Select the best fireplace

When people dream of the perfect room, many envision a fireplace in that room. Whether you’re building a new room or remodeling an existing one, you can add atmosphere and focus to your home by incorporating a fireplace into your design.

There are certain things to consider when thinking about a fireplace other than style and appearance. First, will you be using your fireplace for supplemental heat or primarily for aesthetics? If you want heating, there is nothing better than a free-standing iron stove. Iron stoves radiate heat long after the fire is out. Freestanding iron stoves come in shapes ranging from the traditional “potbelly” stove to modern shapes and colors.

A freestanding stove should be located in a large open area so that the heat can cover the space more evenly. You can choose a wood or pellet stove. There’s nothing more romantic than a wood fire, but wood means things like shopping, storing, or buying and taking home. Wood fires also need to be carefully cared for and watched over. Pellet fuel stoves burn small ½ to 1-inch pellets made from compressed sawdust, wood chips, bark, crop debris, or waste paper. Some models burn walnut shells, corn kernels, or small wood chips. Pellet stoves have a higher combustion rate and heating efficiencies than regular wood burning fireplaces and produce very little air pollution.
If you prefer a fireplace to a stove, you can choose between wood, pellet or gas fireplaces. There was a time when most fireplaces burned wood.

Today, most fireplaces are gas. Gas is more energy efficient than wood and is essentially clean. Gas heat is immediate. Gas, whether natural or propane, is clean burning. When vented to the outdoors, a gas fireplace emits a limited amount of carbon monoxide and particulate emissions, making it more environmentally friendly than wood-burning fireplaces. Gas is much more convenient, and the new gas logs and flames are quite realistic, but not nearly as romantic as a genuine log fire. You might also consider an electric fireplace that can give you the appearance of flames without heat, which could be fun during a romantic summer evening; or “flames” and heat at the flick of a switch. An electric fireplace is your safest fireplace, but don’t count on it to keep you warm in the event of a power outage!

With the exception of the electric fireplace and certain types of gas fireplaces, all fireplaces need a vent or chimney. Ventilation must be carefully considered when designing your dream room.

The type of fireplace that most people think of when they think of “fireplace” is masonry, made of stone or brick. The classic masonry fireplace is the most expensive option. Requires a chimney made of brick or stone attached at the top to vent burned by-products from the dwelling.

There are many ways to decorate your wall fireplace. You can choose to decorate with a simple shelf above the fireplace. Surroundings made of stone such as marble or granite are popular. Wooden frames with mantles add warmth even without a fire. Or go all the way upscale with a fully trimmed wall or wood cabinets. Your options are endless.