Eva Beshears, Realtor® for Springfield MO Area

Gas Fireplace Inserts: Pros and Cons

By: Wendy Paris

Published: September 22, 2010

Add a gas-burning fireplace insert if you want clean air and the ultimate in convenience.

Unlike old decorative gas fireplaces, today’s gas inserts are heat-producing dynamos that use natural gas or propane to power a steady flame dancing on fake logs, decorative modern glass chips, or stones behind a sealed glass face.

Gas inserts are available as vented units or unvented units.

• Direct-vent units are safest. They draw in outside air to keep the flame burning and exhaust all the combustion gases and water vapor released by burning gas.

• Ventless inserts have a higher efficiency rating (92% to 99% vs. 60% to 80% for direct-vent inserts) because no heat escapes up the chimney. But the exhaust fumes and moisture released from burning gas stay in your house, which may be a cause for concern.

Most ventless gas fireplace inserts are considered safe for homeowners because they include an oxygen-depletion sensor that turns gas off before carbon monoxide reaches dangerous levels in the room. Nevertheless, some states don’t allow ventless gas units.

Check your local building codes regarding the types of fireplace inserts allowed in your area.

Capacity and cost of inserts

A gas-burning fireplace insert heats 1,000 to 3,000 square feet, depending on its size. Talk to your insert dealer about the size of your existing fireplace and what heating capacity you can expect from an insert.

Inserts cost $3,000 to $4,000, including installation and a chimney liner.

Upsides to a gas fireplace insert

• Gas fireplace inserts can be used in masonry or prefab fireplaces; they can be vented through the existing chimney (or a wall for a free-standing unit).

• Gas inserts require little maintenance beyond an annual $75 to $125 checkup. Its best application is for zone heating—turning up the gas in the room you’re in and lowering the thermostat in the rest of your house.

• There’s a definite green factor--they burn with a 65% to 99% efficiency rating, which means very little pollution or smoke.

• There’s no ash or creosote produced with a gas-burning unit.

On the downside

• Propane is an expensive heating fuel—you won’t save money heating your whole house with a gas insert.

• You’ll spend more on gas or propane than you would on wood or pellets to produce the same amount of heat.

• A gas insert burns fossil fuel, so it doesn’t qualify for the 30% tax credit available for inserts that burn biomass, such as wood or pellets.

Can Remodeling Spook Sleeping Ghosts?

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Published: October 18, 2011

Sometimes home owners don’t know their houses are haunted until a remodel disturbs the spirit world.

Over the years, I’ve had more than one friend tell me their house is haunted. Usually, the ghosts are harmless pranksters who move items on a dresser, or leave small toys in a house that hasn’t seen kids in years.

What prompts this supernatural silliness? It may be a recent home improvement project.

“When you remodel, you change the restful spirits' environment, and it may not be comfortable with the outcome,” according to David’s Ghost Hunting Blog, which collects ghost stories. “Some may bother you just to let you know, ‘Hey! You may have changed the house, but I'm still here!"

We at HouseLogic want you to get the most out of your remodel project. Occasionally, that may mean more than you bargained for. Get your Halloween spirit stirred up and check out these spooky renovation tales:

Boo!

1. After a major kitchen remodel, a Virginia home owner believes a ghost repeatedly locks her son in the basement, even after she has removed all keys from sight.

2. Soon after a young couple bumped out the front of their house, an otherwise friendly ghost began making trouble. The ghost stole tools, pulled down drywall, and pushed workers.

3. Through the years, claims have surfaced that the White House is haunted. Mysterytopia has pictures of a 1950 remodeling that shows, if you look hard enough, an apparition supposedly standing in the middle of the renovation.

4. The moment a South Dakota woman walked into her 1910 home, she felt that the kitchen was backwards, even though she'd never been in the house before. When the real estate agent confirmed that during a previous kitchen remodel, the configuration had indeed been reversed, the new home owner wondered if she had been receiving messages from another world.

5. Soon after remodeling began on the historic Felt Mansion in Holland, Mich., shadowy figures appeared and doors opened and closed themselves. Click on this video and decide for yourself if the mansion is haunted.

Have you disturbed the ethers during a remodel at your house? Share your otherworldly story!