The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Off Topic => Topic started by: BlackCurtains on September 20, 2021, 06:23:40 PM
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:cold: The cold is coming for some of us soon.
I've lived in one house with a fireplace, my parent's house. We never used it though and blocked it off. There were bats living in it for a while. The chimney was all rotted but was fixed a few years ago. I guess it's useable? No one knew anything about fireplaces and we live in Florida where it gets cold for maybe a week or two. So not using it wasn't a big deal. There's a bookcase in front of it ^.^
I do love the smell of smoldering wood, it's one of my favorite scents. I wouldn't be comfortable with a real fireplace though. An electric one paired with scented oil or a candle would be nice. I like the ones that look real and have a crackling sound effect.
Have you ever watched a fireplace video? :P They're pretty neat and nice to fall asleep to, but of course don't come with heat.
How popular are real fireplaces in your country? Do you have one? How often do you use it? :)
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We have a gas-lit, wood burning fireplace so we dont have to worry about lighting it. But it needs to be cleaned out, we haven't done that in a few years. So it has been decorated for Christmas but not used.
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I live in a small apartment on the third floor, so no fireplace.
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I spent most of my youth in a house heated with a wood-burning stove, but since then I haven't had one in any form. I do miss it...not the smell so much as the way it was kind of the center of family life in the winter.
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I actually have one lit right now :D
I live in Sweden and the winters are cold. I think it's pretty common for houses, especially older houses, around here to have one. In some really old houses it's not uncommon to find a fireplace in several of the rooms (my sisters house have 4 fireplaces but they only use one)
The autumn mornings are starting to get pretty chilly now and since I work at home I recently started to light one for the first few hours every morning when the weather is chilly like today.
It's extremly cozy and soothing to just sit here with my morning coffee with just the sound of the crackling wood, the smell and the dancing flames. :heart:
And of course the electricity bill goes down a bit since we can heat up the house with the fireplace instead.
The only downside to having a fireplace is that it's not particulary funny to head outside to the shed in a raging blizzard to get more firewood and of course it needs to be cleaned once in a while too. But the result is always worth it in my book :)
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We've got one in our house but I couldn't tell you the last time we actually used the thing. :P The heater does us fine enough.
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I actually have one lit right now :D
I live in Sweden and the winters are cold. I think it's pretty common for houses, especially older houses, around here to have one. In some really old houses it's not uncommon to find a fireplace in several of the rooms (my sisters house have 4 fireplaces but they only use one)
The autumn mornings are starting to get pretty chilly now and since I work at home I recently started to light one for the first few hours every morning when the weather is chilly like today.
It's extremly cozy and soothing to just sit here with my morning coffee with just the sound of the crackling wood, the smell and the dancing flames. :heart:
And of course the electricity bill goes down a bit since we can heat up the house with the fireplace instead.
The only downside to having a fireplace is that it's not particulary funny to head outside to the shed in a raging blizzard to get more firewood and of course it needs to be cleaned once in a while too. But the result is always worth it in my book :)
Same here in Finland. :fireplace:
I live in a rented apartment with no fireplace. My parents have one, though, as well as a wood-burning stove and a wood-burning sauna. They don't use the fireplace as it doesn't work properly, but sometimes burn candles in it for a cosy atmosphere. :D The fireplace is located in what now effectively serves as a laundry room and dressing room (adjacent to the sauna) so it's not too practical anyway... (If you wonder why, it's an older house that my parents have renovated quite a lot over the years, adding more rooms etc. :P The part with the sauna used to have a separate entry, I still remember having to run around the house in my bathrobe when I was a kid! Not too fun in the winter...) The kitchen stove is something they do use actively, mainly for heat rather than cooking. It's not much to watch but you do get to listen to the lovely crackling sound!
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My house has one. It's really nice to use in the winter^^ We also used it as a light source when our power was out a couple years ago.
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Not in my apartment and I am ok with it.
The traditional wooden version is more common at the countryside. And those who have a lot to spend will create a modern version of a fireplace in their house :)
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We have a fireplace, but it’s gas powered. We use it a lot in the winter, and our dogs (and the late cat) would always roast themselves in front of it. We watched, and they’d just roll over when one side was too warm.
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Not since I was six years old. We lived for nine months in a cottage with a coal fire though.
Although I suppose we do have a gas fire and fireplace but it's not a real fire as such, just ornamental.
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We have one and I don't use it very frequently since it's not in a space I am in that much, but my Dad will light it a lot. :)
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Yes, we use it in the winter because heating can get very expensive.
It's also really useful for cooking if the power is out :)
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Both my childhood home and my current home have fireplaces. But my parents hooked up wood burning stoves to both. They come in handy when the power goes out in winter storms.
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From me, almost the same words as Annie and Griffin have written. ^.^
My house has two large wood burning fireplaces. :heart: Now I could already start warming them up because the night frosts are coming and the days are also cold. :heart:
Firewood should still be bought a little more in the woodshed so that we can cope over the winter to spring. :wonder: Of course, we also have electric radiators and an air-source heat pump to bring in additional heat, but it will then appear "comfortably" on the electric bill. >_<
In my former residence, in addition to the two fireplaces, there was also a wood-burning stove in the kitchen. It was wonderful and I miss it! It was nice to make food with it and at the same time quickly got heat into the house. :sad: :heart:
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No fireplace inside, but we've got a fire pit in the backyard. Never lived in a house with a fireplace.
It's a distinct smell when you walk by someone's house and you know they have the fireplace burning.
Pellet stoves are popular around here for heating as well.
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1) Do you have a fireplace?
Yes, 2 of 3 homes I have lived in had them. Most of my relatives houses also had them.
2) Do you use it?
No. The house we live in right now has a gas fireplace and the pipe was capped off by the previous owners. The house has AC/Heat, so there is not really much need for it since the forced air heats other areas of the house. There is a "fake fire" in the fireplace (one of those plug in electrical flickering flames and logs).
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I don't, but my folks do. They use it as well, both to provide heat & to heat a kettle for drinks. It's enclosed though so no toasted crumpets (OMG you should try them wi butter or marg)
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I've watched those fireplace videos too, I love an open fire in winter. However we were saying just this morning how much better we find the new house being without a fireplace. Everything can be clean and light in colour because there is no soot and mould from buring old wood.
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The first 2 houses I lived in had a fireplace. They gave off heat, but a chimney was not needed.
The first house my husband and I bought did not.
After moving to Indiana, the house we bought has a fireplace. We used it a few times the second winter we were up here, but had to be careful, as our children were 3 and 5. It didn't help that our younger child decided to put some of his sister's toys (Ponyvilles, actually) in there! Luckily, I found them before it was lit again.
It has been several years since we've used it. We need to have the chimney cleaned before attempting to use it again.
...live in Florida where it gets cold for maybe a week or two...
Tell me about it...I grew up in Miami!
halicabi
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I have a gas fireplace, which seems to be uncommon in my area. All the houses I looked at while house hunting had pellet stoves, which kinda freak me out.
I use my fireplace, but only for short periods of time in the winter, since my MIL blasts the heater way too high, and I run very hot.
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My mother has one but it's a gas one. Personally, I hate it.
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We have a fireplace, but we never used it. Neighbors moved in upstairs and started using theirs, and because our apartments are stupidly constructed, the smoke from their chimney gets sucked back down into our fireplace and into our house, so we've done our best to block up our fireplace so that stops happening >.<
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no fireplace but i'm somewhat interested in getting an electric one after we move if we can build a mantle and shelves around it. but i'm not sure.
we had a gas fireplace in one of the houses i lived in. we used it a few times but some wasps started nesting in the chimney so we were afraid to open the flue. the gas fireplaces scare me now.
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I actually have one lit right now :D
I live in Sweden and the winters are cold. I think it's pretty common for houses, especially older houses, around here to have one. In some really old houses it's not uncommon to find a fireplace in several of the rooms (my sisters house have 4 fireplaces but they only use one)
The autumn mornings are starting to get pretty chilly now and since I work at home I recently started to light one for the first few hours every morning when the weather is chilly like today.
It's extremly cozy and soothing to just sit here with my morning coffee with just the sound of the crackling wood, the smell and the dancing flames. :heart:
And of course the electricity bill goes down a bit since we can heat up the house with the fireplace instead.
The only downside to having a fireplace is that it's not particulary funny to head outside to the shed in a raging blizzard to get more firewood and of course it needs to be cleaned once in a while too. But the result is always worth it in my book :)
Same here in Finland. :fireplace:
I live in a rented apartment with no fireplace. My parents have one, though, as well as a wood-burning stove and a wood-burning sauna. They don't use the fireplace as it doesn't work properly, but sometimes burn candles in it for a cosy atmosphere. :D The fireplace is located in what now effectively serves as a laundry room and dressing room (adjacent to the sauna) so it's not too practical anyway... (If you wonder why, it's an older house that my parents have renovated quite a lot over the years, adding more rooms etc. :P The part with the sauna used to have a separate entry, I still remember having to run around the house in my bathrobe when I was a kid! Not too fun in the winter...) The kitchen stove is something they do use actively, mainly for heat rather than cooking. It's not much to watch but you do get to listen to the lovely crackling sound!
Imagine a sound like distant reindeer migrating across the frozen tundra... wait, it's all of My Little Pony Arena stampeding over to your parent's house to play 'how many can we fit in the sauna'
Post Merge: December 14, 2021, 06:46:44 AM
no fireplace but i'm somewhat interested in getting an electric one after we move if we can build a mantle and shelves around it. but i'm not sure.
we had a gas fireplace in one of the houses i lived in. we used it a few times but some wasps started nesting in the chimney so we were afraid to open the flue. the gas fireplaces scare me now.
Sorry if I have mentioned this before but we had a carbon monoxide monitor. Although you would think landlords would ahve to supply them I've never moved into a place with one in fact I keep buying them and then leaving them for the next person because I can't bear the idea that someone might have survived if I had left it for them. They do really work. Wasps are annoying though and I don't know what you do about those except use pesticide :(
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Where I am, carbon monoxide monitors aren't required in houses at all, though I know retailers recommend them to anyone with a fireplace.
As far as wasps, I would call an exterminator! Not cool.
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Twizel, thankfully we moved from that house. we had all kinds of bug problems there. also newts and one toad got in the house. i know some people like them but reptiles and amphibians creep me out.
yeah carbon monoxide and smoke detectors depend on local ordinances in Texas at least. new construction requires carbon monoxide detectors so we'll have them in our new house. but for rentals good luck.
in our last rental the smoke detectors had been expired for years. our landlord reluctantly changed them out after they all started beeping continuously. and when we took a couple of them down to change the batteries we found out they were expired. he was not happy about spending the money to replace them either. and this was after trying to raise our rent by almost $250/month on a place that was already overpriced. he backed off that after we just said we would move. i'm not sure if there were carbon monoxide detectors. i never saw any.
one of the other places we rented for a few months had an over that definitely leaked gas. we had to open the windows when we used it! it's just hard to get anything done without getting an attorney involved. unfortunate it's easier to move than withhold rent and risk eviction. anyway i'm ranting but i have strong feelings about housing rights.
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Twizel, thankfully we moved from that house. we had all kinds of bug problems there. also newts and one toad got in the house. i know some people like them but reptiles and amphibians creep me out.
yeah carbon monoxide and smoke detectors depend on local ordinances in Texas at least. new construction requires carbon monoxide detectors so we'll have them in our new house. but for rentals good luck.
in our last rental the smoke detectors had been expired for years. our landlord reluctantly changed them out after they all started beeping continuously. and when we took a couple of them down to change the batteries we found out they were expired. he was not happy about spending the money to replace them either. and this was after trying to raise our rent by almost $250/month on a place that was already overpriced. he backed off that after we just said we would move. i'm not sure if there were carbon monoxide detectors. i never saw any.
one of the other places we rented for a few months had an over that definitely leaked gas. we had to open the windows when we used it! it's just hard to get anything done without getting an attorney involved. unfortunate it's easier to move than withhold rent and risk eviction. anyway i'm ranting but i have strong feelings about housing rights.
I agree with you.
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Seconded!
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We do but we need to have the chimney cleaned by a professional. We use the fireplace sometimes when's it's really cold. I have to be careful around burning wood and smoke due to my asthma.
Ponyfan
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Every apartment I ever rented had a fireplace and now my house does too. But, I don't choose them because they have a fireplace and we never use them. In fact, our TV is right in front of ours. It almost never gets that cold and when it does, I'm not sure it's safe. :blink:
I don't know why our city is so big on fireplaces when it rarely gets cold. I think it's just a selling point and cheap to build because of lower standards.
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Fireplaces are marketed as a luxury, so realtors love them.
When I lived in the Midwest US, almost no one had a fireplace. Bizarrely, we had a fireplace but instead of a place to build a fire, there was a grate that led straight to the central heating system, and hot air would blow out of it!
Fireplaces are practically a given on the West Coast, though, which has a milder climate. I don't know if climate is a factor though. Maybe its a culture thing?
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We have a fireplace but don't use it, it gets really hot here most the time (especially summer) and oddly enough you could really feel the heat coming out of the fireplace just from it being there, so we covered it with a piece wood and painted it so now it's just kind of a mantel. Our past house from the 70's had a really nice brick fireplace, but we never used it.
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I’ve always wanted a fireplace, even thought it’s really never cold enough here to use one! :lol: They just seem so cozy! I probably have a safer alternative though, it’s one of those tv stands with the electric fireplace built in. It’s a space heater, so it throws out heat at least, and if I want to complete the effect I can always use one of those wood wick candles for the crackle effect. It’s still pretty great even if it’s not the real deal!
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Every apartment I ever rented had a fireplace and now my house does too. But, I don't choose them because they have a fireplace and we never use them. In fact, our TV is right in front of ours. It almost never gets that cold and when it does, I'm not sure it's safe. :blink:
I don't know why our city is so big on fireplaces when it rarely gets cold. I think it's just a selling point and cheap to build because of lower standards.
:blink: Whereabouts are you?
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The house I've lived in the majority of my life does have one, but I can't even remember ever having used it. They are a bit archaic with having a heater. It's just for decoration at this point. I suppose if we had some kind of long term power outage during a cold spell we might have to think about it, but I'm not too worried about that happening as cold spells are short-lived here.