I know most people go the other direction, but my wife and I are really thinking about it.

We have a 1999 gas fireplace in our living room that hardly gets used. We both think it's a little lame to just hit a switch and look at a gas burner. We live in the country, so obtaining a wood supply is not an issue. Yes, I know it will bring in dirt and bugs. It's a trade off.

The fireplace location is on the backside of the house, so I'm not sure a full brick chimney is needed for esthetics. Obviously, there would need to be some type of flue inside a finished "box" going up above the roofline, the firebox would need to be changed or modified for the wood burning and a fireproof hearth installed.

Has anyone done this? Any idea on materials, costs, etc?

Thanks

You're insurance company will drop you in a heartbeat if they see it. And if you don't tell them and you're house burns down they won't pay out and there's nothing you can do about it.

We switched our homeowners insurance some years ago and they made us take out our free standing wood burner in the living room. The hearth and chimney were still there of course so we replaced it with a gas fireplace. Best thing we did. After a year we purchased another gas fireplace for a different part of the house. Would never go back. my advice is to replace you're existing gas fireplace with a new more modern one.

If it's a fireplace insert, pretty sure you'll regret that. I have had both types with an insert, gas is much better. No ash to clean out, chimney cleaning. To me it seems the gas logs give off a little more heat.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
You're insurance company will drop you in a heartbeat if they see it. And if you don't tell them and you're house burns down they won't pay out and there's nothing you can do about it.

Huh? I'm talking about having a professional install a wood burning fireplace where the gas used to be, not some home-brew modification. I'm fairly certain people still do real fireplaces and insure their houses.

If your chimney was converted from a wood burning set up to gas, then it shouldn’t be an issue physically switching back. First, check with your insurance company to make sure it won’t drop your coverage- it might alter it but if it’s a chimney/hearth designed for wood, I cannot imagine they would prohibit it outright.

If the above pans out, have a thorough inspection done by a qualified individual. Sometimes people switch to gas because of an issue of safety or necessary repairs for safe wood burning.

And last, get a modern wood burning insert with an internal pipe to the cap. You lose a little of the ambiance of open flame, but lose a whole slew of headaches in the process. I used to have a 70’s vintage Matherly insert/stove that simply exhausted into a raw brick hearth to standard ceramic 11” standard chimney. Horrible creosote buildup from smoke moving over relatively cool ceramic. Even the hottest fire couldn’t burn it off and after one slow chimney fire (when we realized it was starting, I choked it off but it slow burned for 2 days) I’d had enough. After a detailed inspection for damage, we went to a Regency 1200 insert with an attached steel 6” pipe to the cap. We couldn’t be happier with the switch.

The benefits:
FAR more efficient heat output

FAR less mess around the hearth.

Extreme ease of cleaning. I brush out my own pipe from the roof down and it is a dream compared to before. Modern stoves have either a catalyst or some physical design that allows for the “re-burning” of your stoves exhaust to reduce smoke and particulates that again helps in the cleaning process. Ours has simple stone slabs angled in the roof of the stove that heat up and cook what little smoke is produced when it passes over it on the way out.

A huge plus is reduced wood usage. You will really squeeze out your time/moneys worth of your firewood.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
You're insurance company will drop you in a heartbeat if they see it. And if you don't tell them and you're house burns down they won't pay out and there's nothing you can do about it.

Huh? I'm talking about having a professional install a wood burning fireplace where the gas used to be, not some home-brew modification. I'm fairly certain people still do real fireplaces and insure their houses.

You're original post did not indicate a professional install. You inquired about parts cost so I assumed this was a diy project. Now that you clarify that it is not I would suggest calling several professional installers to come to you're property look at the project in person and give you exact quotes based on your specific installation.

From what you describe it sounds like what you have was originally designed for gas only and what is needed is a full replacement.

Pretty much rip out all you have and install a listed fireplace system for use with wood. big bucks to be blunt but it can be done by a qualified company.

As for the insurance point... that is silly, you can add to your home what ever you want.... back n the hay days of wood stoves insurance companies would cancel if you had a wood stove and claimed to use it for heat because of the multiple claims they were getting... the reason for these was a combination of issues.... improper installation, improper operation and no maintenance I spent the first 15 years of my chimney sweep career dealing with this. Stupid wood stove stores selling to stupid people.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
From what you describe it sounds like what you have was originally designed for gas only and what is needed is a full replacement.

Pretty much rip out all you have and install a listed fireplace system for use with wood. big bucks to be blunt but it can be done by a qualified company.

That's what I'm assuming. What is "big bucks"? I've sent inquiries to a few local companies, but haven't heard back yet. Just a ballpark idea would be fine.

I misread your post and thought you had an existing chimney; if you have the standard gas log set up then yes, it will be a complete redesign.

For a free standing stove, as long as your existing set-up is flush with an outside wall, then you can have a standard flue pipe installed that will require a rebuild of the wall the pipe is to go through. For a proper insert, it would be possible to have a hearth built I suppose but it would be expensive and require a fairly extensive bit of work. There’s no way of estimating a cost without knowing more information. Current wall construction, height the pipe will need to run, pitch of roof, state code requirements on height above roofline, etc. There is a lot to consider.

A free standing stove with no hearth is primarily for heat- not so much ambiance(unless you get a glass faced model), save for a “rustic” look.

However it is done, make certain that the gas pipes are totally moved away from the fireplace!

flashguy

^^^^Good point.

Don't be this guy...

Local guy asked his HVAC contractor about using the existing gas log b-vent for the new wood fireplace. The idiot told him it was good to go.
Damn near burnt his house down after using it!

B-vent (used for gas) is NOT rated for a wood burning fireplace.

Venting for a fireplace (class A) is expensive ($2k) for piping materials is easy, depending on hieght.


BTW, he said the gas cock (valve) would be ok in there as well.

This will give you some idea. Go down to the cost part.
I had a friend that is very skilled in building and did his himself. Even then, it was not simple or inexpensive.

https://www.fixr.com/compariso...-vs-gas-fireplace#cQ

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
However it is done, make certain that the gas pipes are totally moved away from the fireplace!

It's doable even without moving pipes.

My last house had a wood-burning fireplace that was also plumbed for gas. I used it with wood for ~5 years, then switched to gas by installing a gas log insert. I could have gone back to burning wood anytime I wanted by simply removing the gas log insert. It had the gas cutoff valve a few feet to the left of the fireplace, so when burning wood, the nearest pipe containing actual gas was several feet away. The pipe section that continued past the shutoff valve for a few feet and then protruded into the fireplace itself was thus empty of gas when the valve was shut. (Plus it had a removable screw cap that was installed on the gas supply pipe sticking into the fireplace when it was in its wood-burning configuration, just to keep out soot and debris.)

Even if you don't want to be able to transition between wood and gas like that, all you'd need to do is cap the gas supply pipe for the fireplace somewhere along the line before it got to the fireplace. It wouldn't necessarily involve rerouting or removing all of the existing gas pipes themselves. There'd simply be extraneous pipe left in the walls.

Wish I still had a wood fireplace in my house for emergency prep. Hope you go through with it.

There is nothing like the smell, sound, look, of a wood burning fireplace.

Consult a pro and do it.

I went the other way. I put it a woodstove (installed it myself) and years later, during a remodel, I replaced it with a gas fireplace (installed myself) We couldn't be happier with the switch but yes, burning wood is nicer, warmer, more romantic, and I miss it every fall. I am overall happier with the gas though.

My sister went from an open fireplace to a woodstove insert. Piece of cake, just costs a little bit. The installers ran the new flue pipe up through her existing chimney and fit a stove inside her fireplace. It looks pretty good and she's been very happy with it.