Fireplaces and the Value of Your Home
The history of humans getting comfort and a sense of ease from fire goes back a long way. From our earliest days it has kept us warm, helped us to prepare our food and provided us with a sense of safety. When you consider the long history that we humans have with fire, it is no wonder that we still want to enjoy the natural comforts that it provides.
THE COMFORT OF A FIREPLACE IN YOUR HOME
Having a fireplace in the home can be a great feature for comfort and luxury. People love to sit around a fire and enjoy the warmth and relaxation that it can provide. Most people will agree that a fireplace adds a certain look and feel to a room that no other feature can achieve. In recent years, fireplaces have not only come a long way in regard to some of the technology, but they have also seen an increase in popularity. Survey after survey has shown that fireplaces are one of the most wanted home features amongst potential home buyers and that this feature can raise the selling price of the structure.
FIREPLACES IMPROVE YOUR HOME
One of the first ways that a fireplace improves the home is that it will really help to define the room that it is in. When a room has a fireplace, it tends to be the feature that the whole room is centered around. Homeowners will set the furniture of the room in a way that people can sit around the fire and enjoy the heat and comfort. If you are selling a home, a potential buyer will see the fireplace and imagine the same thing and this can add value for that buyer.
No matter what type of fireplace that a home has, the occupants can expect certain benefits whether they are using wood, gas or electricity for fuel. With a fireplace, the user gets a type of comfort and warmth that only a fire can provide. There is nothing quite like coming in from the cold to sit beside a nice warm fire. Along with great warmth and comfort, a fire can contribute to the feel and atmosphere of a room. People will enjoy sitting around the fire on cold winter days.
DIFFERENCE IN TYPES OF FIREPLACES
One of the main differences between the three fuel types will come in the economy of operating the unit. Whether you use a gas, electric or a wood burning fireplace, you can cut some of your heating costs when you use it as part of your overall home heating plan. With wood, the costs can vary depending on where you live and whether you chop the wood yourself, but either way, it can help to reduce the cost of heating the home. Using gas and electric tend to be the more economical options for heating with a fireplace. The reason for this is due to the fact that a wood fireplace needs a wider chimney to let the smoke escape which in doing so, it also lets more of the heat escape. However, the efficiency of a wood burning fireplace can be improved with the addition of an insert.
ADVANTAGES OF WOOD BURNING FIREPLACES
One advantage that homeowners will get with a wood fireplace that they will not get with the other two is that it can provide the home with a backup source of heat in an emergency. If a huge winter storm knocks out the electricity, the other two models will be out of commission. With a wood burning fireplace the home can still get some light and heat even when the utilities are down.
That being said, the convenience of the gas and electric models can be more attractive to some homeowners. Gas and electric are easier to start and maintain, while also providing a higher level of safety. Gas and electric fireplaces have starting mechanisms that make them easier to use and this means that the user doesn’t have to bother with chopping or carrying firewood and they don’t have to wait for the fire to go out and cool before they can leave the house or go to bed.
Each different type of fireplace has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, many of the ways that a fireplace adds value to the home are the same across the board. The main reason that most people mention a fireplace as a desirable home feature has to do with the way that it makes the room look, combined with the added warmth and comfort. If you have a fireplace, keeping it well maintained will be a bonus for the value of the home and if you don’t have a fireplace, adding one can be an inexpensive way to improve the value.