Gas-Fired Fireplace, nice n' warm!

Well, it seems like ever since September started, the temperatures in Toronto have been steadily declining. I'm a warm-blooded person by nature so I'll do anything to keep warm. Every fall/winter since we've moved to this house, I've thanked God that we paid for the gas fireplace upgrade!

Our fireplace came with our home as an upgrade. It was installed by the builder so we didn't have to worry about that part. It is a direct vent gas fireplace heater. This means that it takes air from outside our home for combustion air in the fireplace and expells exhaust gases from the fireplace to the outside. Inside our fireplace are fake logs that look like they are burning when it is on. It measures about 35" tall and 38" wide, not including the mantel. The mantel is lovely as you can see from the pictures. I love to decorate it or just place pictures on top.

Our fireplace came with 'standing pilot controls' to light it. Basically, you've got to push in the 'Pilot' knob and press the ignition button once every second to get it going. This is a pain to do after we've had it off for the summer! But once the pilot is lit, all we have to do is turn a tiny brass knob and voila - fire!

We love to use the firplace on 'Family Game' nights, hanging out or watching a movie. The heat it gives off is comforting and warm. We've been in our house for 3 years now and this fireplace has held up through being turned off in the summer and re-lit for our cold Canadian winters. Did I already mention that we love our fireplace?