gas fireplaces

[Chad Fabry]

I'm building a master suite in my home which includes a bedroom, sitting/lounge area and bathroom totaling around 600 square feet. It's retrofitted in a space formally occupied by three bedrooms and a lot of walls that used to be there aren't there anymore. A few of these walls that are now missing included the forced air heating system, so there's no heat and no good way to install ducting to the new room.

I figured all along that I'd buy a furnace rated gas fireplace for heat and planned on venting it to the lined masonry chimney that's centrally located in the area.

The problem is I'm not finding any natural draft gas fireplaces. They're all direct vent and I don't want to use them because there'll be an ugly draft hood on my siding spewing moisture laden air under the three foot eave and a b vent through my roof will be even uglier.

Does anyone know of a high quality natural vent unit in 40k BTU range?

[kurt]

Why wouldn't you install a small furnace & dedicated ducting for the additional 600sf? High efficiency direct vent?

If you vent a fireplace to the tile lined chimney, what about the appliances/fireplace below?

I'd be rethinking my heating options in other ways than a fireplace, design options dependent on floor plan & design.

[a46geo]

Chad,

As distasteful as it may sound at first, 240 volt electric base board heat might just be your best bet here. But what about cooling? How were you planning on doing that?

George

[kurt]

Originally posted by a46geo

Chad,

As distasteful as it may sound at first, 240 volt electric base board heat might just be your best bet here. But what about cooling? How were you planning on doing that?

George

I thought the same thing, but geeez, I really hate electric baseboard. It benefits everyone & every aspect of the construction process, except the end user. I did it @ my shack, & I regret it every winter.

What I am doing is putting together a Rube Goldberg hot water/blower coil. 30 gallon electric hot water heater, grunfos pump, blower coil, TPR, pressure reducing valve, etc. The thermostat is simply a low voltage fan/pump switch. The whole contraption fits into a tiny space, no need for vents, only have to run a 240 volt circuit & tap into the water supply. I'm still messing w/ some details, but it's gonna work.

Chad, would something similar, albeit better engineered, work for your space?

Better yet, get a water heater w/ secondary coil; tap the secondary coil for the blower coil heat. It's a master bathroom, so go nuts w/ the 12" rain head shower, sprayers, eh?

[Chad Fabry]

I know this isn't the best idea. I already own all the stuff to install radiant floor heating. I was going to use a Bosch demand water heater as a boiler just to do something different, but my wife really wants a gas fireplace and I figured I'd kill two birds w/ one stone.

Our electric is nearly 15 cents a KWh and my house is roughly as air tight as a screened porch, so electric is out.

I can duct through the attic but I really don't want to as that'd make the supply run about 70 feet long.

They do make very nice, furnace rated "wood burning look alike stoves" that I can vent to the chimney, but anything I wouldn't be embarrassed to install is over 2 grand. I'm not cheap, but I am practical.

As for cooling...listen up, I live in upstate NY we have like 10 days a year where I'd like A/C. It's not an issue. The house has a tower that's 40 feet tall and 8 big windows up there. In the summer at night I open the windows in the tower and on the first floor; the convective currents will blow a candle out. In the morning I shut it all down and lock in the cool night air.

Kurt, I am going to make a nice bath including a whirlpool that I'll probably use 7 times total. The bathroom's pretty big, about 16x18 and it's the only room that I'll have that doesn't fit the style or age of my home.. I allow myself that one indiscretion. I've been pretty faithful to to the "feel" in my restoration.

Putting up tin ceilings this week end..hope there's not much of a learning curve.

[a46geo]

Chad,

How many outside walls will this new bedroom have? Is this going to be supplemental heat or stand alone? Are you planning on keeping the temperature up 24/7 or will there be times that heat migration from the house will be sufficient? What about cooling this space? Are there any unusual conditions to factor in or mitigate? (North facing door wall, poorly insulated crawl etc). What does your city have to say about a gas burner in a sleeping room? Have you ever seen a wall hung split system? Look next door, can you see your neighbor? What is she wearing? What is your heat load calculation? Cooling load? Will your local electric provider supply 2nd meter service for A/C? Hot water? Suplemental heat? Do you have easy access to coal?

There is a solution to your problem, we just have to find it.

George

[Chad Fabry]

George,

Yo must have missed it.... my WIFE wants the fireplace.

[a46geo]

Chad,

I do know what you are trying to say here, but sometimes you just have take your lumps. I also know that the older you get, the slower the body heals. But just think what she will do to you if you squander money that could have been used on her mink.

My wife wants an Escalade.

Two things here. Budget, and will the city allow me to park an Escalade in the bedroom?

Chad, I have no idea what your local inspector may or may not approve. A decorative fireplace is one thing, but a thermostatically controlled gas burner which is the primary source of heat is another matter entirely. Know your target before you pull the trigger. I'm just trying to save you some trouble.

George

[Chad Fabry]

I'm giving this thread to my wife so she can see that I'm not the only person that thinks this isn't a great idea. But to be honest, she thinks we're all a bunch of kids playing w/ each other. It's the avatars that stole our credibility. She saw Ricahrd Moore's cow and my duck. The Gig's up.

[Brian G]

Originally posted by Chad Fabry

But to be honest, she thinks we're all a bunch of kids playing w/ each other. It's the avatars that stole our credibility. She saw Ricahrd Moore's cow and my duck. The Gig's up.

Damn! Busted! [:-banghead]

Brian G.

It's at Least 1/2 True [:-propeller] [:-jester] [:-party] [] [:-clown] [:-bouncy]

[Terence McCann]

Originally posted by a46geo

Chad,

How many outside walls will this new bedroom have? Is this going to be supplemental heat or stand alone? Are you planning on keeping the temperature up 24/7 or will there be times that heat migration from the house will be sufficient? What about cooling this space? Are there any unusual conditions to factor in or mitigate? (North facing door wall, poorly insulated crawl etc). What does your city have to say about a gas burner in a sleeping room? Have you ever seen a wall hung split system? Look next door, can you see your neighbor? What is she wearing? What is your heat load calculation? Cooling load? Will your local electric provider supply 2nd meter service for A/C? Hot water? Suplemental heat? Do you have easy access to coal?

There is a solution to your problem, we just have to find it.

George

Snort......[] I love the look next door part..... Nope, still laughing... OK.. now for the question, striking a line through it was the Coup de Gras. How did you get the line strike?

I thought I was the only [8] here.

[hausdok]

Hi Terry,

The strikethrough is in the boxes above the composition box when you are putting together a post. Highlight the area you want struck through and then click on the S with the line through it above, like this, and you'll have it.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Terence McCann]

Thanks Mr. O.

Found it....

[Renron]

COOL