How stupid am i

As my house would give a rabbit hutch a run for its money, can just about afford to heat it! Though I do wear thermal underwear!

We have a modern wood burner and it takes a very short time to make our big sitting room toasty. We open the door into the hall so that the heat spreads throughout the house and it has cut our heating costs considerably. If you open the flue before opening the door to put in more wood it stops the ash dust flying out. We just need to remember to close the flue down again! We only have to empty the ash once a week on the 'shoulder' months or twice a week in the depths of winter when the fire is on most of the time.
We have warm air heating so if we turn that on it circulates all the available heat right around the bungalow very efficiently. We only use it for a short time and then revert to just having the wood burner going as even though it is a very economical system 'free' is always better!

We have our central heating on 4 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the evening. That is usually sufficient to keep the house warm all day except when the outside temperature falls below 5 degrees C, then we light the wood burner. It heats only the downstairs rooms we are using and is a lot cheaper to run than central heating.

A good quality modern stove is neither dirty nor time-consuming. We empty our ash tray once every two or three days, and apart from wiping over the glass insert, all that needs doing each morning is putting kindling and newspaper in the stove and putting a light to it. How often the stove needs feeding depends on the wood you burn. Our topping up period can be as short as the 20 minutes mentioned, if burning pine, but burning hard woods, which is what we normally use, it can be as little as once an hour or more.

I love open fires and wood burners but only in someone else's house ! Too much mucky work for me !

Sorry Vicky but you either have the wrong stove or inadequate insulation. We live in a cottage in Burgundy which can be bitterly cold but our Godin warms the whole house without any problem and is the sole heating source.

I've got Victorian fireplaces too wot and I love them, non working, unfortunately, got fairy lights stuffed in them

We had the opposite effect when we got rid of our fitted carpets. Our cellar's heated and hot water pipes run between the cellar ceiling and the downstairs floorboards. We get the full benefit of this now - it's our own version of under floor heating!

Oh Harrigran been there and done that with the coal fire and solid fuel boiler. How I did it I don't know looking back. Waking up in the morning to a cold radiator and knowing that I needed to go out to the coal bunker or relight the wretched thing.

I absolutely love Victorian tiled fireplaces but they're not efficient for heating....just visually lovely.

We have a multifuel heating system, woodburner and oil so have the best of both worlds. The woodburner is great; it's turned a cold and draughty room (3 doors into it and a radiator which, despite being the right size for the room never heated it well) into a lovely cosy room which is a pleasure to use. Don't need the radiator on when the woodburner is alight. It lights very easily and heats up really fast. The downside is that it's a hungry monster and if we didn't have a free supply of wood I think it would be expensive to keep going. On the plus side, all that carting, cutting up and chopping wood helps to keep us fit! I'm a whizz with a chainsaw and an axe

I wouldn't have a wood burning stove if you paid me. As a constantly cold person (also still wearing vests) give me a flick of the switch any time - to hell with the expense! My DD has told me never to be cold so I know if I was really strapped for my fuel bills she would help me, but it's never come to that. Being warm is very important to my well being, wouldn't like to have to buy logs aswell.

I have my own central heating at present, a side effect of the chemo is burning hot soles of the feet.
DS loves log burners and seeks out holiday cottages that have them. I would not have one as I spent the first years of married life trying to keep a coal fire and a coke boiler going just so I could have hot water. Years of cleaning up the dust and redecorating after soot and smoke discolouration has hardened my heart.

Vickymeldrew--love your name! As I'm in the sticks, my only form of heating is a wood/coal burner and they are hard work. Make a lot of dust and ash to dispose of somewhere. They take ages to heat the house and then when you get too hot, you're stuck with the heat! We've got radiators running from it and it can be warm and cosy but give me a switch to turn on the heating any day.

Only downside, have noticed lots of bits that didn't show on boards, shall have to hoover more, or not put my glasses on am still toasty and my cat seems to like it

I am freezing in my carpeted house - but then I 'run cold'.

Funnily enough I have never understood the appeal of 'wood burning stoves'. If you have central heating it is rarely cold enough to need extra heat, it warms the nearest two metres and needs fresh logs after 20 minutes or so . Lots of cleaning up too. Am I missing something ?

Floorboards are lovely, but not if your house has a suspended ground floor, and most Victorian to post WWII houses do.Either take the boards up, insulate underneath, then renail, or put a thin insulating layer underneath on the original flooring and lay new floorboards or laminate floor on top.

When DD was house hunting we went to view a house where the owner had stripped and polished the not very good quality ground floor floor boards. The drafts coming through the boards meant all the scatter rugs almost hovered an inch or two above the floor

We have just arrived at our french home and the themometer states that the current internal temperature is 12.5 degrees C. All the heating (electric heaters) is on and we will light the stove when we get back from the days shopping. Fortunately the house is well insulated so by this time tomorrow we should all be cosy and warm. Ground floor has tiles on a concrete base with carpet squares.

Yes, it does save on the heating bills!!

Haha wot think I'm past that, talking of which, I heard other day some one refering to hot flush, as their own "personal summer" ..... Loved that

Me too ninathenana am fully clothed this morning, but the heating thermostat hasn't clicked on yet, whatever the reason, I am thrilled

I think it's called the menopause!

Surprised the carpet makes that much difference

No.

Goodness, I wish I could actually feel warm, never mind hot, in my big old house (fully carpeted!). Still in thermal vests...