As of today we’ve lived in our house for six whole months. And in all that time we’ve never formally introduced you to Bart. How rude of us.
Bart, aka Black Bart the woodstove insert, is hard to miss in our kitchen. We know the previous owners got a lot of use out of him (although they did warn us that he made the house pretty smoky and coated a lot of nearby surfaces with fine black dust). We’d always planned to replace him down the road when we hopefully convert our fireplace into a double fireplace (that can be enjoyed from the living room as well as the kitchen).
But Clara spurred us into action a bit sooner. See, the bean is just too obsessed with Bart. And the potential harm to Clara thanks to a searing hot 30+ year old wood burning stove has always outweighed any potential benefits. So although we moved in the middle of winter, we didn’t fire him up once. And Clara still finds the sharp metal edges of Bart oddly fascinating, no matter how many times we say no or redirect her with toys/the dog/insane dance moves, etc.
All kidding aside, we know many folks who love wood stoves (even those with kiddos), but Bart just wasn’t working for our fam. We couldn’t keep denying that he was truly (and weirdly) a Clara magnet, and after she once managed to get the stove door open and her hand into some soot before we could pull her away, Sherry and I were officially fed up with this sharp and dirty metal monster that we weren’t even using.
Never ones to act hastily (you know us, we prefer to overanalyze while hemming and hawing), first we considered locking the doors with a kid-proof lock, adding foam pads to the pokey parts, and even blocking him off with baby gates or some sort of homemade blockade contraption. But in the end we realized that building everything short of a moat around something that we didn’t use and already planned to replace down the road seemed more than a little wacky. In other words: it was time to bid ol’ Bart adieu. So we borrowed some confidence from Layla and Kevin‘s fireplace makeover and decided to give our kitchen a Black-Bart-ectomy yesterday (don’t worry, we won’t trash him- Bart will live on, but more on that later).
When it came to the whole wood stove removal thing, I didn’t really know where to start. And this was one of the few times in my life that google was no help. So during Clara’s afternoon nap (so as not to set a bad example slash taunt her) I just sort of started pulling at things. Lucky for me, the flashing around the sides easily pried away. So much so that I’m kinda surprised Clara hadn’t figured it out yet. Yikes.
I learned there was only a little bit of glue holding the three pieces flimsily in place (which made the stove look flush on all sides).
The only questionable moment was when I revealed a bunch of wires on one side and worried that some electrical work might be involved. Thankfully I soon realized that they were just connected to a fan on the back of the unit, so I didn’t have to disconnect anything after all (I just kept it all attached and removed it all together). Phew.
With all sides of the stove revealed, the only place I could see it attached to the house was right here at the top. It seemed to be bolted to a vent that snaked up into the chimney. So I figured I’d just attempt to take that apart and hope for the best.
The good news was that my hunch was right- those bolts were the only things holding that baby in place. The bad news was that the bolts were really friggin hard to get off. Okay, just one of the five was (the top of that bolt was so soft that my wrench had trouble gripping it). Oh and did I mention that space was tiiiight? My skinnier-armed wife tried to save the day, but she’s also shorter-armed, so alas… no dice.
But I kept at it (and Sherry kept trying as if her arms were growing by the second). And after getting covered in ash and enduring a few knuckle scrapes we got Bart fully detached from the vent. Ta dah!
Okay, so it was less of a perky “ta-dah!” and more of a grunting “ohmygoodness” because that beast was HEAVY. But as you can see, we managed to shimmy Bart out of the fireplace and onto a piece of scrap cardboard (which helped us slide the whole darn thing out of the way). So our fireplace could go from this…
…to this:
Admittedly it’s not the prettiest before & after. In fact, the after kinda looks uglier in a way… despite the fact that I got my Cinderella on and scrubbed the inside it with some warm water and mild soap:
Sherry really wanted to be the one to yoink this beast out all by herself (short arms be darned) so she made me scrub things down while she sulked slash snapped embarrassing photos. I’m making that face for two reasons. 1) because the sooty clean-up job was pretty nasty, and 2) because I’m realizing that a photo of me in my high school gym shorts would end up on the Internet. Yep, still own ’em and still fit in ’em… sort of.
Short shorts aside, Bart is currently residing in our dining room (where Clara rarely goes), just waiting to be craigslisted or otherwise donated (haven’t yet figured out if a Big B is worth anything to anyone, but we’ll share the craigslist link if he ends up there).
And hopefully soon we’ll have a prettier version of our fireplace to share. Immediate plans for it include painting the firebox a dark charcoal color to even out the stained brick interior. And that’ll probably be followed quickly by painting the brick and mantel. Spoiler alert: we’re leaning towards bright glossy white (we’re planning to bring some color onto the kitchen walls, so a white fireplace should be a nice counterpart). But we’ll share all those painting details as we go.
Down the road we’re also planning to take the fireplace makeover a step further – perhaps by eventually tiling it, beefing up the mantle, or even framing it out all the way up to the ceiling to give it more height. Not to mention the whole double-siding plan. But all that future fireplace stuff is TBD at this point. We’ll just have to see where we end up. Oh, and Sherry wanted me to mention that she scraped off that big circular blotch of glue that you can see just outside the upper left corner of the firebox in the photo above. Despite how easily the metal flashing peeled off, the gummy glue didn’t come off the brick as easily. So she got all ninja on that blob and ended up using an exacto knife to slice it off in pieces.
Have you guys removed a wood stove or any other fireplace insert? Was google surprisingly unhelpful? Does anyone have a kid who loves their wood stove as much as ours? Do you think Big Bart is worth craigslisting or should we donate him to the Habitat For Humanity ReStore?
Psst- We’re sharing a fun, functional, and affordable little kid-art corner over on BabyCenter today.
Marnie Whelan says
HI –
delurking to say a couple of things: First, like several other commenters, I too grew up in a house heated by wood stoves. ( The one unarguable benefit of this is that I can lay a good fire in less time than most boy scouts I’ve met)
I don’t remember getting burned badly or often – I’m a cautious soul – but one of my cats had a permanent burn on his tail.
The other thing is, you should sell that baby, and not for scrap – it looks like a nice one – though I’m guessing that VA is not the place. Try posting it further north!
Love your blog!
Marnie
Stephanie says
Can’t say I’ve done anything quite like that! But we have a (currently broken, soon to be fixed) gas fireplace in our living room, the kind with a removable wood frame/mantle. The paint just wasn’t working for me after we got new couches, so I gave it a bit of a makeover earlier this year, and it looks soooo much better now.
Ashley says
Ok, this has nothing to do with the fireplace (though that looks great!) But I saw this and thought of you guys. I know there’s lots of good ideas for bee parties, but this had a few cute ones (like the chinese lanterns) that I thought you might enjoy.
Ashley says
http://dhgruber.blogspot.com/2011/06/bumble-bee-baby-shower.html
Help if I posted the link!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! Love it!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Hey, does Clara have an elephant on her shirt?
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahaha, oh my gosh she does. She loves those jamies. We got them because they have giraffes on them (her fave) but she must like elephants too.
xo,
s
Jessica says
My Avynn has the same pj’s and they are her favorite (or maybe they’re MY favorite….same difference!) Great taste in baby clothes, guys!
Wom-mom Ethne says
Interesting. Can’t wait for more on this since a family member has the double-sided fireplace and it’s awesome. It’s in-between their bedroom and spa bathtub so kinda romantic.
Tessa says
I was just at the “fireplace store” yesterday… so many cool, (((expensive))) options. My mom and I are both in the market for fireplace ideas– me brand new, hers a redo. Can’t wait to see what you two pull off!
Amy in Pittsburgh says
Maybe someone’s mentioned this already, but I remember seeing Sabrina Soto on HGTV recommend Scrubbing Bubbles or something similar to remove soot from a fireplace…
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!!
xo,
s
Kathy says
We have a gas insert fireplace. I want to remove the gas insert part because it doesn’t fit properly anyway but I’m way to scared to even attempt something like that with gas. And I can’t possibly afford to hire someone to come in and do it. So now our couch is in front of our fireplace. (we have two small children)
We did make huge improvements on our fireplace since we moved in here though. When we moved in it was a fire engine red with white grout lines painted on. It looked like Dr Seuss’s fire place. I painted it glossy white and it made the whole house look better.
Heather says
Happy 6 months in your home! 6 months ago today, I gave birth to my little girl! What a great day December 14th was!
YoungHouseLove says
Amen!
xo,
s
Britney R. says
We have a massive insert in our living room that we are planning on removing, so I was really glad to see this post. I was trying to find it on google to see what it’s value is, and I couldn’t find anything. Ours has a picture of these cool trains on the outside, built into the metal, but it’s just not our style. And even scarier, I’m not sure it’s really attached by anything! And my 2.5 year old loves to climb all over it, since it sticks out from the fireplace (which means it is not up to code).
kimb says
craig’s list the thing and if it doesn’t sell send it away. I’m surpised you can even use the thing. In Canada the insurance companies demand your fire places have some certification thingy or they won’t insur your house which is manditory. Acctually come to think of it do you have to have house ins. in the US of A.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah I think you have to have homeowners insurance here in the states (maybe it’s a state law thing though). We definitely do!
xo,
s
Ashlee says
Homeowners insurance is only required if you have a mortgage. If you do not have a mortgage, there is no law mandating coverage…Of course it would be NUTS to go without it!
YoungHouseLove says
So interesting!
xo,
s
Josh says
We did a similar removal with our wood burning stove… it was on CL for a month and no one pulled the trigger. Finally donated it. Since then we have painted all the brick and couldnt be happier!
Brandy says
Looks so much better! I also think I have the same mirror (From Ross for 25???) above my fireplace! Here is a link to my living room, well, its in the works, but I love what you are doing in your new home and hope to capture the same ‘feeling’ as soon as I can afford to. Can you give me any pointers?
http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Living-Rooms/Living-room-progress/detail.esi?oid=24537682&save=save
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! We’re mirror twins. The room look cozy and charming! As for pointers, maybe try posting a pic on our Facebook page so people can chime in with ideas for ya?
xo,
s
Jill Stratton says
Don’t know if anyone else mentioned this, but I think you should sell it for scrap metal. I don’t think it’s worth craigslisting because it has to fit the dimensions of your fireplace…
MS says
Guys, you definitely need to Craig’s List that beast. We had a pellet stove (slightly different beast, but equally as ugly/heavy) and sold it for $900. And ours may have even been from the 70’s. It took a little longer to find a buyer than some of our other items that we’ve sold, maybe 3 weeks until it was said and done.
And yes, paint the fire box. Ours looked just as fugly. And since Clara is OBSESSED with that part of your kitchen, I’d highly suggest looking into a set of doors and a screen that would attach to the brick. That way she can’t pull them over, even if she can get close-ish.
Kylene says
We also have a pellet stove insert that we want to rip out, was it difficult to remove? When we bought our house we were told that the flue is somehow permanently set open so we are thinking we need to hire someone to pull it out and fix the flue. Any advice?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, ours just took some banging around and aside from that one stubborn screw it was really straightforward. We did the whole removal during a 45 minute Clara-nap or so. Maybe try to remove it yourself first and if you can’t just call in a pro? Good luck!
xo,
s
jenn says
no offense to bart but i dont think hes cool enough to put on craigs list. buttttt it doesnt hurt to try for a couple days. i mean five bucks is five bucks right?
i really love how it looks already. i can wait for you to paint it and throw something really awesome inside. i always loved the billions of different heighted (thats a word) candles inside.
hopefully clara doesnt start climbing in and getting all sooty, although that would be pretty adorable.
Shana says
You would be SURPRISED at how many people don’t care a whole lot about looks/cool. Check out my local (Oklahoma City) Craigslist, but…well. I can’t promise that you won’t be wailing “my eyes! MY EYES!” :)
Jenny says
Put bart to work for you! Craigslist and note “you must pick up” — any money for bart is better than having to haul him to the ReStore for no money.
Katie says
Definitely post Bart Craig’s List. I know people who would pay decent money for a wood stove!
Joy says
Looks better already.
Joy
Carrie says
Haha we did the opposite, we ADDED an insert and replaced our brick hearth with one made from a bluestone slab. But, our new insert is shiny and pretty (and amazingly enough, from craigslist!), it looks something like this:
http://www.regency-fire.com/Products/Hampton-Wood—Gas/Cast-Iron-Stoves,-Fireplaces—Inserts/HI300.aspx
The great news is that with the blower, it heats our entire first floor (about 1000 square feet). I like that I can still also see the fire through the window. It also makes the fire a lot easier to manage and uses less wood than we did with the fireplace itself.
We’re also tiling our surround with 4″ slate tiles, but we haven’t done that yet. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s a handsome one!
xo,
s
Shannon says
We pulled out our buck stove a few years ago. We put it on craigslist and someone called immediately. He was working on getting a garage together and our stove was the perfect fit for him to heat his space. I would recommend putting it on craigslist. Someone might not want it for a house, but they are still useable and perfect for a garage!
Chantelle says
This is a great time for fireplace/woodstove talk! We just moved into our new place a week and a bit ago and we’ve been discussing how we plan to use our fireplace! Ours is functional as a traditional fireplace but hubs is nervous to use it that way…we’ve looked at electric inserts and propane inserts but we’re still not sure what we’ll do…
A two-way is a fantastic idea! You’ll be feeling the fireplace love from both rooms and if the heat ever goes off, you have your choice of 2 rooms to huddle in!!
Erin says
We repainted the inside of our fireplace a couple weeks ago and it made a huge difference. If you use a high temperature paint, watch out for the fumes. Looking forward to seeing what you do next with the fireplace.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the warning! Our fireplace isn’t a functional one at this point (it’s still vented for the wood stove so we just closed the damper to seal it off and keep heat in).
xo,
s
Angie Edwards says
I know you are non toxic people, but scrubbing bubbles totally takes off all of the black suit easily. Love that stuff every fall and spring when we clean ours! Love your site!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Angie! You’re the second one to recommend that!
xo,
s
Barbara says
I’m sure someone said this but PLEASE have a chimney specialist check out the fireplace now and see if it’s safe to use. I watch a lot of Mike Holmes and now realize how dangerous installing and removing inserts can be. For Clara’s sake, make sure it’s safe, not just pretty.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Barbara. We’re not using it! We just closed the damper to seal it off and have considered it “inoperable” until we have experts in for the double-siding process. Not to worry!
xo,
s
Michelle says
What floor planning program did you guys use to draw the house plan? We’re building a house now, and we want to discuss furniture placement, but need a good drawing to start with.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s floorplanner.com. Free!
xo,
s
Jim says
Amazeballs!!! It looks much better and I can’t wait to more progress to come in the kitchen!
Ps. you should add your hard-worked-on 300 square foot paver patio to your floor plan! …now that the liriopes are gone and everything :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah! We’ll have to update that!
xo,
s
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
I LOVE that you guys got rid of that insert! They are super handy for heating homes, but… 1- it’s weird to have in the kitchen, 2- it’s a bit dated, and 3- it totally did not go with your guys’ style and was particularly babe-unsafe!
Can’t wait to see more fireplace transformation! They double-sided fireplace is a MUST!!!
PS- we all have those high school gym shorts that no one should see… except the internet world! LOL
Laura says
We had a huge woodburning furnace in our basement that could be used as a supplemental heat source to the heatpump if desired. We knew we would never use it & preferred to use the space for storage. We listed it on Craigslist; free to the person who would dis-assemble it & take it away. It was no time before we had a taker. There are people who prefer to heat with wood & I am sure you’d be able to find someone who would like to have it especially when colder weather comes around again.
Christine says
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cramey/5798186134/in/photostream/
That is our “hearth”.
We’re currently renting, but our house has had at least three different owners since that abomination was…created, and it BLOWS MY MIND that no one has taken the time to fix it.
MY MIND. IT IS BLOWN. At least your tiles are the same color?
[And yes, our walls ARE red! And we’ve been instructed not to paint. But I don’t even care because we’re totally painting.]
YoungHouseLove says
Woah nellie! That’s some hearth!
xo,
s
Kaitlin says
Craigslist it! My parents just bought a woodstove for their house in December (they moved 4 days after you did) because they’re trying to be more self sufficient, and rely on the furnace less. They’re planning to heat the house mainly with the wood stove, and the furnace will only run late at night when the fire has died down, or while they’re out of the house for an extended amount of time. They drove from Charlotte to somewhere down in Georgia to buy their stove off craigslist, so you never know who might want it!
Nancy says
It’s 1,000% better. Personally I would wait until the end to paint the brick as it might look really nice once everything around it is “fixed.” And if you still don’t like it, then paint it.
Rachel @ Common to Moms says
This is totally random, but the stone on your hearth- well, our entire front porch is made up of the exact same stuff.
Good job with the fireplace removal!
-Rachel H
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, that is random! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a porch floor like that!
xo,
s
Stephanie says
Glad you were able to remove Bart fairly easily, I think it already looks better! While we’re remod-ing our home part of the job was removing a fireplace from our bedroom (I was NOT so happy with the idea of keeping it there, it was old, yucky, and big). Luckily, we were able to bust out the brick around the fireplace and on the floor easily, since they placed it right overtop the wall/floor; and the fireplace insert was, thnkfully, easy to pull out. And it was a good thing too, the interior was so rotted we would have never been able to use it. So we cleaned it up, stuffed it with some insulation, and dry walled right over it. And now it looks great!!!! If I wasn’t at work I would get a before and after shot.
Courtney says
We totally used The Lettered Cottage as our Fireplace Project inspiration too!
http://ourlife–accelerated.blogspot.com/2010/07/our-navy-bungalow-fireplace-project.html
We are SO much happier on the other side of having it done!
YoungHouseLove says
So gorgeous!!!
xo,
s
tiffany says
haha! we had one exactly like this in our first house.. we could only get rid of it (and then it took awhile) by putting it on the street with a free sign.
it took at least a week (where usually stuff with a free sign would go in an hour..) and when a guy in a truck finally pulled up and wanted it my hubby practically ran to the curb to help him load it (O: with craigslist i bet you will have much better luck!!
Fiona says
I’m so happy you posted this. We have 3 small children and a hideous insert. We have it screwed shut, but it’s still a giant toy for the kids.
We’re going to eventually get rid of it and redo our fireplace/chimney etc. In the meantime I’m thinking of painting the fireplace white and the insert a glossy white. It can’t look any worse.
(You guys must be the fireplace gurus. I came across your blog a couple of years ago when I googled painting a fireplace.)
Aimee says
We recently did the EXACT SAME THING and, believe it or not, we sold our insert on Craigslist for $300.00! My husband talked to a builder friend of his and he said they are actually pretty expensive. At first I thought his friend was crazy because it surely had zero value but sure enough about a week after posting some guy came by and gave us $300 bones and hauled it away…SCORE! After cleaning it we just bought a fireplace screen to put over until we can afford the gas log insert we want! All the best!
Holly says
I love that you name things in your home! Pretty Woodstove but not a very good option with kiddos. Well done! P.s. I lvoe that mirror above the fireplace mantle!
Jen says
Oh no don’t paint that precious brick. :(
YoungHouseLove says
It’s too late….
xo,
s
Lindsay says
Too late? hahaha you’ve already done it? More pics this afternoon??
YoungHouseLove says
Hopefully tomorrow if we can convince Clara to take an afternoon nap!
xo,
s
Julie (from Pocketful of Joules) says
I’m kind of (okay, super) obsessed with painted fireplaces and can’t wait to see what you do with yours!
Also, are you planning to paint the paneling in your kitchen or just tear it all out and put up drywall? Maybe paint the panels as an ‘in between’ fix… Also, because I’d love to see how you do it! =)
YoungHouseLove says
We’re panel painters all the way. We like the texture it adds (and how easy it is to do without worrying about uncovering all sorts of scary stuff).
xo,
s
Kristi says
Now there’s a Bart? You guys name everything now! So silly. :) I think this household personification has something to do with Clara. What do you think? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s really his name! Check out the label we posted. Haha. Although it’s undeniably more fun to say “Bart” instead of “wood stove.”
xo,
s
Tiffany says
Good for you guys. When you have something like that it can be very scary with kids.
Oh yeah, the fireplace would be super cute with candles in the inside until you make changes.
NotJune says
I’m feeling very strongly that you may need to Zazzle a “I Got My Cinderella On” for the t-shirt collection!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I smell a project coming on…
xo,
s
new york girlie says
a quick non fireplace realted question which i hope u wont mind answering… –
what do you use to clean your hardwood floors? i mean apart from the vacum cleaner do u guys use any thing to wet clean them if u know what i mean? i used to use the swipes floor wipes but they seem like such a waste … any ideas?
sorry if u have answered this before but you guys have such good advice – i thought to ask u and couldnt find it on your site…
YoungHouseLove says
We use mild soap (Dr. Bronners or Mrs Meyers and water- but not too much water- just a damp cloth or the OMop). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Aubry says
Funny Story: My dads name is Bart and lives in Charlotte. Got a fire place insert a few years ago from a a friends parents house. He swears by it! It definitly kept the 2 story house warm and cut down on the gas bill! My dad was/is a landscaper & would use the trees he cut down in ppls yards to heat our house. So essentially people paid him to heat our house :)
Though, all of us kids were grown up at this point, so they didnt have to worry about little hands being burned. I am loving the name of the wood insert as Bart, it seems very fitting.
Laura@JourneyChic says
I grew up with a wood stove in the middle of our living room. It’s a huge, honking thing that sticks out a few feet from the mantle. My in-laws have one too, and it’s more like Big Bart, with super-sharp edges. My son (who’s about 2 months younger than Clara) is bound to discover that thing on his next visit! I should encourage our folks to take your route and just leave a “nice” bring fireplace behind.
Joanna May says
Now your little fireplace guy doesn’t look too legit anymore – looks like he’s seen better days, but we have a “Big Buck” in our sprawling ranch. What he loses in aesthetic appeal, he makes up in functionality and warm fuzzies. Our energy bills from last year were dramatically reduced by supplementing gas heat with the Big Buck. That thing will heat our living room, dining room, kitchen and 3 bedrooms. (The heat doesn’t quite make it down the hallway to the 4th) We didn’t even pay for any wood, although we probably will next year. We had a professional chimney sweep and wood-burning stove expert come out and take a look at it when we moved in last year, and he said it was in great condition. Regarding the air quality, we have two big labs, so to keep things from being too “doggy,” I run an Ionizer and Air purifier all the time. That also keeps the Big Buck in check. And since my husband’s part pyro, it’s right up his alley.
Nora says
Scrap it! My bf is a mechanic and he saves all the old scrap at work. It goes for around $200/ton up here but you get surprising a lot for small pieces of metal. I’d recommend snagging a friend’s pick up truck because it’ll make a mess of your care.
You might even get someone to Craigslist it from you for scrap but don’t let it go for free! You can definitely get money for more renovation projects. I hope my BF doesn’t see it because he is dying for a wood stove!