Been awhile since I've posted, starting lurking again a few weeks ago, now it's time to post a question to the group that always has great answers. First, some background:
I'm sold on the direct vent style of fireplace for efficiency's sake. My inlaws live in SF, put one in, and it does a great job of heating. We just tore out a brick facade and sheet metal fireplace, then used the space to put in a bay window. We hardly ever used the old fireplace, it didn't heat much, and took up a lot of real estate in our living room.
Since our living room is 30'X13', and we did the floors in maple when we moved in, my father-in-law refers to it as "the bowling alley". One end is a dining room, the other is the living space. By putting a direct vent, peninsula fireplace in somewhere in between, we kill 2 birds with one stone-the floorplan looks a lot better (on paper so far), and we get actual heat out of the fireplace.
I've done a lot of research online before starting this project, now it's time to get a unit on order. Most of the units I've looked at are ~30k BTU. A couple of online sites have calculators that take into account room size, windows, floor height, climate, etc., that should be more than adequate for our winter needs here in the Bay Area of California. It DOES get chilly for a few months in the winter.
Here are my questions to those of you who might have some experience:
1. Price for basic unit is $1500-$3500. Outside of finish (24k gold, black paint, etc.) what are you paying for?
2. Looks like online might be the best bet for me, not a huge number of retailers in the area. Best online place?
3. Any other things to think about?
I do know I'll need to budget $3-400 for special piping and fittings. I can do any electrical myself, gas line is just about in the right place due to the old gas fireplace, I'll just route it to the new site.
I'm sold on the direct vent style of fireplace for efficiency's sake. My inlaws live in SF, put one in, and it does a great job of heating. We just tore out a brick facade and sheet metal fireplace, then used the space to put in a bay window. We hardly ever used the old fireplace, it didn't heat much, and took up a lot of real estate in our living room.
Since our living room is 30'X13', and we did the floors in maple when we moved in, my father-in-law refers to it as "the bowling alley". One end is a dining room, the other is the living space. By putting a direct vent, peninsula fireplace in somewhere in between, we kill 2 birds with one stone-the floorplan looks a lot better (on paper so far), and we get actual heat out of the fireplace.
I've done a lot of research online before starting this project, now it's time to get a unit on order. Most of the units I've looked at are ~30k BTU. A couple of online sites have calculators that take into account room size, windows, floor height, climate, etc., that should be more than adequate for our winter needs here in the Bay Area of California. It DOES get chilly for a few months in the winter.
Here are my questions to those of you who might have some experience:
1. Price for basic unit is $1500-$3500. Outside of finish (24k gold, black paint, etc.) what are you paying for?
2. Looks like online might be the best bet for me, not a huge number of retailers in the area. Best online place?
3. Any other things to think about?
I do know I'll need to budget $3-400 for special piping and fittings. I can do any electrical myself, gas line is just about in the right place due to the old gas fireplace, I'll just route it to the new site.
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