As the days get colder and I become painfully aware of the temperature inside and out, I start thinking how much I would love a working fireplace. Shortly after we moved into our house, the fireplace had a huge leak and it turned out we needed a new chimney cap and new flashings. “Mr Sweep” did our repairs and told us that our fireplace was unsafe and unsuitable for fires, and that we shouldn’t use it. We weren’t really planning on it, owing to the fact that the previous homeowners had caulked the damn thing shut — probably because of the chilling draft it emitted.
Like most homeowners I often daydream about what I would fix or upgrade if I had any money whatsoever. At first, at the top of the fireplace list was a pellet stove. I like that they are environmentally friendly, burning wood/corn pellets cleanly and efficiently. However, I learned that not only are they expensive to buy/install, they can also be costly to maintain. They require annual servicing by a professional and with many moving parts, repair can be expensive too. Not to mention the fact that pellet availability can sometimes be scarce. Realistically speaking, a pellet stove probably wouldn’t be a good solution for us.
The other route is an EPA certified wood-burning stove. Every year they create a list of stoves that are earmarked for efficiency and emissions. They are somewhat less expensive, and don’t require the same kind of care that a pellet stove does. How awesome would it be to have a fire during the day instead of running the furnace?? Then of course there’s the perk of snuggling up on the couch to watch the fire burn.
Alas we have no money, and as I learned, our furnace is probably in the last few years of its life. According to the furnace cleaning guy, average lifespan of a furnace is 15 – 20 years, and ours is 16. While it’s still working well, we should probably sock away some spare money for a new one at some point in the not too distant future. :( Oh well! I’ll still continue to have these pipe dreams of someday being able to enjoy a warm fire on a cold day.
