Make Your Fireplace More Use-able With Gas Logs
When you bought your home, you probably treasured the open-hearth fireplace. You may have even searched for a home with a fireplace. And why wouldn’t you? Fireplaces add warmth, comfort and ambiance to a home. In addition, they add an element of design to any room and serve as a gathering point for families and friends.
The reality of a wood-burning fireplace, however, is that they often sit unused. Consequently, this means wood-burning fireplaces take a lot of work. Wood must be chopped or purchased, stacked and stored, and hauled into the house. A fire must be built and can be tricky to get burning efficiently. If you would like to make your fireplace more use-able and increase its value in your home, there is a solution: Install gas logs.
Benefits of Gas Logs
The primary benefit of gas logs is convenience. You don’t have to worry about stacking, storing or hauling wood to fuel your fires. In addition, you don’t have to build or tend your fire. Different logs light in different ways. In most cases, you push a button or flip a switch that either ignites the fire or a pilot light. Gas-fueled fires also are cleaner than wood fires. While wood fires can compromise your indoor air quality and fill your neighborhood air with fine particles, gas fires burn much cleaner. They won’t fill your home or your neighborhood with soot.
Types of Gas Logs
Angie’s List suggests two primary styles of gas logs: vented and vent free.
Vented gas logs require a chimney. If you’re installing vented gas logs in an existing wood-burning fireplace, so that might mean that your chimney will have to be relined to accommodate the new fuel type. Vented gas logs produce a yellow flame that more closely mirrors a wood-burning fire.
Vent-free gas logs burn much hotter, burning away most of the byproducts of the fire. As a result, they don’t require a chimney. The hotter fire typically produces a blue flame. In an existing wood-burning fireplace, vent-free gas logs can be installed and burn with the damper closed. Vent-free gas logs also can be installed into a firebox in nearly any room of your home. That makes vent-free gas logs a great option for installing a fireplace in a room that can’t accommodate a vent or a chimney.
Styles of Gas Logs
Another major benefit of gas logs is they come in a variety of styles to suit your home’s decor. There are traditionally designed gas logs that closely mirror the look of real wood logs. They come in different sizes and wood types with different colors and textures. For a more modern look, you can forego logs all together and outfit your fireplace with stones, rocks or multicolored glass stones.
If you are ready to increase the usability of your fireplace, call The Chimney Care Co. today! We can talk to you about your different gas log options to make your fireplace more attractive and easier to use.