After months of anticipation, ta-da!
It didn't go in without some hiccups, but in the end, all turned out well. It was absolutely wonderful being able to sit here last night with a fire going.
I'm still partial to a woodburning fireplace or woodburning stove, and maybe that might happen in a few years, but for now, this will do. This was the more financially feasible way to go since the firebox and chimney need quite a bit of repair in order to function without burning down the entire house. I certainly don't want that to happen. The vent free insert has a blower, so it heats the space very nicely, and it closes off the chimney that has no damper. Now the cold air of winter can't get into the house, and the cool air in the summer can't get out by way of the chimney.
There is some clean-up to do around the surround. The old surround/doors had been caulked into place with the red caulk, and the brick underneath the old surround/doors is a different color than the rest of the brick, so I will remove the remaining caulk and paint the brick white. That will be a good cold winter day's activity.
At this point, I've been able to cross the three things I really wanted to get done by January off my list. The electrical box was updated, ensuring all the electric gadgets in the house are receiving the proper amount of juice. The fence was put in, giving Ado and Murphy a place to romp. And now, the vent free insert has been installed, offering ambiance as well as warmth to the living space. It also just looks a whole lot nicer than the previous surround/doors. With each of these projects, I was at or below what was budgeted, which makes me very happy.
Now I'm going to create the next list and will begin working on a few things once summer arrives. That gives me about five months to get the budget in place as well as get the plans fleshed out. In the meantime, I have some books calling to me, and I have some writing to work on. Oh, and I do have to work. But at least I get to work from here, sitting near my new fireplace.
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