Great perspectives - thank-you! I've pondered which choice I might be more likely to regret and that's what pretty much pushed me over to gas. I can see myself wanting a fire but not wanting to go to the trouble of building it, especially when it involves going outside in below zero temps to get the supplies. And the older we get the less I think we are going to want to be hauling wood for a fire. DH and I talked about the fact we can still have a wood burning fire outside by the lake three seasons of the year.

The contractor called me today about the project and said it can be done before May which is when we start going to this place every weekend, having visitors, etc. I will have it for cool days in the spring and summer and all ready to go for fall and winter. YAY!

We recently had a power outage at this place in the middle of winter and I'm also looking forward to having a solution that would allow us to more easily heat the place to prevent pipes from freezing. I have had to keep my previous house heated in the winter with a wood stove during a furnace failure but gas would certainly be easier.

We had a wood burning fireplace in our former home, living room, that we later converted to wood burning insert. It was cozy, certainly warm and DH didn't mind the upkeep. But I got a little 'burned out' with needing to acquire wood, stack wood, make space for wood, carrying it and its bits of bark or debris, sometimes bugs through my house to the fireplace.

My house now has gas. It's not quite as cheery and comforting but I love it and wouldn't go back to wood.

We have a wood-burning corner fireplace. I like the look of it, but we never use it because it makes the house smoky, no matter whether the flue is open or closed. We've often talked about converting it to gas but haven't looked into the cost.

(Not a great picture, but the best I can find on this computer.)

Donna

Ours is masonry, wood-burning, no gas starter. It has vents on the sides, but no fan. When we bought the house there was an insert with glass doors with brushed silvery trim. The insert was functional, but not the look we wanted. When we refinished the fireplace (covered red brick with stucco and smooth plaster, added rough wood mantel) we pulled out the insert and went without, adding a freestanding screen. This house is ca. 1960, and the fireplace is well-designed. It draws well, no smoke, etc. It's a refreshing change from the 1920s houses we've had in the past that all had some quirks (one I had to leave the front door cracked to make sure the fireplace draw was correct).

We use it a good bit in the winter -- probably 3-5 nights a week. Just yesterday we got half a cord of firewood delivered. The price of wood included the stacking. The wood is pretty accessible, easy to get to. Half is stacked under cover on the back patio, so no need to go into snow, etc. to get it. We've got a nice canvas wood carrier bag that keeps the mess to a minimum bringing the wood in. I don't mind cleaning out the ashes when needed. A little messy, but it's 10 minutes out of my life.

I think half the battle is won by getting good seasoned wood cut to the size you need. It makes building and keeping the fire easier, so there's less chance of you regularly just skipping the fire because of the hassle. I think if I had a fireplace somewhere "further back" in the house, like in a bedroom, I'd prefer gas. The schlepping of wood through the house, and the mess of cleaning might seem more of a hassle in that setting.

Have wood burning FP and use it but not much in Houston TX area.

We have a gas and wood-burning fp.

A lovely fire is going and my dogs are snuggling with me on the couch right now!

Nice to see others pics. I was thinking about the fact all our previous wood burners were near the door and the path to the FP was over tile that got messy but was easy to clean. Now I'd be traipsing over the wood floor and carpet. Another factor reaffirming gas.....

My snuggle bunnies ;-)

We have wood-burning fireplaces in the living room and in the kitchen. We use the one in the LR on occasion. In the family room we have a gas fireplace on a thermostat. We use it all the time and it keeps the room really warm, allowing us to turn the two other zones down. I would highly recommend gas. Wood is bad for the environment and sucks the hot air out of your house.

I had the wood fire insert removed from my fireplace when I moved in-- it was large and unsightly. A few months later, I added a gas line and a gas fireplace. I use it daily in the spring, fall and winter. Two things I haven't seen mentioned:

1. Have your chimney swept before switching to gas. I did not-- and later discovered that the chimney was FULL of creosote and still presented a fire hazard. While the gas fireplace will not add creosote, it will heat what is already there.

2. I purchased a remote with a digital thermostat. I don't think it cost much more than $150 but it's been so nice to have. I highly recommend! (It has a timer as well. I don't use it but I am sure that would be useful if I had a more regular schedule. )

Our gas fp is so old it has a valve inside that you have to manually turn on. That thing jammed just recently so now we're looking at replacing the pan and getting new fake logs.

I'd love a remote.

What gas logs do you all like?

We have a wood burning fireplace and we use it all the time! Gas would be more convenient, but there's something special about wood. We went through an ordeal to get to have it (they're basically outlawed here in NYC) but it was worth it!

We had to change our woodburning FP to a gas insert when we remodeled (environmental codes in our smoggy town don't allow you to modify a woodburning FP and building code wasn't going to allow the exisiting chimney to sit quite so close to the new roof). I was bummed out but had to admit that we never ever burned wood because it gives my kid asthma so I wasn't losing anything. I don't think any of them look all that good but we kept the '50s spark screen and stuff over it so it's not that obvious.

Works great!

Wood burning here in my craftsman 1923 home in St. Paul. I use it all winter! The ambiance, especially on those cold grey days, is precious.

I have a fireplace in the living room but rarely use it. I do enjoy a fire, but since the tv is not in that room and it means I have to lug logs and then ashes through the house, it's not worth it to me. I used it more when the kids were young. Now I will throw a duraflame log in it when friends come over in the winter. I usually have some white birch logs in there just for looks. I suppose I should look into gas. I would probably enjoy it. Sitting by a fire and reading and not having to deal with a mess sounds nice.

I also have the thermostat for my house in the living room, so the rest of the house gets cold when there is a fire going. Like Cyn, I dislike having to leave the flue open all night.

Cute mimi. My doggies love fires too!

And in this one, that dog-shaped blanket lump on the swing is actually a puppy. Her eyes were peeking out but you can't see it in the picture!

Gorgeous fps!! Such lovely rooms.

Oh, to be a dog in your house!

We have a wood burning fp in the family room that we used more often when the kids were growing up as it was the tv room. At some point in their middle school years we turned the FR into more of an office where I could keep tabs on their computer use. That's when we stopped using the fireplace. We redid the main floor a few years ago and thought about switching it to gas but couldn't see spending the $ as the FR is now DH's tv room/office and he didn't care about having fires. If we move I would definitely want a gas fireplace in the main living area.

Awww....I love it when the pets take over the house! One of my cats really likes the fire - she lays right in front of it every night and just soaks up the heat.

I went back to the FP store today to take a closer look because I need to decide which front to have on the FP. The one I plan to get is a HeatNGlo and they are really nice looking in terms of the fire burning if you buy the top of the line with all the features. Not like wood but very nice. That's the brand we have now but it's 15 years old and very basic but even so I like it quite a bit (as does my cat). The current ones though have a lot of newer technology to make them look more like a real fire.

Yes, leaving the flue open is a real problem especially if your FP is at a weekend place. It essentially means you can't have a fire on Sunday. We shut ours on Sunday after having a fire on Saturday and turns out it was still smoldering, unseen. We had to take everything out of it and put it in the outdoor fire pit since we didn't want to leave the flue open with the furnace on for a couple weeks. (nor douse it indoors with water). If we had decided to get a wood burner it would have been an efficient one that closes air tight so you can leave the flue open and it doesn't suck all the heat out of the house. But alas I'm going with gas.

jacabedy that's what i wanted, (gorgeous!) yet in the end we had to tile ours with whatever tile was left since the inspection wouldn't approve the plaster one...the plaster master explained to us the plaster needs to be applied on the drywall-the inspector wouldn't have it that way, and we had to get through it, obviously, for the city to approve the remodel. did you need to pass an inspection? I'm trying to understand how to redo ours so it'll match my original plan..not nearly as gracious as yours, and they also screwed up the drywalling there, big time..but this can be redone I guess..if we pay people who are really good in that. I also guess after we passed the final inspection-no one will be interested anymore..it's not like the city will knock on the door to check whether we changed something. but of course I want it to be safe enough.

sorry for the technical question..this fireplace issue really bugs me, and what bugs me even more the builder took until the last moment to say he can't do anything else. I'd plan for things differently, at least would order the tile that would have made sense there

we also took our insert out-it was very good working insert i must say. but it has no relationship whatsoever to the house. it's Southern CA here so usually not that crucial, lol.

also my DH really wanted the wood burning one-and the city refused..since ours was converted to gas once-they don't allow to converse it back.

I'm sure I posted to this thread but it's not showing up. Trying again ...

Love our gas fireplace and use it very often, even on days like today when it's not that cold out. We just like the cozy ambience (so do th cats) and it's so easy to flip the switch!

Love the ceiling!

What you you gas fp owners do for maintenance?

We have to replace our pan and logs after the valve broke, but we've never done a thing to it. We just turn it on and off.

We're hoping to get a better set up so that it throws off some good heat.

Our wood fp chimney has been maintained.

Aprilneverends - ours was a brick fireplace to start. We didn't drywall over. The process was using a bit of lumber to get the canted sides, then chicken wire screwed/nailed directly into the brick. Then stucco scratch coat, stucco smooth coat, then plaster.

We didn't have to pull permits for the cosmetic change, so I can't speak to that issue.

thank you jacabedy . ours is brick too. the existing one i mean. we added frame and drywall to make it taller, since beforehand it was sorta cutting the wall in half, bringing attention to the low ceiling(it's vaulted but slopes toward the fireplace wall). but the base is brick(laid very unevenly I must add)

thank you, very informative. will bookmark, with your permission))

We have always owned older homes so always had several fpl. Here at our main house we have them in the DR, LR, FR and MBR. To me, a room w/o a fpl is missing something; I am so used to it as a focal point.

We added one here in the formal LR I guess you'd call it (our whole house is pretty informal to me). It is gas. Like many relate, I was a purist and never liked gas. We put in a large Town and country unit and i love it. They look soooooo much better than they used to. IMHO they look real.

ONe pet peeve. IN many, not all, zoning rules, the gas fpl must have a glass door or panel. When the unit is off, to me, that is dead giveaway. We bought a large antique beehive style screen that we keep in front of it, and it does not read as a modern gas fpl when off.

ETA - I also have come to believe that the pollution from wood fires is not good for my family or my town.

IDA -- woo hoo MTM!!

Interesting that you put a screen in front of yours Mtn. I never thought about trying to "pretend" it's not gas. In fact the ones I've been looking at require a built in screen over the glass to protect those who don't know enough not to touch the hot fire/glass. I don't like the screen interfering with the clear view of the fire and it's limiting which choice I make. Maybe I should just get over my concern about the screen as the one I like most has a more visible screen. Maybe that's a good thing.

This may have been mentioned already, providing your flue is clean, the smoke is due to wood that's not seasoned or the wind is calm outside.

We use our's to heat quite a bit and when it's frigid out & I love sitting by the fire to warm up.

DH takes care of it. I did try to start a fire once. Massive failure. :)

ETA: Beagles, I thought I was the only one who put covers on the babies.

We have many - lol. Our property in NE PA is on 135 acres of forest so we have more firewood than we could possibly burn - and that's just the hardwood deadfall. We have 2 wood burning stoves - one in the great room, one in the media room and 2 gas (bedroom and study). Our main wood stove in the great room is large enough to heat the entire house. We have another one in the detached garage/loft.

When we remodeled our NJ home a few years ago we lined our brick fireplace with granite and installed a Jotul gas unit with remote. It really is convenient and lovely.

When we move into our next place we plan on taking out the 10 year old Heatilator and installing a new gas unit. We were at the fireplace store last week and I was impressed with the new features that are now available. We're probably buying a Mendota and the one we liked has the capability of modulating the BTU output with the remote control. Some will go as low as 6500 BTU and up to 30,000 BTU. One feature I liked is that it has 2 sets of burners and when you dial it down low the front burners still show flames while the rear ones dim down. Some of the gas stoves even had built in lights (also with 5 different lumen levels) that can be used with the gas on or off. They have traditional units and the more modern rectangular ones too.

http://mendotahearth.com/

sitting in front of the fireplace now. worth it.

We have a wood stove which we use most of the winter to heat the house during the day. It's in the family room which is open to the kitchen and where we spend most of our time.

We have a gas fireplace in the library which we use for heat sometimes but mostly ambience or on day when it's chilly in the a.m. and we don't want the wood stove on all day.

We have 4. Three are kiva fireplaces, in our family room, MBR, and out on our front portal (long, covered porch). The fourth, in our living room, is a large, regular fireplace. I prefer our kivas, as they're smaller and easier to keep a fire going in them. All are wood-burning. We only burn pinon pine in them all, as it's local and has the more fragrant, wonderful smell. Here's the kiva in our family room. Kivas are indigenous to New Mexico:

We have a gas fireplace in our new home as well as in our previous home. This time of year it gets put on daily. Our Bingo's favorite place is on his bed in front of the fire. We have screen doors that make it look a bit more realistic. At least IMO.

So cute!! I think your fire looks great. I'm having analysis paralysis about what kind of front to get. I waffled on the one I was sure I liked best because the screen kind of obstructed the view of the fire. Maybe that's okay. We're just not used to it as our gas FP at home is just clear glass. Our current wood burning FP has screen and glass so maybe that is the way to go for more realistic look.

We have two in this house -- both wood burning that we put gas logs in after we moved in. We use them when the weather is cold -- which hasn't been much this year. We've had wood before and I don't miss the wood, ashes or having to leave the flue open. Even our fire pit outside is gas -- I didn't want to have to wash my hair and clothes every time we used it and my eyes and throat are really sensitive to the smoke. Wood fires are reserved for camping or elsewhere and that's okay.

We have free standing screens in front of both the FPs, mainly to make them look more finished. We have talked about removing the logs from the LR FP -- just having the crushed FP glass.

A couple of you have mentioned the remote starter on the gas. How do you deal with opening and closing the flue when you have a remote starter?

I have a ventless gas fireplace so no need to open the flue.

Most days I can keep the house thermostat down in the mid 60s and the fireplace thermostat between 70 and 74 (depending on my mood and chill factor). It will turn on/off as needed (mostly on this time of year). The living room stays toasty and the surrounding rooms are comfortable.

We have a gas fireplace in this house. In our previous home, we had a wood burning fireplace. We both love a wood burning fire, but got to where we did not like the lingering smell in the house, etc. It sometimes tended to bother my allergies. Here in our part of the south, we really don't use our fireplace alot. Our house is very well insulated, so unless it's pretty cold, a fire heats it up. We've had a power outage once (heavy snow which is not common here) and did pile up in the room with the fireplace. We have a stone firepit out back, but we are planning a patio reno and may so a fireplace along with that. We shall see! We actually use the firepit more than our indoor fireplace!

We put in a gas fireplace when we built our current house because we were tired of dealing with the mess and smoke from firewood. We love it. It's so nice to just flip a switch and warm up the house, even if it's just for a little while.

When we bought our condo at the lake, we were a little leary of using the fireplace without having it inspected, cleaned, etc due to age. So in thinking about it we just had the whole thing replaced and converted to gas. That meant a new flue, chimney cap, firebox and gas logs. And peace of mind. It looks great and performs like a champ.

Our house has a fireplace in the family room and one on the back porch. They are back to back and share a chimney structure but separate flues, of course. I wasn't sure what I wanted in terms of wood burning vs gas inside, so it was plumbed for gas in case that's what I wanted. We knew we wanted wood burning outside, but we have a gas starter which is just awesome. After we moved in I quickly realized there was no way I wanted all that dirty wood, ashes, and soot anywhere near my marble fireplace, lol, so we got gas logs.

i adore them! I get cold easily and love just flipping the switch anytime I feel chilly. And dh gets to build fires on the porch to his heart's content. We liove these fire features so much we planned a firepit when we did our outdoor kitchen/patio project last summer. We wanted a fire pit for our kids to hang around when their friends come over. We were originally going to do a wood burning pit, but it seemed redundant with the wood burning FP on the porch, so we did a gas fire pit! It is awesome! Gorgeous (we use blue fire glass, looks like water!) and so easy and fun to use.

When we built, we built a wood burning masonry fireplace and then converted it to gas. Best decision, we use it often this time of year.

We have a large wood burning Austin Chalk fireplace in the den. It's piped for gas tho. We (and by that I mean DH) just hasn't decided to let go of his "real" wood fireplace yet :( I would LOVE the convenience of gas logs and would spend more time in there during cold winter days if I could click a button and have a fire. If we have many more winters like this one, we might as well just board the thing up!

One of the things I read indicated that if you have gas logs is that you have to have the flue permanently fixed in a partially open position to allow for the gas to be exhausted up the chimney. Maybe that's just code in some places. In any case I ruled that out as there's no way I want my flue permanently open during Minnesota winters.

My folks had a wood burning FP converted to gas log. Nice when it worked, but you must pay attention to the installer's work.

1. We found out couple of years later, that the FP flu damper uvula be closed. Even if no fire, this could pose a danger.

2. Because there was no chimney cap, heavy rains caused the gas unit and wiring to rust.

3. I don't believe that the chimney was properly inspected.

Be careful to get qualified, license FP contractors and inspect their work.

Yes, you should definitely use licensed FP contractors! Also, I have my guy come out once a year to clean out the fire box which does get dusty. He removes everything, vacuums, and checks all the parts before reassembling. This spring he'll also paint my fire box.

I have ventless gas logs and they do NOT require the flue to be open. They burn very cleanly and generate enough heat to keep a good portion of the living space comfortable. I didn't get anything too fancy-- I have "glowing embers" and "dancing flames" lol.. but I don't think I paid much over $1000 for the set uninstalled. (also, my fire box is fairly small which helped keep the price down)

We are on the process of removing an ugly gas fireplace in a cabin we are renovating. Today we found scary evidence of burnt wood behind the brick facade. Be sure whoever you hire knows what they are doing.

I have a wood burning fireplace in my dining room that I have never used. I rarely even use the dining room. The dining area used to be a small living area but a previous owner made all areas an open floor plan. I'm in Florida so there are not many good days for a wood burning fireplace. If the fireplace was in what is now the living room I would make it gas. I do love the smell of a wood burning fireplace though but at this point I'm afraid to give mine a try. Can they get blocked up or anything when they haven't been used in years and years?

We live in a 1910 home. 28 years ago when we moved in I hoped the wood burning fireplace in dinning room would be usable, well it was not. The firebox was small, someone at some time had burnt coal in it besides wood. It was quite a chore to clean out clear down to basement floor, in basement was a trap door for cleaning. It had had old wood, coal bits, even some paper trash in the build up. The fireplace was built from basement up at house construction time with brick, very sturdy tho. About 15 yrs later we got serious and consulted a fireplace contractor with a good rep. After examining he said "sure we can get you a gas log and install" The log is small but serves the purpose. The only regret I wish it had been raised off floor level some, that was after thought. I had thought it would be neat having a fire that Thanksgiving dinner, but it puts out so much heat when you get a room full of people you cannot stand it. We use it lots in winter time just to sit and watch the fire and enjoy lots of weekend evening meals in front.

Nothing more mesmerizing than fire or water.

I have two; lone with very realistic gas logs in the LR (I fought gas for a long time but finally found some that doesn't look fake), and a gas coal fire in a grate in my BR.

I don't use either very often anymore, but at one time, I did. I'm still VERY glad I have them - they add a lot to both rooms.

Wish I had a fireplace in my library - I'd use that every night if I did, but I've been reluctant to give up a window in there to install one. Also, room is about 18" too narrow for it to really work well.

We had wood burning fireplaces in two previous homes. We never used them. It is just too much effort for the payoff for us. Also there are burn restrictions so some days you can't use them due to air quality.

Long ago we had a gas fireplace in an apartment and we did use that occasionally. Our current home has a gas fireplace and dh turns it on pretty much every night. So if I were choosing, I would always chose gas.

The house we live in was built in 1996 with a Gas f/p, with wall-switches. The 4-switch wall faceplate has 2 switches for the F/R ceiling recessed fixtures. The other 2 are for the F/P. 1 for the f/p fan, other is for the ignitor. I like it!! SO convenient.

Since I was a kid, the smokey smell of wood always bothered me. CAN'T STAND that odor inside!! Let alone all the wood chopping/hauling.....NO THANKS. If we want it to actually heat the room, we just flip the switch for the fan. Otherwise, we just enjoy the flames ambiance! The fan speed can be adjusted behind the lower-front grille.

Faron