How come most places don't have fireplaces? (townhouse, neighborhood)

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by knke0204

We have two fireplaces and they're rarely used too. Albeit they are the fake ones without a chimmeny, however they do put out a lot of heat in the winter. But, rarely used.

By "fake," do you mean they are gas fireplaces?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by SweetRay

I noticed that a lot of homes/apts that I look at online, tend to not have any fireplaces. I kinda thought that those would be in most homes since it gets so cold there. Out of curiosity, is there a reason why most places don't have those?

That's interesting. It doesn't surprise me that a lot of apartments don't have them, but a lot of houses do. My parents rambler-style house in Minnetonka was built in 60/61 and has two fireplaces, and we used them a little when I was very young. Also, the townhouse we had in Eden Prairie had one, but we didn't use it. We hid it behind bookshelves. :-)

[dober1]

Sweet Ray check out my thread on "why the lack of wood burning stoves". Most replies did not address my question but is similar to your post.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

By "fake," do you mean they are gas fireplaces?

Ya. Faux Fireplaces.

[MovedfromFL]

I wonder how long you all would last if the heat failed up there? How are you going to heat the place in a blizzard?

We had a woodstove in our last house in North Georgia. I loved the peace of mind. I would never live anywhere outside of FL again without a wood stove.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

I wonder how long you all would last if the heat failed up there? How are you going to heat the place in a blizzard?

We had a woodstove in our last house in North Georgia. I loved the peace of mind. I would never live anywhere outside of FL again without a wood stove.

Heat doesn't "fail" too often. In fact, I really can't remember a time where it has because of a blizzard. Minnesota doesn't get the heavy-rain ladened snow that parts of the east and south get. Minnesota also doesn't get the super-heavy lake effect snow of the Great Lakes and East Coast. Most blizzards consist of snowfall and significant wind, which would be the only reason for the heat to go out, if power lines go out. Even then, it's survivable. Minnesota homes are built with the right insulatioin and windows that if it's moderately cold you find a way to make due until a technician comes out.

One time while growing up our furnace went out in the middle of December, but it was only for an afternoon til the next morning. I just remember it being cold, but not freezing. The house was probably a nice 50 degrees with the furnace off for a few hours. The morning was really cold but by then I was on my way to school and the technician was arriving to fix it. We just wore layers and watched TV huddled in layers of blankets. It was actually kind of fun.

On a serious note, the fridgid temps are nothing to joke about. Those without adequate clothing or shelter are at a great risk. That's why jacket donations and clothing drives are a big-deal.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

I wonder how long you all would last if the heat failed up there? How are you going to heat the place in a blizzard?

We had a woodstove in our last house in North Georgia. I loved the peace of mind. I would never live anywhere outside of FL again without a wood stove.

We have never had our furnace go out. In the past 20+ years we have lost power once for an hour and that was because some guy had a stroke while driving and hit the transformer for our neighborhood. If for some odd reason we were to lose power for any length of time we would go stay with friends or move to a hotel.

[asitshouldbe]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

I wonder how long you all would last if the heat failed up there? How are you going to heat the place in a blizzard?

We had a woodstove in our last house in North Georgia. I loved the peace of mind. I would never live anywhere outside of FL again without a wood stove.

If the heated failed, we would call our service providers, 24 hour emergency number to get it fixed pronto!
We could also stay at the neighbors or relatives until it was fixed.

[snofarmer]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

I wonder how long you all would last if the heat failed up there? How are you going to heat the place in a blizzard?

We had a woodstove in our last house in North Georgia. I loved the peace of mind. I would never live anywhere outside of FL again without a wood stove.

It could, and it could be out for a week even if you called that 24hr emergency #.
We had a ice storm a few years ago that took out the power for a week.

That is why we have a power generator.
Actually we have 2 of them.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

It could, and it could be out for a week even if you called that 24hr emergency #.
We had a ice storm a few years ago that took out the power for a week.

That is why we have a power generator.
Actually we have 2 of them.

Yeah, several years ago a good share of my parent's area in rural west central MN lost power (and they have electric heat) after an ice storm for 4-5 days. They have a PTO-driven generator that can power both houses on the farm, so they were fine. Just have to make sure there is enough gas for the tractors.

Although I think it was after that that they put in a small propane fireplace. My mom was worried about being home alone when the power went out, since she wouldn't be able to get the tractor out and started and hooked into the power.