Burn (sustainable) wood - not your money!

Three years ago we moved into out house. I had a list of things that I wanted changed - immediately! And one of them was to remove the ghastly gas fire, which we weren't even sure was safe.. and re-instate the fireplace.

Of course, things take time, and the kitchen and bathroom were priorities, and the ugly fireplace remained there - lurking. Until, one afternoon last year, with the help of the builder, the gas fire was removed (don't worry - was all disconnected when kitchen was re-done!)

But a house more than 10 years old always hides away a few surprises. And behind the ugly fire was and even uglier redundant back boiler. And it was bricked in.

So the project slowed... as I chipped and chipped away at the bricks, and after they were removed it took quite some time to pluck up the courage to pull the thing out and grind the old pipes away. (could not have done this without hubby's help)

To cut a very long story short(er) we initially had the chimney swept and had a simple firebasket. But our intention was to 'upgrade' to a Jetmaster, a convector fire box that is far more efficient, and rather easy on the eye! We managed to get a builder friend to part with a used one and then the real hard work began - there was a tiny difference between the size of the hole and the firebox, many hours with a chisel later it finally slid in .

Was it all worth it?

Heck yes!!!!!!!!!!

Having an open fire is just lovely, there is nothing like it. But even better than that, since finding a good place to buy our firewood, it is saving us money hand over fist, our gas bill just went down by £30 a month! Plus, it's sustainable energy, so cheaper for us and greener - installing the jetmaster was an excellent investment and an enjoyable addition to our home.