The service guy came today and replaced the logs … while it’s much better there’s still an odor. He told us that we should give the new logs time to burn (about 5 hours) and then shut it off and turn it back on in the morning. If the odor is still there, we’ll have him replace the sidewalls which he says can also cause the odor. I’m still afraid that we’ll pay for the new logs and the other work and still end up having to convert it to a vented fireplace but Keith wanted to give this a try first – I wanted to go ahead and convert it right away to a vented fireplace so this is going to be one of those times where one of us is “right” and one is “wrong”.
On a side note, am I the only one with a sky high grocery bill?! Between not going out to eat AND Keith not traveling and being home full time, keeping him fed is pricy! You’d think it would be cheaper without going out but not when he’s home all the time. I’ll have to plan for extra money in the food budget when he eventually retires!!