Installing a woodburner could add 5 per cent to your home’s value

Property: Woodburning stove add value home

Installing a woodburner could increase the value of your home by 5 per cent, according to the Daily Mail.

The newspaper reports that environmental awareness coupled with rising energy bills means that the presence of a wood-burning stove can make a property more valuable.

It says:

Soaring heating bills, environmentally-sound and clean fuels, and the return of people wanting more character in their homes have all contributed to a revival of the traditional fireplace and surround.

In fact, a feature fireplace can add up to 5 per cent to a home’s value. And at this time of year, the warm glow and crackle of logs burning in the hearth seem very appealing indeed.

On cutting heating costs, the Mail adds:

Heating just the room that you are in is certainly more cost-effective than centrally heating an entire house. Using wood as your heat source costs 2.5p per kw/h compared with gas at 4p and electricity at 11p, say HETAS, the solid fuels industry body.

Would that add up for your home?

Let’s do the maths to find out.

  • Take the value of your home and multiply by 0.05 to work out 5 per cent of its value.
  • Work out the cost of the woodburner you want. (The stoves on this list all cost less than £300.)
  • Estimate the installation costs. £1,500 to £2,500 is a rough guide, but you could use our stove installation cost calculator for a better idea.
  • Take the 5 per cent, then minus the stove cost and installation cost.
  • The figure you’re left with is how much value your woodburner could give you before savings on energy bills are taken into consideration.

Does a woodburner make sense for you?

If you calculated that installing a stove would make economic sense for you, you might want to nail down the precise cost of the appliance you would want to install.

Have a closer look at some of the options.

Five ways to clean your wood-burning stove glass

Stove-Glass-Cleaner-for-Woodburner

Wood-burning stove glass will always get dirty. Though using your airwash system properly can help you to minimise the amount of soot and dirt that settles on the glass, with wood or coal being burned at high temperature in such close proximity, it is inevitable that some clouding will still happen.

Given that darkening of the glass in unavoidable you will need a way to clean it that will restore it to its sparkling former glory.

Cleaning wood-burning stove glass is one of those things that has created a series of unusual methods and tips that different people swear by. Once you find one that works for you, you are likely to stick with it.

Here are some ideas for removing dirt from your stove glass:

Damp cloth
The first port of call is a damp cloth. As with all the other cleaning methods discussed in this article, it should only be undertaken when the appliance is cool. Simply wipe the dark cloth on the inside of the glass in circular motions. In some cases, this will be sufficient to remove the dirt.

Newspaper dipped in ashes
At first, ashes might seem like a bothersome byproduct of your woodburner. In fact, they can be very useful. We discussed some uses for wood burner ashes previously on this blog, and one of those uses is cleaning stove glass. Once the ashes are cold, dip a piece of newspaper into them, then apply it to the glass in a circular movement. Devotees claim this is an effective way to remove soot. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.


Vinegar
Vinegar is a useful cleaning product around the home, and many people use it to clean their stove glass. Again, you just need to take a piece of newspaper, dip it into the vinegar, then apply to the glass using a circular motion. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Bicarbonate of Soda
Probably our least favoured option on the list, but worth a try if the others aren’t working for your stove, is bicarbonate of soda or baking soda. Simply add a small amount of water to it to create a paste, then apply to the glass. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Stove glass cleaner
An easy way to remove soot from your stove glass is to use a specialist stove glass cleaner. It is hard to beat this when it comes to convenience. The product comes in a spray bottle. You just need to squirt it onto the glass using the instructions given by the manufacturer, which usually recommend a clean with a damp cloth beforehand.

Buy stove glass cleaner now.