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i would appreciate any recommendations for gas or electric fireplaces. pros and cons of each. i want to put a decent unit in this house-my first attempt at contracting. this is something i have no knowledge of. my framer suggested an electric unit to save the expense of installing a gas line. are they just as good as gas? if anyone has any suggestions for quality brands that will not give me any call back problems it would be helpful to me. thanks very much.
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Existing working fireplace? Make sure it is clean. Is this for looks or supplemental heat? For looks, the only thing that beats a vented gas log is the real thing. Ventless gas probably requires a CO detector in the immediate vicinity - check local codes. Ventless obviously gives off more heat to the room but "appearance" is a little over 1/2 that of a good vented unit. Thumbs down on electric - big $ to operate and looks are worse than empty firebox - IMHO
Rasmussen is one name that comes to mind - there are many others.
*check out Heat N Glow direct vent gas units. Good heating capability and pretty good fire like appearance.
*If you have no knowledge of (or even if you do) go to a fireplace store and check out the gas driven log look-a-like inserts. There are some really nice ones on the market and quite a variety. (Forget electric(don't think I ever saw one...they'd be expensive to run and what happens when the power goes out?) Choose the unit of your choice....get the RO for the framing etc.........frame it up and call the installer from the store to install the whole thing, right up to the chimney cap. If anything goes wrong....he fixes it.Trying to save a few dollars (which you seldom do anyhow) by doing it yourself is a waste of time. Do what you know and (almost) always let the guys who sell the product....fireplaces/garage doors/carpet/ etc. install it themselves.
*I am going with direct vent fireplaces in my new house (5 of them). I like Fireplace Extrodinare the best of what I have seen. They are not the cheapest, but I have heard nothing but raves about them.Electric fireplaces look about as real as aluminum christmas trees./Jim Pappas