Petunia -- More fuel for the fire

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 111528

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Rachel" <swirskyr at r...> wrote:
> 
> Why is the fireplace in the kitchen boarded up?  It seems a rather 
> unusual thing to do... especially as fireplaces tend to bring UP the 
> value of a house (at least in my neighbourhood). Could it be that at 
> one point it was hooked up to the floo network?  Mr. Weasley said he 
> had it hooked up for a bit in order to come get Harry, but that does 
> not preclude the fact that it might not be an entirely new hookup.  
> 
> Anyhow, just a thought.
> 
> Rachel


Asian_lovr2:

Not quite... The fireplace in the kitchen works (owls fly down it),
it's the fireplace in the living room that is boarded up, and it's not
really boarded up, that's just a convinient way of explaining the
problem to Mr. Weasley. The fireplace has had a 'fake' electric coal
fire insert built into the normal fireplace. They can make some very
realistic looking fake fires now. 

One reason to insert a fake fireplace into a real fireplace is because
fireplaces are drafty and if you don't seal them up, you actually lose
heat. In addition, as romantic as they may seem, they take a lot of
work. You have to fetch dirty wood, bust it up, gather kindling, light
the fire, etc.... I had a house with a fireplace and generally found
that after I went through all the trouble of building a real fire, I
was very much out of the romantic mood.

Most people who like having a fire, but don't like the struggle, have
converted their wood fireplace to burn natural gas, or have blocked
them with an electric fake fire.

Just a thought.

Steve/asian_lovr2 (whose new 'b_boymn' username hardly lasted a few
weeks before Yahoo lost it. Thanks Yahoo.)