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Woodburners, nice or nasty?

(113 Posts)
Jaxjacky Thu 11-Sept-25 14:18:55

Love them, we had one when we lived in Françe, we looked into getting one in this house but it’s too complicated, I really miss having a cosy fire. No trouble to clean out or set and we had multiple sources of well dried wood.

Millie22 Thu 11-Sept-25 14:01:55

Hate them.

Fortunately we only have one neighbour who has one and most days it's not too smelly. It can be like a never ending bonfire. Vile.

ViceVersa Thu 11-Sept-25 14:00:55

TerriBull

We have one, inherited when we bought this house. We used it a couple of times but it affected my husband's breathing. I don't really like them anyway, not green and too much faffing around to get them going. I remember the performance my parents had in getting a coal fire started when I was a child, good for toasting crumpets, but hard work in the days of no central heating.

Not much 'faffing around' involved here. Put the logs in, add a firelighter, light a match. What's so complicated about that?

Iam64 Thu 11-Sept-25 13:59:20

I had one fitted a few years ago, just before they moved from ideal item to work of the devil

I love mine, it’s so easy to clean and relay . I love the heat and the light it throws. That spaniel is a fan as well

Bukkie Thu 11-Sept-25 13:55:09

Absolutely love ours, it was the first thing we had installed when we moved in 14 years ago. The heat it provides is wonderful, can't wait to start using ours soon.

LOUISA1523 Thu 11-Sept-25 13:50:45

Love ours ....we get free hardwood from a family member so its free heat during the winter months .....I love coming on from work and the log burner is blazing ....so cozy

TerriBull Thu 11-Sept-25 13:49:41

We have one, inherited when we bought this house. We used it a couple of times but it affected my husband's breathing. I don't really like them anyway, not green and too much faffing around to get them going. I remember the performance my parents had in getting a coal fire started when I was a child, good for toasting crumpets, but hard work in the days of no central heating.

ViceVersa Thu 11-Sept-25 13:47:02

Absolutely love ours - best thing we ever did was getting it installed. Now we have a completely free source of heating, which has made an enormous difference to our fuel bills, living in a very old, hard to heat house. We do live in a rural area though, and many of our neighbours have them too - as well as others who still have coal fires.

nanna8 Thu 11-Sept-25 13:38:11

Love ‘em but we don’t live that close to our neighbours. We have to have very tall chimneys by law if we have one which is fair. I only light ours very occasionally, usually when we have visitors because we can’t be bothered carting wood around,

lixy Thu 11-Sept-25 13:36:42

Thumbs down from me due to particles irritating the lungs.

I don’t like open fires either and absolutely loathe barbaques. What a grump!

Babs03 Thu 11-Sept-25 13:35:33

We have a wood burner in the kitchen but never use it. I recall how my old mum used to complain about the faff of having to keep a real fire burning and then having to clear it out. Was here when we bought the house and it looks quaint so have kept it for ornamental purposes.
Our neighbour does use his and the smoke is acrid, then again he boasted about getting free wood from people’s skips, though this wood has often got paint or varnish on it so will give off dangerous pollutants. We told him this but he just laughed and said there was nothing wrong with a bit of smoke. Other neighbours have complained as well but he is one of those people who thinks anything about pollutants in the air is a load of left wing baloney and that he should be able to do as he pleases.

Rosie51 Thu 11-Sept-25 13:26:40

I agree 100%. I'm in a smokeless zone so can't see smoke but the smell of smoke is evident even if they are using the correct fuel. It means closing windows and if you're not quick enough lovely air dried washing comes in reeking of smoke and needing another rinse. That has to mean there are particulates in the air, so unhealthy.

ROMILO Thu 11-Sept-25 13:18:32

What do you think about woodburning stoves? Where I live there are lots. It is a fairly built up area with lots of victorian houses split into flats and built on slopes. We live at the bottom of a slope with several houses with stoves up and behind . In winter it is unbearable. We have to seal our bedroom window with tape and run an air purifier 12 hours a day just to stop our flat from smelling like a bonfire and to stop us having constant sore eyes. Everyone says the latest regulations mean they are safe but that is only if they are used as they should be (dry hardwood only) and not as a disposal unit for anything that burns. Does anyone else have problems? I think they should be banned everywhere except the most rural of properties . Not a popular opinion I know but maybe those people who dont agree haven't been on the receiving end of all the very unhealthy fallout.