https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:35:35 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842319 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 15:07:23 +0000 Mrs tartan 1842319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First before anything, make sure your chimney is clear. Sometimes to avoid door coming down into a house if not bring used, people will block the chimney with pillows! I've learned that lesson once!<br /> We have an open fire but have a back boiler to make the most of it, so we get free radiator hearing and hot water whenever the fire is on. When it's not, we just switch on the immersion. Our bills are so low. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842237 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:57:12 +0000 mrs. wagon 1842237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePeony: thank you, this is exactly the kind of information I need!!! off to do more research... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842236 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:55:45 +0000 hilsy85 1842236@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePeony: I agree actually, if @mrs. wagon: you are actually going to use it for heating the house. Our fireplace is AWESOME but I don't know that it's the best way to efficiently heat a floor of our home. Wood stoves are way better at that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842225 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:50:55 +0000 PurplePeony 1842225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: Is it an open fireplace? If it is and if you think you're going to use it a lot, you might want to look into an insert at some point. It's basically a wood stove that fits into the fireplace opening and the advantage is that you get a LOT more heat out of it. In an open fireplace, most of the heat goes right up the chimney (our house actually gets colder overall when we use the fireplace because of the drafts it creates. The area right in front of the fire is toasty but it ALWAYS makes the furnace come on within a couple minutes of starting the fire). Inserts aren't cheap, but make it feasible to actually heat your house if you ever wanted or needed to (power outage, etc). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842218 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:46:05 +0000 Smurfette 1842218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely get it cleaned. We learned that ours is in bad condition and would have cost $2500 to clean to get it working. So we decided to go with ventless gas logs so we can still get a fire and don't have to spend the $$ to repair the damage the previous owners did. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842214 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:43:29 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 1842214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I adore old fireplaces in kitchens I think they are adorable! All my fireplaces have been gas so I am probably no help but agree with getting it cleaned/serviced before use:) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842205 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:39:33 +0000 hilsy85 1842205@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You should definitely get it serviced/cleaned. The people that come should be able to give you good pointers/info!</p> <p>We were told never to store large amount of wood in or next to the house (fire hazard). We keep a small box of kindling right next to the fireplace, along with fire starters (which make lighting a fire a snap if you need something quickly). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/talk-to-me-about-fireplaces#post-1842193 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:35:21 +0000 mrs. wagon 1842193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our new house has a working fireplace very centrally located-- in the kitchen!! Kinda quirky but we love it. The house itself is old and drafty, and we are looking forward to using the fireplace to keep the kitchen and living room toasty this upcoming winter, our first winter in the house.</p> <p>However, none of us have ever had a house with a working fireplace before. </p> <p>What do I need to do to get started? I'm assuming, get it cleaned and buy some wood? Make room for the wood in the garage? What do I need to be careful of? </p>