Real Fire or Gas?

[ebaxter]

Hi, We are just at the final stages of getting a builder to quote for a large extension and we're unsure about where we have put the fireplace.

It is for a real log burning stove and to move it means more planning and possible a large chimney stack which are architect says would look like a flag pole!!!

So we are now asking do we really want a real fire - nice to sit in front of on a cold, miserable day but lots of cleaning. Or do we go for a nice gas wood burning stove.

I have had a real fire once and loved it - but it was maybe a bit of a novelty. I do also have a 14 month old and we plan on more children so from a practical point I am guessing a gas fire wouldn't get as hot/be potentially as much of a hazard?

Wanted opinions please from those of you with a real fire - is it worth it? If we don't do the chimney now we can't change our minds later.

Thanks.

My sister has 2 real fires which are lovely but no heat control so if it gets too hot there is no way to turn it down for a bit.

A gas wood burning stove would be lovely because it would look real without the faff.

Having had both, would personally go with the gas fire. Everyone goes ooooh how lovely a wood burning stove, but

1. Half our shed is taken up with storing logs, and there is another pile 'seasoning' behind the playhouse in the garden
2. It takes about 1 1/2 hours for enough radiant heat to be created to actually warm up the room
3. We are always forgetting to bring logs in and so have to tramp out in the cold and wet to get them - so invariably do not then bother.
4. We are both crap at lighting fires.

But don't get an open flame gas fire either. To have one of these you need to have adequate ventilation in the room which, in reality, means you have to have an open vent which, when the fire is off, created a sodding draught. We blocked ours up and thus the fire has not been used since!

Why don't you get a multi fuel stove???? They are much cleaner than an open coal fire (which we had in our first house - utter nightmare, coal dust everywhere, really hard work to light and get going, no use if you came home after work and were cold) and you can put logs and coal and rubbish bits of old paper and stuff on there. It's easy to get a fire going, logs are cheap and it doesn't leave coal dust everywhere cos it's all enclosed. You can burn wood which is a nice 'light' warm heat IYSWIM and in the depths of winter we get a coal delivery and put coal on it, then stoke it up last thing at night before bed so it's toasty in the morning. You can leave it unattended in a way that you can't leave an open fire.

Further to Whoamireally's post, a stove heats up much faster than an open fire - we have a living flame gas fire in the front room and it is pretty good with the heat etc but the multi fuel stove in the kitchen/dining/general spend our lives in there room heats up just as fast with logs.

We have an open fire, and I love it. We had one in our previous house, and fitted one where we are currently. We're looking to move, and open fire, or potential to put one in, is on our 'must-have' list. We have a fairly small lounge , so when the kids have gone to bed, the heating clicks off and the lounge stays lovely and cosy. It's done a lot to reduce our heating bills.

It's not a hassle to clean at all - we have a 'firebox' which is extremely efficient; the fire needs to burn on a bed of ash, so I clean it out about every 2 weeks. We get the chimney swept once or twice a year, depending on frequency of fires. It's very easy to light - we just make sure we have a supply of kindling and some firelighters, and it's going in a couple of minutes. We ony burn logs - you do get a lot more heat from coal. If I couldn't have an open fire, a wood-burning stove would be my second choice - however, I just don't think gas comes anywhere close for atmosphere and cosiness.

By the way, we put our open fire in when ds was 1, and have since had another dc - you can teach them from an early age not to go near the fire, and we had a guard when they were little.

We have both....an open fire in the lounge and a gas fire in the bedroom....both are nice, but the gas fire is definitely less effort=get used more.

We got a wall mounted one, but these look lovely as well....
www.westcountryfires.co.uk/brilliant-slab-16-fire-p-261.html

good luck!

On the question of venting, does anyone know if a normal real fire requires an open vent. We recently had our fire surround replaced and the company doing it insisted we had to have an open vent to comply with new regs. Was news to me and a bit dissapointing since it will make the room colder in general.