My husband and I toured lots of properties for sale in South Bend, Indiana, before finally making an offer.
One of the selling points of the house was the fireplace.
The fireplace is constructed of large fieldstones with a hardwood mantle and hearth. It is massive and a major focal point of the living room. My husband and I imagined building a fire on a winter night and enjoying the warmth and ambience. We believed that using the fireplace would help to reduce our heating costs. We’ve now lived in the house for almost eight years, and we’ve built one fire. Chopping and hauling wood is labor-intensive, time-consuming and creates a mess. I didn’t like dragging dirty wood through the house. Getting a fire lit is more difficult than we anticipated. The fire creates ashes, sparks and fumes. We needed to sit very close to the fireplace to appreciate the heat. After having a fire, we needed to invest in cleaning the chimney. I am looking into converting from a wood burning to a natural gas fireplace. A natural gas fireplace starts instantly with the press of a button on a cordless remote. The system includes a fan that distributes the heat evenly throughout the room. It is wonderfully energy efficient, clean and quiet. The look of the logs and fire are realistic and enjoyable. Maintenance for a gas fireplace is minimal. I am very excited to have the fireplace converted. The process isn’t overly expensive or intrusive. Once the fireplace operates on natural gas it will finally contribute to heating and comfort.