A Heated Debate

So we thought we had a plan.

It was our intention to install hydronic heating panels in the new house. Jamie does not like underfloor heating, so the panels are the next most efficient option. It is expensive, but lasts well and gives a gentle, radiant heat. When we discussed this with the designers, they calculated that there would be only about twenty days each year when we would need to provide some supplementary heating. The huge expense of a hydronic system would simply not be justified.

Initially, they suggested a simple gas heater, but this was met with a big N O from me. I loathe gas heating because it always seems so blowy and stifling. The next option was to have an electric panel heater that worked in a similar way to an hydronic panel. We have this heating now and we are happy with the performance. We will be producing an excess of electricity so it would be a sustainable option.

And then the designer suggested a wood fire...

I don't like wood fires because they burn timber and release the CO2 into the atmosphere. They are dirty and messy with the need to clean out the firebox and the chimney. My mother-in-law has a fireplace and she is always struggling to drag in loads of logs to feed the fire. We discussed the pros and cons; the idea that we could coppice sugar gum trees and be self sufficient in timber, the on-balance inputs of other fossil fuels with growing wood as a renewable resource, and the high efficiency of the modern fire boxes. I was unconvinced, and I thought Jamie was too, until they mentioned the "O" word ... OVEN!

Now those of you who know Jamie will be not be surprised to hear that his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He loves cooking and baking, but his pride and joy is his bread-making. He grew his own sour dough mother from organic rye flour and has maintained it for many years. He cooks all of our bread and it is one of the things that makes him most happy. He just loves messing about with flour and yeast. We will be installing a 900mm Smeg oven, similar to the one we currently own, in the new house. He has plans to build a French style outdoor bread oven. Unfortunately, the idea of gaining an extra wood fired oven in the house was too good to be true. To paraphrase what Roy and HG might say, "Too many ovens are barely enough!"

The designers showed us the model they were suggesting with a small firebox and an oven underneath. It is produced by Nectre and is described as being in the style of a bygone era. Just what I love, NOT! It is not only a fire, but a rustic, cottage-style design at that!

NOT my style at all!!!!!

Jamie and I like things clean, clear and sleek. We like light blonde or limed timber, glass, metal and leather. We like things to be calm, not decorated with too many objects. We do not like cottage, home spun things that collect dust and make us feel cluttered. We are not fans of soft furnishings.

The designers said that it was something to think about, but looking at Jamie, I knew I had already lost the battle. He is such a wonderful person; who am I to deny him something he really, really wants? It has actually turned out to be an expensive option because one has to factor in the stove, chimney, tiling behind and a bluestone slab for it to stand on.

It is the one feature that I hate about the house, but I am going to let it go. I will have to make peace with the thing and learn how to use it. I do not want to spoil Jamie's pleasure in using it and I am sure that I will benefit from the many delights that emerge from it.

But be warned ... there had better not be any distressed timber dressers or macrame doilies in sight!