What to do with my fireplaces?

I would get a woodstove and put it in the fireplace (along with a lining- seems like the usually go together anyway). Woodstoves put out a lot of heat and are way safer. We don't have trouble finding wood because we live in an urban area and everyone is more than happy to get rid of their cut trees. You would need a place to store the wood for a year first- burning green wood sucks and is usually illegal anyway. Even a car trunk full of wood lasts a week.

I don't have a fireplace, so I can't speak to costs associated with it. I also don't know about liners, but I'm wary of any salesperson that seems too eager to sell me something or sounds like they're reading a rehearsed script. As others have said since I started writing this, though, a liner may indeed be necessary and not a big deal. Regardless, Wiki says that that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creosote#Build-up_in_chimneys you've already got is probably a safety hazard regardless of whether you stick with wood or go with gas. I'd get it professionally cleaned, and if you find a reputable company, I'd hope they'd be able to tell you realistically how often it needs cleaning and if there legitimate ways to prevent the buildup if you continue to use wood. Ask a lot of questions about how it all works and then go do some internet research and see if they were telling the practical truth or ginning things up. As for wood vs gas, my personal opinion is that gas fireplaces have no soul. I know that's harsh, and there are definitely plenty of applications for them. My grandparents, for example, had a wood fireplace for a long time, but switched it to gas when dealing with wood became too much of a hassle as they got older. That was perfectly understandable for their usage, but it totally sucked the enjoyment of that fireplace right out of me when I visited from then on. To me, if you want your house to be warm, there are much more efficient, modern ways of doing it than with a fireplace. Fireplaces for warmth seem like more of an ornament today, but I think wood ones add a rustic charm that can't be duplicated nowadays, in my opinion. I want a house with a wood fireplace someday. It's towards the top of my checklist. In either case, though, I'd get some professional and maintenance done at least for this initial clean out.

You still need your chimney swept even if you switch to gas. The buildup inside the flue is a danger no matter the fuel source, because the risk is that it will ignite if it gets very hot, and the fire part is supposed to stay down in the fireplace. Call in 2 or 3 different chimney companies to give you an estimate, and try to find good ones from Angieslist or something similar for your area. If only you were in LA I would have a rec for you!

I vote for gas ,and here is my complex and much-analyzed explanation as a lover of wood fireplaces. I've always loved loved loved wood fireplaces and although it was at the top of my list when searching for a house, I had to settle for a decorative fireplace. I was insanely jealous when my sister bought a house with a fireplace that was wood with a gas starter, and she converted to all gas because of her asthma and the guy said she could easily switch it back to wood. Much to her surpprise, she loved it - the ease, the warmth and the beauty. When I finally had some bucks to do something about my decorative fireplace, I checked into conversion to both wood and gas. Gas was a lot cheaper - $1,800 versus $8,000 for me and my sistuation (wood would have required a total rebuild, basically, and the ventless gas uses my existing hearth (no need for a flue as it is all self-contained) and new gas lines. So I went with gas, based on my sister's recommendation and the cost and I love it. Yes, wood is really nice, and I love the smell and crackling sound - but the smell can be gross too, and they are messy and a lot of work. The new log sets are nice - flames are real, of course, and they flicker like wood flames. No day-after smokey smell, which is nice. And, what i really love is i can turn it on for 5 minutes while I have my tea in the morning, and then turn it off. I enjoy it so much and find it just as cozy and calming as a wood fire. Just a bit different in terms of sound and smell, but you still have the flickering and warmth and so much easier and cleaner.

When we moved into our 1923 house (Minneapolis, MN), we had a chimney sweeper clean and inspect our fireplace and chimney for approx $200 - great price for peace of mind and clean fireplace. We do plan to convert it to a natural gas fireplace to provide more efficient heating capabilities and reduce pollution. Living in an urban neighborhood (Minneapolis) of equally old houses that have fireplaces, we soon learned that all our neighbors' wood fireplaces and outdoor fire pits really pollute the outside air on cold evenings. The popularity of wood-burning fireplaces in our neighborhood has severely limited our ability to have our windows open at night, and I often find myself coughing during late night dog walks. So to minimize our contribution to the outdoor air pollution, we do not use our fireplace very often, and when we do, we use http://www.enviro-log.net. Anyhow, something to consider if you live in populous area.

We moved to a new house few years back -- the house is built 1880 and has one fireplace remaining. We are so glad that we had had it swept and now use it multiple times a week during the winter. Cost was ~$300, but that included flue for the oil furnace as well. We never considered switching to gas, so can't help you there. Real fire beats gas in my opinion. Fire wood can be expensive though, but we have ample supply from our own yard.

After decades of heating with wood I installed a gas fireplace in a house I used to own. We did the work ourselves and this was a while back so cost, if I could remember it, would be irrelevant now. Since wood had been our primary source of heat having a gas stove meant that we could go away and safely leave it on, unlike the woodstoves that needed to be fed and tended. If you want the fireplace purely for the pleasure then just get a woodburning fireplace insert like http://jotul.com/us/products/fireplace-inserts/jotul-c-350-wintergrill that will help you burn wood more efficiently and carefully. Old fireplaces suck a lot of heat out of the house. And get the chimney swept!

When I say a trunk full of wood will last a week, I mean it will last a week here in temperate California. I am guessing it would last about 1.4 January nights in Missouri or someplace that actually gets cold.

I have a wood stove with a metal chimney. I asked around to find the most qualified installer; got the stove on Craigslist. It's EPA certified, non-catalytic. Chimney cleaning is $200. Wood is messy, it brings in dirt, snow, sometimes bugs. You have to stack it, bring it in, sometimes shovel out the woodpile to get to it. I love my woodstove a lot. It's small but will keep the house adequately warm in a power failure, has a window so I can watch the fire, or I can leave the door open and use a screen. Way less efficient, but pretty. I hate winter and being cold, but I don't really mind hauling in wood. The stove keeps the living room toasty and the furnace makes sure the rest of the house has a decent base temp. You could put a wood or gas stove in the fireplace and run chimney pipe up the (cleaned) chimney. The forums at http://hearth.com are helpful. Building codes have developed, so you may require a liner or whatever. The town enforcement office may be helpful.