The new storm windows will help, but we really want to get away from so much oil use.
Eventually we may use the gas line to heat a boiler, but until then, we took advantage of a sale Finest Hearth and installed a gas fireplace insert. Now we can heat the downstairs to a cozy temperature without using any oil.
Bonus - it looks a lot better than the old non-functioning fireplace. Bonus #2 - it works in a power outage!
Before:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmWQwqCBfpeyd8AoNdrM3dIE_NBm1lXvq3t2XhIQi_XHoTGcjSpiKIJ9tiZbD3rbJujv_n6EbOfEeOhQyFwlilLTFut_KrtC_-O41p1qxNCAPqngdOjqYEfOStBNHfnZDMef8TX7o8H3P/s400/IMG00535-20100904-2218.jpg)
After:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rqLfQbyVVU5Bn2ZBhPs4ppVdOO__LbHIGeawCfKWhnIn9gainqnWC7WVqgVhkt3sMFWPPPpZOEFQfXt-SLO1OJapglGMRFUXUevZ2dLK_akNDp7qrZFJsXN9rAJjb9-bbNf5DlWVQP3B/s400/IMG00597-20101016-1149.jpg)
We're still trying to figure out what to do with the bricks and the tiles below, which are only temporarily placed there.