Official Christmas Eve/Day rant thread

[planet planet]

Word, we're going through that decision right now. It will cost close to $10k to do the chimney rebuild thing.

The pitfalls of living in 100 year old brick homes.

I honestly like my gas fireplaces. No, the smell, etc. isn't there. But if you get a decent set of logs, it looks pretty realistic (and mine are also behind iron grates, so you can't see the full flames anyway). You add the glowing embers, etc. they make, and it adds to the realism. Then to light it is much easier than setting up a whole wood fire--just turn on the gas and light it (or turn the knob if you have a pilot light).

My reminder if you do go with gas is that Lowe's and Home Depot usually slash their gas logs (and other fireplace equipment) to half-off at the end of the winter season. Just keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the tips, Popeye. I still remember when we were PMing back and forth when you were moving back to STL about house hunting. It seems like yesterday!

[Simbagal23]

Re: fireplaces....love 'em!! Our homes in MN and MA had the fake wood/gas fireplace units. It was nice to flip the switch and have instant "fire" but really no ambiance......our home here has a gas starter but burns real wood. Sort of the best of both worlds....love it! Not that we use it much down South, but nice to have nevertheless! But we do break out the jiffy pop and marshmallows every now and then....

[Popeye_Card]

Thanks for the tips, Popeye. I still remember when we were PMing back and forth when you were moving back to STL about house hunting. It seems like yesterday!

It does seem like just yesterday. The last two years have flown by. I've been seeing some documents at work lately that were dated from May, and I'm like, "I did that that long ago?"

[jim]

Re: fireplaces....love 'em!! Our homes in MN and MA had the fake wood/gas fireplace units. It was nice to flip the switch and have instant "fire" but really no ambiance......our home here has a gas starter but burns real wood. Sort of the best of both worlds....love it! Not that we use it much down South, but nice to have nevertheless! But we do break out the jiffy pop and marshmallows every now and then....

If you are going to do a fireplace I recommend this. We have it now, and it's so nice to just throw some wood in and not futz with getting it started.

[Radbird]

I would prefer wood, but our current home came with a gas fireplace. It's convenient and it really does pump out some serious heat. The pooches love to lay in front of it and roast themselves. If we had our druthers, it sounds like the wood-burning fireplace with a gas starter is the way we would go.

[jim]

I would prefer wood, but our current home came with a gas fireplace. It's convenient and it really does pump out some serious heat. The pooches love to lay in front of it and roast themselves. If we had our druthers, it sounds like the wood-burning fireplace with a gas starter is the way we would go.

They are much more efficient. Fireplaces are horrible, you lose all the heat through the night up the chimney.

[Cronos]

Most of my Christmas seasons have gone smoothly, as much as I can remember...but then again I haven't been around for as many.