Homeowners are always wondering what remodeling project will bring them the best return on their investment. Is it a third bathroom, a revamped kitchen, a bigger closet in the master bedroom? After an especially brutal winter, why not treat yourself and your backyard to a present this spring? Build an outdoor kitchen.

Not to mention, a top selling point when you put your house on the market is an attractive outdoor kitchen on your patio. Not just a charcoal grill plus a picnic table; it’s got to be a space that will invite family and friends to visit your backyard and stay a while.

Just to give you an idea of how hot grilling is in America: The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association says that 8.2 million gas grills, 5.9 million charcoal grills, and 280,000 electric grills were shipped from factories to stores last year. America is really cooking outdoors.

Of course, the start of spring is a great time to set up that second kitchen outdoors. Here are some ideas to remember in building a brand new grilling/dining area or remodeling an old one:

Think carefully about the best possible position for the outdoor grill and the dining table. You need to create an environment for your outdoor living space.”

Remember that existing or new “walls” can help you create an outdoor room. You might want to build a small privacy wall near your house and then put your kitchen up against it. You might want to use a column of a covered patio as the anchor for a counter and barbecue space.

Think shade. Creating an outdoor room that is inviting for family and friends means you need lots of shelter from sun. Possible additions to your plans: umbrellas, pergolas, shade sails, or a cover for your patio. Of course, by the time dinner starts, the sun may have set, so make sure to add extra outdoor lighting so you can see what’s on your plate.

It’s desirable to have a patio kitchen as close as possible to your indoor kitchen. When you are just a few steps away from all your indoor appliances and supplies you will end up keeping costs down. After all, if your kitchen is way out there you might need to add more conveniences like a sink, a dishwasher and a small refrigerator. Those amenities can be costly; running gas, electricity and water out to those appliances can be pricey, too.

You can keep down costs. Build your hardscape in stages. Maybe start with a standalone grill and try it in several spots before deciding on a built-in gas grill so you don’t make a costly mistake.

For more information on outdoor kitchens, contact West Sport in Sudbury.

azcentral.com

Spring is here, and warm weather will be approaching, we promise! This time of year the grill starts to call to us. Cooking on a new gas grill at the start of spring gives you the opportunity to spend some relaxing time outdoors after the long hard winter. It also makes it easy to cook and clean up while enjoying time with family and friends. Plus, the flavor outdoor grilling gives to food is like no other. Just the aroma wafting from a neighbor’s grill can shift the salivary glands into overdrive.

Unlike barbecue, grilling is a hot and fast. The food is cooked over direct heat to create the characteristic grilled flavor.

Steven Raichlen, grilling cookbook author said, “Grilling is very fun and theatrical to do. It’s the performance art of the culinary world. And I think it is the best method of cooking for most foods, from seafood, meats and vegetables to even desserts.”

One of the biggest debates in the grilling world is whether to use gas or charcoal. Gas grills are the most convenient way to grill. The flame is instantaneous and easily adjustable. Plus, it is clean—no black charcoal grime on your hands and no ashes to clean up later. Gas is perfect for cooking at short notice or after a long day at work.

Charcoal grills generate more heat than gas, which increases the grilled flavor of the food. It is easier to smoke foods over charcoal and you get a more intense smoke flavor. And charcoal grills typically cost less than their gas counterpart.

Still, it is harder to control the temperature of charcoal. The coals take time to heat up and more may be needed for longer cooking times. The answer for most of the chefs is to own both a gas and a charcoal grill for any grilling situation.

Here are some of the grilling tips for the start of the grill season:

• Do not have your grill heated to one single temperature. Ideally you will have a hot side and a cooler side. For a charcoal grill, this means banking the majority of the coals to one side.
• Learn to check the grill’s temperature with the hand method. Hold your hand over the fire and count (one Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc.) Two to three seconds is a hot, high fire; four to five is medium-high; six to eight is medium; 9 to 10 is medium-low; and eleven to fourteen is low.
• Before using, get the grate hot, brush it clean with a wire grill brush, and lubricate the grate with oil (a paper towel wad and tongs do the trick) just before you add the food.
• Do not use water to tame flare-ups. Just move the food to a different area on the grill until the flames subside.
• Do not put too much food on the grill at once. There should be room to maneuver, whether it is to avoid a flame-up or to slow down the cooking if the temperature is too high in one area.
• Put barbecue sauce on at the end to prevent burning.
• Be sure to have the tools you need—long, spring-loaded tongs and a long-handled spatula. The tools should not be too heavy and fit well in your hand. An instant read thermometer and a timer are also useful tools.
• Over-turning can be a problem, especially with something as delicate as fish. Figure out the approximate cooking time and then turn the food once halfway through.
• When you remove meat from the grill, the internal temperature will continue to rise as it rests. By the time you eat, the meat could be overcooked. Try removing the meat while it is just under the desired temperature by five to ten degrees.

For information on our pre-season grill sale, contact West Sport in Sudbury.

cjonline.com

It is March and it may not feel like it, but spring is just a week away. You may be looking out your window now and seeing snow, but soon, that snow will be gone and you will get the urge to grill. Right now, you can take advantage of the pre-season gas grill sale.

The Broil King Baron series 3 and 4 burner Gas and LP grills offer both power and performance to suit all types of grillers. The legendary Broil King cooking system includes heavy-duty cast iron cooking grids, stainless steel Flav-R-Wave technology, and powerful stainless steel burners. Easy to maintain, the style and performance of these gas grills rivals any other grill on the market.

Grilling is meant to be casual and relaxed, a get together around the grill with family and friends enjoying a delicious meal. Broil King 3 and 4 burner gas grills are built to perform and provide you with unparalleled versatility in outdoor cooking. These Broil King Grills give you the ability to cook almost anything anyway on your grill. You can sear steaks, rotisserie cook chickens, or you can bake fish or desserts. Broil King gas grills are for those who love casual outdoor living and great tasting food.

Contact West Sport in Sudbury to take advantage of the pre-season grill sale.

With the continued cold weather in the Boston area, the National Fire Protection Association issued a renewed warning about safely heating your homes with gas and wood stoves and fireplace inserts.

Following these tips to keep safe and cozy for the remaining winter:

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from the fireplace, wood stove, or fireplace insert.
• Have a three-foot "kid-free zone" around fireplaces, stoves and inserts.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional clean and inspect chimneys annually.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy fireplace screen or glass fireplace doors to prevent sparks from flying into the room and burn only dry, seasoned wood. Allow ashes to cool before disposing in a metal container, which is kept a safe distance from the home.
• Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid the risk of poisoning.
• Make sure all fuel-burning equipment is vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Have a qualified professional install heating equipment like wood and gas stoves and fireplace inserts according to the local codes and manufacturer's instructions.

For more information on wood and gas stoves and fireplace inserts, contact West Sport in Sudbury.

Times Herald Online

Let’s face it, this has been a long, cold winter. Many of you may think it is too late to do anything about your home heating. Not true. It is never too late to be thinking about how to heat your home more efficiently. Do you heat with oil or propane? If so, you should be thinking a lot about a better way to heat. If you have natural gas in your house already, a great option is to convert a wood burning fireplace to gas. By adding a gas fireplace insert to your home, you not only make your home more beautiful, but you make it more efficient too.  You will reduce the price of your oil bill and you will have an easy-to-use, beautiful fire.

A new gas fireplace insert is almost always more efficient to run than your existing furnace, this makes heating your home with gas more cost effective. If you have an open wood fireplace, adding a fireplace insert makes your fireplace more efficient too.  If your home already has natural gas, you are already halfway there.

For today’s busy lifestyles, many homeowners who are considering adding a wood burning fireplace insert realize that gas will fit their lifestyles better. No stacking, cutting or hauling wood; no mess and no dust. With a gas insert you push a button and the fire is lit with an automatic igniter switch. Gas inserts can also be controlled with a thermostat, so you can have more consistent heat.

Natural Gas is actually the least expensive heating fuel, and there is no work involved. Another benefit to a natural gas fireplace insert is that you can turn it on at any time of year with no hassle. So on those chilly May and June evenings, you don’t have to go outside and get wood to start a fire, and you don’t have to turn the heat back on. Just push the button and enjoy your natural looking gas fire.

No gas in your home, but there is gas on your street? No problem. Call your gas company and have them run a line for next year and avoid the rush!

For more information on gas fireplace inserts, contact West Sport in Sudbury.

It may be February, but after this winter we have had, you should be thinking about heating your home next winter too! However, we do still have a lot of winter to go, and in the Boston area, we can enjoy wood stoves, gas fireplace inserts and everything in between, well into May.

So why not take advantage of the Hearthstone Mid-Winter sale that is still going on now? But this sale will only last until February 22, 2014. So the time is now to take advantage.

Buying a wood burning stove or gas fireplace insert now helps you avoid the rush because we are nearing the end of the season.  But, you can also take advantage of the Hearthstone special on qualifying stoves and fireplace inserts fueled by gas, pellet and wood.  Now through February 22nd, West Sport will be giving you up to $400 back on any Hearthstone wood, gas or pellet burning stove or fireplace insert.

Have you been paying too much for your heat? Have you wanted to enjoy your open fireplace without losing heat up the chimney? Have you wanted to change the look, feel and style of your living room, family room or kitchen?  You can accomplish all of these things by adding a new stove or fireplace insert to your home.

From modern to traditional, for every size room, you can choose between gas, wood or pellet.  Come see all the beautiful stoves and inserts Hearthstone has to offer and that are now on sale. West Sport  takes care of all of your service and installation needs too.

If you have been considering adding a new pellet, gas or wood burning stove or fireplace insert to your home, now is the time to do it. Contact West Sport in Sudbury, we can help you decide on the best stove or fireplace insert for your home and your lifestyle.

It is not too late to add a wood burning stove your home this winter. In fact, with the floor model sale going on at West Sport in Sudbury, you don’t even have to wait on an order. We have wood, pellet and gas stoves in stock that we need to sell. You can start cutting down on your home heating bill right now.

Many are saying, ‘winter is almost over.’ But you know as well as we do that in Metro West Boston, the winter can stick around for a couple more months at least. In fact, it is possible for us to keep the heat turned on through May!

By adding a wood stove or wood insert to your home, you can save on heating bills, especially if you heat your home with oil. Wood stoves and fireplace inserts are an efficient way to help heat your home and add beauty.

Gas stoves and inserts are more efficient to run than your furnace and are very easy to use. Flick a sit and you can be sitting in front of a burning, beautiful fire, while you save money on heating. Gas stoves and inserts are also controlled with a thermostat so you can have comfortable, consistent and controlled heat in your home.

Pellet stoves are an efficient and renewable way to heat. Pellets are easy to use, store and transport. Best of all, today’s pellet stoves need no longer be relegated to the basement. Made with cast iron, soap stone or painted ceramic finish, pellet stoves are beautiful and economical.

And now with the sale on wood stoves, gas stoves, pellet stoves and gas inserts you can save even more money. Stop by West Sport in Sudbury, or contact us for more information on our stove and insert floor model sale.

It’s cold and just getting colder. If you have been thinking about buying a new gas or wood burning stove or gas fireplace insert, now is the time. Maybe you have put it off because of the price, because of the delay in ordering, or maybe you have just procrastinated. Don’t  put it off any longer.

If you live in Framingham, Natick, Sudbury, Marlborough or any of the surrounding towns, West Sport is having a floor model sale on all gas stoves or wood burning stoves and gas fireplace inserts. We need to make room for new inventory, so everything must go at big discounts.

Wood stoves, gas stoves and gas inserts can change the look and feel of your entire home while saving you money on your heating bills at the same time. If you would like to add efficiency and style to your old open fireplace, gas fireplace inserts are a perfect choice. And, gas inserts today can be as efficient as, or more efficient than your furnace! It’s hard to beat gas for sheer convenience. And, gas stoves and gas fireplace inserts provide you with absolute comfort and control at the touch of your fingertips, combining ambience with high tech heating.

A wood burning  stove is one of the most romantic and efficient ways to heat your home. And, they will provide a beautiful focal point in any room. When you heat with wood, you can stay warm even when the power goes out.

For more information on our wood and gas stove and insert floor model sale, contact West Sport in Sudbury.

Marcus Tullius Cicero said, "There is not place more delightful than one's own fireplace."

Certainly in Metro West Boston in the middle of January, while the cold weather is upon us, this is the case. But if you have an open fireplace, there is a better way to run your fireplace without the high cost. If you are an occasional fireplace user because of the nature or design of your fireplace, now is the time to make the change.

Gas logs and glass fireplace doors are an easier way to make your fireplace more efficient and easier to use while still costing far less than a fireplace insert. Open fireplaces draw the heat out of the room and up your chimney. Wood burning fireplaces take effort, hauling and stacking firewood.

For these reason, open fireplaces are not too easy or efficient  to use. Certainly, after a long day at work, the last thing you want t to do is load up the fireplace and light the inefficient fire. Gas log sets and fireplace doors allow you to be able to use the fireplace whenever you desire, even after a long day at work.

Gas logs are lit by flicking a switch. Push the button the fire is blazing. Peterson Real Fyre gas log sets have a look that is incredibly similar to natural wood. In fact, they are all hand-crafted and hand-painted from real wood samples. And, you have more than 40 styles of log sets to choose from. Real Fyre gas logs are the most realistic looking gas logs on the market.

Gas logs and standard glass fireplace doors are faster to install than fireplace inserts, which means you can enjoy them for the rest of the winter.  There is nothing like a fire with Real Fyre gas logs, and the fire you burn will be the cleanest, most economical, most convenient alternative to burning real wood.

For more information on gas logs and fireplace doors, contact The Fireplace Showcase in Sudbury.

These frigid temperatures are surely getting your attention. The Arctic blast cruising through the Northeast is making this the perfect time for the 22nd annual Hearthstone Mid-Winter Sale. The heat-life of Hearthstone fireplace inserts, fireplaces or stoves outperforms the competition and ensures comfort during the coldest times of the year.

Hearthstone Mid-Winter Sale begins on January 9th. Start your year with a new fireplace, wood burning stove, or gas fireplace insert. You can save up to $400 with an instant cash rebate at the time of purchase.

Fueled by wood, natural gas or pellets, Hearthstone makes heating appliances that can fit any space and can fit any style home or décor.

With the best line of wood, gas and pellet stoves available, Hearthstone has a product to warm your family, save you money and meet your needs.

Hearthstone Stoves are made with great pride. Each and every Hearthstone stove, fireplace and fireplace insert is hand crafted to the highest standards.  The materials used are the finest, strongest and most durable available.  Time-tested craftsmanship and materials are combined with the latest heating technology to ensure these stoves, fireplaces and inserts are clean-burning and efficient. The environmental standards of all Hearthstone heating appliances exceed even the strictest EPA guidelines. Our commitment to efficiency translates to lowering your heating costs while keeping your home warm and cozy.

The Hearthstone brand is an assurance – a guarantee that your appliance will serve you faithfully for years to come. A Hearthstone stove represents not only the latest in aesthetics, but also the utmost in powerful heating technology.

For more information on the Hearthstone Mid-Winter Sale contact West Sport in Sudbury.