A couple questions about a wood stove and a fireplace?

dt

Can you put a wood stove in a fireplace? Does it have to be a certain type and size of stove? Will the walls of the fireplace hinder it from exerting heat since hte fireplace walls surround it?

I heard there are different types of stove like oil ones and such which is the best type? Can you buy a really large stove? How much are stoves?

Do wood stoves come with fans or can you just put one next to it?

Do fireplaces have fans or can you just put on next to it?
Is there something you can have built into your fireplace so that all the warm air in your house will not exit out of the chimney?

Answer
I have a fireplace I've had more than one stove in. As a fireplace, it was a total energy loss - it sucked more cold air into the house than the heat it produced. You're right, you have to close off this big opening to put a wood stove in. First, I had a piece of sheet metal fashioned that fit over the opening at the top of the fireplace. This sheet metal has a lip bent into it all the way around, and screws through the lip hold it into position. There's a hole cut into the middle that the chimney pipe fits snugly through. My first stove sat out in the room, right in front of the fireplace. This made a dramatic improvement in efficiency, but took up a lot of floor space. This was in a house with a concrete slab floor, so I didn't need a hearth. Later, when I could afford it, I had the stove changed for a "fireplace insert", which is a wood stove meant to be installed in the recess of the fireplace. Mine has a built in fan, although I don't use it anymore - it's my operating theory that the heat doesn't really go anywhere except in the masonry around the fireplace, and that radiates back into the house eventually anyway, and this way I don't have to listen to the fan. I also installed a 6" stainless steel liner in my chimney, this draws much better than the masonry chimney and I think it's safer.

I was at the wood stove shop the other day, and say an insert like mine for $2700 (the biggest Quadra-Fire insert made). Installation and chimney might run $1500 or so more.

Wood heat is messy, but it's a very comforting heat. I have electric I could use too, but I'm using wood now as we speak. I think it's cheaper, and I know it feels warmer. It works when the powers out, too.

Ways to lower electric/gas bill?

Teetana

Okay, so my bill for January was $300 and I live in a townhouse. I'm trying to find ways to cut down on usage....so far, I:
-run the dishwasher less often/don't use the "heated dry" mode
-barely use any lights except when it's dark outside
-minimize how often we do laundry

What are some things most people wouldn't think of? For example, should I unplug lamps, appliances, etc.? I have gas cooking and electric heat.

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

Answer
The electric heat is harsh to anyone's bill! I would suggest:
-turn your washer water to cold/cold cycles as much as possible
-get a programmable thermostat (they are easy to install yourself-ask your landlord first if you rent) They do make a big difference!
-turn your heat down all together 68 when you are there, 63 when you are gone or lower for both (ours is 63-home, 59-gone)
-our state (WI) is offering an "Energy Audit" for $25 to help people get better results, we had one and it told us where we were losing the most heat and gave us ideas on how and when to do things to help
-lower your water heater temp to 120
-if you have a fireplace, you automatically lose 8-11% of your home's heat when you don't have it on if the damper doesn't work properly
-check your area's peak energy hours and do laundry and other chores requiring lots of energy consumption at those times
-surprisingly enough, you lose a lot of heat through your outlets on exterior walls, there are outlet insulators you can buy to help with that and they are easy to install
-if you own, check to see you have enough insulation in your attic, if you rent, ask the landlord to check
-as a rule, anything that heats up at all costs more money to run
-I hang my laundry to dry...no dryer!!! Inside in the winter, out in summer! That cut back quite a bit.
-an extra appliance like a chest freezer plugged in should be full, either with food or milk jugs of water to reduce cooling cost, generally just plugging in an extra appliance like a freezer is $20-$30 a month...do you really need it?
Hopefully these ideas help! If you need more, you should go to the gov't energy website for more ideas, it actually has some more ideas, but nothing mind-blowing. Good Luck!!!

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Colorado bills-Ulitility bills montly?

Littletyke

Im moving to Little, Colorado in a few months. I live in las Vegas, Nv right now. Can anyone give me a rough comparison in costs of the ultilty bills in colorado compared to Vegas. In Vegas we have the following:
Republic Service (Trash)
City of Henderson -
Century link (Phone)
I have an Hoa
NV energy
Souhtwest Gas

What are the ultility places out there in littleton Called?
(any info on property taxes for a 900 sq ft townhome)
phone?
Like Excel, Irea (electric)
water
I live in a 1300 3 bed 2 bath house now with sprinklers for front and back lawns
will be moving to a townhome
900 sq feet, 2 bed 2 bath home, 2 stories, w/ gas fireplace,
no sprinklers the hoa includes lawn, roof, water, trash
so can anyone give me a run down of costs for each ultility bill
ie;trash, water, Electric, other..Give me the costs monthly
compared to Vegas.
Please it would help so Much... As we are really struggling in Vegas with bad job market and we need to know if we will really be saving money by moving into the townhome
(the Hoa monthly is $125, but that includes water, trash)
you give me the other ulitilty costs, names of out there?
Please
Help...

Thanx

Answer
Your gas and electric bills (one bill Excel Energy) will be considerably higher because you will be paying to heat the house. No one can guess what your bills will be. Our bills are fairly low compared to many others because we keep the thermostat at 62, use all compact florescent bulbs and have gas major appliances. We also avoid appliances that heat with electricity

If you have things like an electric clothes dryer, god forbid electric heat or things like a big screen TV and lots of electric appliances expect well over $250 a month. If you seriously conserve, more like $150. Expect higher bills in winter, October - April. The gas fireplace will add considerably to your gas bill.

Also figure a set of good all weather tires for each car at $75+ apiece.

How do you take paint off of brick?

Sherry R

Tudor brick home built in 1926. Homeowner painted the fireplace. We want to know the steps to restore the fireplace back to the original brick. Thanks!

Answer
Getting paint off of anything is always a messy business. With brick, it's extra messy, and hard, because the mortar between the bricks is not at the same level.

Sandblasting works, but requires a lot of equippment, and gets a lot of sand (potentially wet sand, depending on the machine used) all over the room... better for exterior work.

Chemicals may work, but I am not impressed. Usually this just dissolves the paint, and you have to wipe it off. The paint spots you're sure to miss will often seep deeper into the cracks and crevices... but if the paint is some sort of earth tone, this may not be too big a deal, might just make it look like "used" bricks. As a bonus, chemicals usually do not damage the bricks themselves, which would otherwise get some amount of apparent weathering.

A wire brush is probably the second best way to do it. They don't get sand all over like a sandblaster. You have more control over what gets removed, and what does not get removed... but doing this by hand will literally take forever.

Rotary wheels with wire bristles on them can be attached to dremel tools, electric screwdrivers, drills, or even some rotary saws. They sacrifice some of the accuracy of a wire brush for a much faster overall process. This will probably take less time than using paint remover chemicals, but slightly more time than a sand blaster. You're likely to get paint chips and bits of brick and mortar dust everywhere, but at least there will be no wet sand. You might be able to find rotary wheels of different sizes and thicknesses... one like a big roller would be great for the brick surface. A much thinner one should get the horizontal mortar between the brick layers, and a very small one could get the detail work in the vertical mortar between individual bricks in a layer.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What did a middle class home look like during the 19th century?

electric fireplaces big lots image

LE SOLEIL

what was important during that time?

Answer
It would have varied depending on what part of the 19th century people lived in ,and the degree of prosperity of the family concerned. Some middle class households were larger than others.

Generally speaking, anyone who considered themselves middle class would be likely to have at least one servant. Even a family on quite a modest income, the family of a shopkeeper or schoolteacher say, would probably have a maid of all work, and an upper middle class family, on a larger income, would have two or three servants, perhaps a cook, a housemaid, and maybe a parlormaid as well. They might also have a nanny to take care of the children when small.

Most rooms would have a fireplace, and fires would be lit in cold weather, cleaning out the grates, laying fires etc, was one of the jobs that a housemaid would do. Smoke and cinders from fires made rooms dirty very quickly, so a lot of dusting, sweeping, etc, would need to be done.

In the early 19th century, candles and oil lamps were the main form of lighting. In the late 19th century, electricity and gas began to be used in private homes, a middle class house might have gaslight or even electric light.

Virtually every middle class household would have a piano, and the daughters of the house would learn to sing and play to entertain themselves and any company. In the late 1800s, the gramaphone began to be popular, but making your own music remained popular into the 20th century.

In an upper middle class household, the children would generally have a room of their own, usually upstairs, which was used as a day nursery for them to play in etc. This might become a schoolroom when they were older, or they might have a seperate schoolroom if the house was big enough.

In an upper middle class household the master of the house would be likely to have a room of his own, called the study, where he could work, or just spend time by himself, reading, etc. The mistress of the household would be likely to regard the drawing room as her own particular domain, this would be where the piano would be likely to be, and where she would entertain her friends.

The more modest household of a lower middle class family would not have so many rooms, but they were likely to have a parlour, where company would be entertained, and where the piano would be.

In the early 19th century, most middle class households would not have a bathroom. Baths would be taken in a tub in front of the fire, which would be filled and emptied by hand. Most people would not bathe every day, as filling and emptying a tub was a lot of work. But they did wash. People had washstands in their bedrooms, and would wash themselves down with a sponge. Toilets were normally outside, and people often had chamber pots under the bed to use in the night, since most people did not fancy going outside in the dark.

By the late 19th century, many upper middle class households would have had bathrooms, but maids would still be expected to bring hot water to bedrooms for washing. Many people also had flushing toilets by this time, but they were still regarded as something of a luxury.

Ways to take away the smell of smoke other than incense?

Ramen Ever

I burn incense in my room because it's the only thing I could find that would keep it from smelling like an ashtray. The problem is they give me a screaming headache. I love the way they smell but I can't go into my room without my head hurting. Sprays and candles don't work. Is there any other way I can kill the smell of smoke?

Yes, I know smoking is bad for me. If that's all you have to say please don't answer.

Answer
I'm surprised your parents aren't saying anything about this. Surely they're not unaware of this problem in your room. Of course, there are always tales of teenagers smoking in their rooms by hanging their heads out the window. You can also try dishes or cups filled with vinegar & some filled with baking soda. However, then you'd have the smell of the vinegar, plus it wouldn't really be enough, about the same as the candles.

There are electric ashtrays that you could try. I don't know how well they work. There are also e-cigarettes or something like that, which are supposed to be smoke free, only giving people the nicotine rush. They seem to be getting a lot of attention lately. They are probably far more expensive than regular cigarettes & subject to strong regulation of the sales.

Your only real choices are smoking outside or buying a really good air cleaner, which could cost you almost $200 + replacement of the filters. Hope you have lots of money. If you smoked in the rest of the house, & if it were only a few times a day, you might be able to smoke near the kitchen stove with the exhaust fan on, but I'm not sure if that's safe from blowing up near a gas stove or if it would completely work in hiding the smell. If you smoked in the bathroom with the exhaust fan on in there, you'd still have the smell in the towels & in the bathroom curtain & shower curtain. If you had a wood-burning fireplace, there are ways to set the flue when it's not in use & smoking with your head almost in the fireplace so that the smoke would go up the chimney. I'm not sure how well that would work in hiding it from your parents. They might smell it right away when walking into the house.

You would also need something over your head to keep your hair from smelling like smoke + wearing a smoking jacket to keep the smell off your clothes. Then you'd also need to brush your teeth every time you had a smoke, not a bad idea.

Of course, in advising a teenager about something that is illegal for the teenager, I hope I'm simply showing what a hassle that it is, & that none of these is really a very good solution. Otherwise, I would be in big trouble, wouldn't I?

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Any suggestions how to start my fireplace that is neither gas or electric?

electric fireplaces big lots image

You Know W

We just bought a house and the fireplace is neither gas or electric. Do I just put wood in the fireplace and open the damper. This is the first house I ever owned with a fireplace. We live in Southern California and it only gets cold in the winter. But I just want to prepare myself. Don't want to burn the house down or smoke the house if you get my drift. Any suggestions how to start my fireplace that is neither gas or electric?

Answer
You would build a fire there just like anywhere else (ie: campfire). Start with rolled up paper or twigs and light that, when it's burning add medium sized pieces of wood, when that is burning well add a big log or two. The lighter stuff will burn up leaving the big logs smoldering for awhile. Make sure your damper is open when you do this! Also close your damper in the warmer months so that you don't leak a lot of air conditioned air to the outside.

How do you take paint off of brick?

Sherry R

Tudor brick home built in 1926. Homeowner painted the fireplace. We want to know the steps to restore the fireplace back to the original brick. Thanks!

Answer
Getting paint off of anything is always a messy business. With brick, it's extra messy, and hard, because the mortar between the bricks is not at the same level.

Sandblasting works, but requires a lot of equippment, and gets a lot of sand (potentially wet sand, depending on the machine used) all over the room... better for exterior work.

Chemicals may work, but I am not impressed. Usually this just dissolves the paint, and you have to wipe it off. The paint spots you're sure to miss will often seep deeper into the cracks and crevices... but if the paint is some sort of earth tone, this may not be too big a deal, might just make it look like "used" bricks. As a bonus, chemicals usually do not damage the bricks themselves, which would otherwise get some amount of apparent weathering.

A wire brush is probably the second best way to do it. They don't get sand all over like a sandblaster. You have more control over what gets removed, and what does not get removed... but doing this by hand will literally take forever.

Rotary wheels with wire bristles on them can be attached to dremel tools, electric screwdrivers, drills, or even some rotary saws. They sacrifice some of the accuracy of a wire brush for a much faster overall process. This will probably take less time than using paint remover chemicals, but slightly more time than a sand blaster. You're likely to get paint chips and bits of brick and mortar dust everywhere, but at least there will be no wet sand. You might be able to find rotary wheels of different sizes and thicknesses... one like a big roller would be great for the brick surface. A much thinner one should get the horizontal mortar between the brick layers, and a very small one could get the detail work in the vertical mortar between individual bricks in a layer.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers