We have a woodburning Fireplace Xtrordinair 44 Elite in our new home and are really pleased with it. Our home is over 4000 sf, and the temperature in the Master Bedroom upstairs is the same as right next to the fireplace downstairs. The "posi-pressure" system works just as advertised. We were disappointed initially that we couldn't have a masonry fireplace and were afraid our fireplace wouldn't look "real," but we're very happy with it now. We bought the optional black metal screen, but find we actually prefer using the glass doors. You can hear the crackle even with the doors closed so it's very soothing for the soul. :-) It's also great to be able to just walk away from the fire and go to bed without worrying about safety. One thing we're especially happy we did is that we put our blower in the basement, directly below the family room, and you can hardly hear anything, even when the blower is set on "high." The only downside to our fireplace is that creosote does build up some on the glass, even with the air wash system, but it comes off quite easily with the fireplace glass cleaner we bought. I've heard that happens on all wood-burning fireplaces with glass doors. Because these fireplaces qualify as a furnace, they do have strict requirements for how close the mantel can be, so we ended up having our builder make our mantel, but we're very pleased with how it turned out. In our Master Bedroom we have a Fireplace Xtrordinair gas fireplace, but it's mostly for ambiance, so we made sure to get a model that we can adjust for a very low BTU. To avoid the "fake" look, we got a built-in screen, andirons, and a model with the most realistic fake logs and embers. It's also got a fun, optional light behind the logs that's surprisingly nice. Great for summer!

The framing should have waited until you selected the unit.

We have a wood-burning fireplace in the living room, which is at one end of the 20' x 40' great room that includes the LR, DR and kitchen. So it is visible from all three. We use it 2-3 nights per week during the winter (November - February). We're in central Alabama, so winter nights don't usually get much below the teens. We got new HVAC this year, though, so the FP will probably be more for ambiance than for heat now. But I have to say that in the four house I have owned, this one is the only one that works well and draws well. The others (1920s homes) always required a cracked door or window or something to keep the place from smoking up. The ca. 1978 FP has heat vents on the front. No fan, just the vents. I don't see that they really do much. One always heats up more than the other (a different one each time). I'd rather they not be there so I could have a nice clean brick wall instead of the vents, which, when combined with the opening for the firebox, make the whole thing look sort of like a pale jack-o-lantern. I have two IKEA canvases hanging on the vents right now, so they are hidden. We just take the canvases down when we actually light a fire. In the fall/winter we have guys on the streetcorners with truckloads of split, seasoned wood. They follow you to your house and unload and stack it for you. So it's not a big deal at all. As for the bugginess, we live in the woods, so . . . there will be bugs. We don't freak out about it.

Hi Autumn hopefully your new home, however tight, includes an outdoor-air ventilation system. Basically, a dedicated fan that exchanges indoor air with outdoor air. Energy raters, home performance contractors and some HVAC professionals can evaluate and advise if not. For health more than humidity. There is no such thing as too tight. The tighter the better. Your descritpions sound like classic leaky, inefficient house to me. Dry, leaking winter air requiring excessive heating during the cold season and infiltrating humid summer air the wrongly sized AC, can't deal with in the warm season. Could be wrong just sayin. Strive for cooktops vented to the outdoors and if having home performance contractors out to evaluate, have them check bath vent fans. They should be exhausting at least 50 CFM, most dont. Keep the bath door closed while showering and vent until moisture is gone. Easy ways to control big sources. A lot of moisture comes from the ground which is harder to fix on existing construction. Hopefully you don't have a crawlspace and maybe a home performance contractor can make suggestions for the foundation. Exterior grading adjustments uphill of my old home have stopped basement water intrusion, keeping it much drier. For vulnerable foundations lacking appropriate finish grading, gutters should be used and maintained with reckless abandon. I feel most east coast climates require at least some summer air-conditioning, even in MI. Mini-split heat pumps are a good solution but don't settle for HVAC contractor sizing and brand recommendations. Try to find a third party to evaluate needs for load sizing and brand. One can probably lower energy bills by offsetting some of the gas-burning. Lower energy costs plus my friends in PA and uncle in WY appreciate your concerns over their well water quality from fracking threats.