Fireplace and rentals!...... a bad mix?????

Question

I bought a house at a really good price that has a fireplace in it. The fireplace has glass doors in front of it and there isn't any carpet close to it. I was wondering if there is anything special I should do. The last thing I want is for something bad to happen.

Ryan B. · Answer

No way in my low income rentals, maybe in the higher income ones.

My brother in law had a low income duplex where the guy on first floor had his heat shut off.  So he threw a fire ring on the kitchen floor and lit that thing up for some warmth.

Matt T. · Answer

I don't even allow candles.  I deal with a lot of homes built in the 1920's so they all had fireplaces and one point.  None have fireplaces after I remodel.

Jon Klaus · Answer

I have several fireplaces and haven't had any problems.  They are rarely used.

DAVID GAGE · Answer

Well it seems the guys from the south are ok with it and the guys from the north not so much. I guess I will plan on putting a gas insert in and not hooking it up till I sell in a few years. I don't want to block it off and not sure I really trust tenants with any fire at all so I will just hook the gas up on a later date. Thanks for the input fellows.

Joel Owens · Answer

The other thing is when the tenants heat goes off for non payment to the utility company they will try to burn things in the fireplace.

We have seen them before try to burn pressure treated wood etc. This type of wood when burning gives off toxic gases and chemicals and is not meant to be thrown in the fireplace just like certain types of trees aren't as well.

Try getting the tenants to understand that.It's a miracle by their own ignorance that they haven't done something to kill themselves yet early in life.

Common sense escapes them in many cases.

George P. · Answer

one of mine has a fireplace. first tenants used it all the time thinking that it heats the house up. at the end i told them that they are actually spending more money on heating when the fireplace is on because it uses the air from the room to draw it up the chimney. so, it was costing them more money.

the current tenants have not used it even once.

surprisingly, the insurance is not more expensive because it has a foreplace. weird.

C Rich · Answer

I would eliminate all old-fashioned wood-burning indoor fireplaces from any property I owned.  There are gas-burning, pellet-style and  electric fireplaces that achieve the same ambiance without the risk of pests, fires, accidents and damage.

Chris Masons · Answer

IMO tenants and fireplaces don't belong in the same sentence!

Definite NO NO in my book.

So many things can go wrong on so may levels and very little benefit.

Chris

Roc P. · Answer

When in doubt  elimante! My personal opinion is that a fireplace is not a good ideal in a rental property, for one simple reason do you really want your tenants handling smoke and objects on fire?

Plus look your insurance my be higher because of it.

James H. · Answer

Depending on the property, if it was a lower income type property, I would consider walling it off. I would inset the wall so that the fire place was only about 6 to 12 inches deep and then tile over the wall with some cool tiles or rocks to compliment the existing stone/brick. Then you still have a fireplace for looks, but not for fire.

Fireplace and rentals!...... a bad mix?????

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