Heating Adventures (Post 2 - Gas Fireplace)

After a few weeks of being at the Sullivan House and freezing our little toes off we decided to try and use the gas fireplace that came with the house.  We had not yet used it because we wanted to get it "checked out" first.  But, we were so cold.  So, we used it before having a chimney guy out.  Note to self - this is a bad idea.

After about 20 minutes of having it on we noticed that there was debris falling from the chimney that was on fire and the house was filling with smoke at a rapid rate.  I ran outside and it looked like the chimney was on fire.  Kevan screamed for me to call 911.  There is a firehouse about 1 city block from our house, but it took about 30 minutes for them to arrive.  I guess it is an unmanned firehouse so they only come in when needed.  (I forgot to take pictures during all of the chaos)

It turned out that it was only bird's nests that were on fire and our actual chimney was NOT on fire.  Whew!  But, during all of the chaos the fire department removed our gas logs so we were no longer able to use the gas fireplace even if we wanted to.

Here is a picture of Kevan and his dad putting the chimney cap back on after the fire department left. 

He tied this rope to the back porch (just in case he slipped) before climing up onto the roof. 

We ended up hiring a chimney sweep and he also put the gas fireplace logs/insert back together again so we could use it.  Now, it is really pretty and we are able to use it without the fear of burning down our house.  The bad part is that it only heats up the one room of the house.  So, we were still left with the bedroom and bathroom being freezing cold.

During all of this time (weeks) of figuring out a heating solution we used spaceheaters.  We used a nice little radiator for the bedroom at night and it kept it nice and toasty.  It only uses 1.5 KW's and we only ran it while we were asleep.  It would cut off once it reached the right temp and turn back on when it was colder.

DeLonghi TRVO715 Vento Hi-Speed Convection Oil-Filled Radiator Heater

Sometimes in the morning we wheel it into the family room and use it until we are warmed up and then turn it off.  It has worked out really nicely even in the larger family room.  We purchased ours at Lowes.

Here is the picture of the finished fireplace once the chimney sweep cleaned it up and put the gas insert back in.