete. It's made my Centurion stone and costs less, weighs less and allowed me to install myself. The pattern and color is called Milwood Rubble.

Thanks

Just saw you post about your quad, bought mine in Feb 2005 when Hearth and Home was at a big home show here in Michigan. I went with the Simpson dura plus chimney option and am not sorry. I have the wall cavity open for some wire routing and could hold my hand on the chimney with a HOT! fire going in the quad. We have been buring it since the 1st of october and been heating the house here in MI so far. I installed both the combustion air and aux convection air. I am looking at installing the two heat duct kits to run to some bedrooms which get cool with the doors closed. The only issues is they REQUIRE you use simpson b-vent gas vent pipe for the heat runs which is expensive pipe. Anyone else using heat zone kits with their quad?

Anthony,

Where are you in MI? Where did you get the QF7100 at? Who installed?
I'm in Ann Arbor, and I plan on getting this fireplace. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Zevi