When you have never lived with the agony of looking after a wood-burning fireplace and the potential troubles caused by the chimney, you may not understand why many people, that have suffered, will only consider gas burning fireplaces in their home.
A Traditional Wood-Burning Fire Looks Wonderful
There is no doubt that looking at a wood-burning fire provides an element of calm and warmth. This traditional method of warming part or all your property may look incredible on a picture postcard or in a home as you are passing through, but as soon as you are charged with cleaning the fireplace and maintaining the chimney, you will almost certainly choose a gas burning fireplace for your home in the future.
Chimney Problems
A chimney is expected to last for many years, but you will be consistently sending hot air, smoke and soot out into the atmosphere and fire in the chimney. Without effective and consistent maintenance, a chimney can lead to a fire in your property. They must be kept safe and clean if you are to operate a wood-burning fire, venting through your chimney.
The heat from a weak chimney can pass through the structure and into other parts of your property and if this reaches a flammable area, you may be involved with a fire and not even know another part of your property is alight, until it is too late.
Dirty chimneys become clogged with a black or brown creosote, which looks like tar and builds up inside your chimney. With heat, it can begin a fire in your chimney, especially as you will be gradually restricting the supply of air in your chimney.
A chimney that isn’t cleaned regularly or sufficiently, will allow soot to build up around the flue. This will show as a black mark around your hearth and be difficult to remove. Once you experience any of these difficulties, you will quickly wish to replace your wood-burning option with a gas burning fireplace.
