After lots of research and a long time saving up for it, we finally have a working wood stove. And we got it just in time for Christmas!

The old, open fireplace was a drafty thing that we never used, and looked like it hadn’t been used in many years. I had heard that with this kind of fireplace you could take a piece of firewood, light it, and throw it out the door, because that is about as much heat as you would get  from it. But a high efficiency wood stove is a totally different matter!

The Old:

Since buying this house we have had a goal to put in something to provide an alternative source of heat. I’ve gone through enough power failures back on the glorious East Coast to know the value and reliability of a wood stove. The other reason we wanted something like this is that our house is just cold. Insulating the attic has helped, but it still always felt chilly. Perhaps the large, 40-year old windows have something to do with that…

There was a bit of work to do before the new fireplace could be installed. The old hearth wasn’t going to be big enough for the Regency Hearth Heater we had ordered, so we decided it was best to remove the hearth and get tile laid down that would be flush with the floor.

It’s always fun using a jack hammer in your living room.

Ellie helping Naomi clean up the brick face.

The hearth removed.

With the slate tile installed.

We are thankful for the many provisions from God that we saw even with this rather large purchase. When we ordered the unit, they had a promo for a free $300 blower, plus a one day sale that saved us about another $400.

We had the fireplace professionally installed, so over the course of a few days we had several different guys through the house putting in the tiles, then the fireplace. We took this as an opportunity to hand out some GoodSeed books and DVDs to them. They were all very appreciative of the books. One of the guys was only about 19, and he thanked me for the book, saying he wanted to read it. He told me that he had just moved into his own place, but his X-box was broken and he didn’t have anything else to do. The real shocker came when he told me that the copy of “By This Name” I had given him was his first book! We are praying that they will each read the books and come to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

This thing can really pump out heat (85% efficient!), even without the blower on. The warmth can be felt even in the bedrooms at the end of the hall. The house is much more comfortable, and between the insulation jobs and this, we expect much, much lower heating bills than last year.

They say that having a fireplace lowers your blood pressure. Likewise for aquariums. With my 20-year old fish tank and my new fireplace I expect to slip into a coma soon. I already feel lazy… When I get home at night all I want to do is sit by the fireplace and read.

Ahhh…

The before and after: