My wife and I are building a custom home this year and our design calls for a double sided gas fireplace that will face into the great room on one side and the foyer on the other side, and our foot print is limited to about 4' wide X 2'6" deep. Since I was hoping for something more realistic looking than the typical direct vent, fixed glass gas fireplace units I started researching the nicer looking vented gas logs (Eiklor Flames). Most of these vented gas logs require installation into a solid fuel burning fireplace or stove. So searching around the web for a factory built, double sided wood burning fireplace I stumbled across the JUCA company http://mb-soft.com/juca/indexf.html#f-9a . Although it is not a zero clearance unit the model of interest is the F-9AX http://mb-soft.com/juca/indexf.html#f-9a3 JUCA says the current production time for this model is about 5 weeks. There is a LOT of information about wood burning fireplaces on the JUCA website. Does any one out there have any experience with a JUCA?

First, you might want to have the chimney cleaned and inspected. Second, I'd make an effort to contact the former owners, ask their advice: how often and how hot did they burn it, was is used after the pine trim was added, any issues you should be aware of before you fire it up... Then, you could build a nice hot fire [I know, not really the time of year for it], and monitor the temps in the areas you wish to change. Of you could just change it out as you please, and plan on never burning anything hotter than a candle in there...

We are adding on a 20x20 which will run int a great room; same story. Having done the research and purchase, we've learned quite a bit. How much are you willing to spend? Will the unit be placed on an external wall? How large will the hearth area be?

You need to verify what type of gas the heater is set up to burn, no heaters will burn both out of the box. You need to know the maximum inlet pressure rating of the heater and what pressure your gas piping system is set up on. It seems safe to assume that since you have natural gas and no regulator was present with your old heater, that you have a low pressure system, meaning you'll need no regulator for this heater either if set up for natural gas. Keep in mind a lot of heaters have instructions designed to instruct one how to completely install the heater and piping. Now I would naturally suggest that you seek professional installation for this new heater for safety reasons since gas can be extremely dangerous. If you'd like I could walk you through the process of repairing your Martin heater if you still have it, if this is an older Martin heater it's worth fixing. If so give me a model number.