IHDiesel73L
ArboristSite Operative
This is our fireplace:
I'm well aware that open fireplaces pull heat out of a house while operating and the only way to really heat a home with a fireplace is to stick an insert into it. That said, I just can't do it-right now the fireplace opening is about 24" x 40". Going with an insert would shrink the viewing window to not even of a quarter of what it is now. I have a super efficient Buderus wood boiler and I have a small wood stove at the other end of the house on the first floor, so the fireplace is almost purely ornamental/atmosphere, but a little more efficiency and a little less draftiness when not in operation certainly would not hurt. The biggest ticket item on the list would be sealed doors:
https://www.wilkeningfireplace.com/
These guys make a door that is essentially like putting a wood stove door on a regular sized fireplace opening complete with pyro-ceramic glass, cam-locks and a sliding draft control:
They would run about $2,100 for my application. I also found this company which makes what they claim is a more efficient grate along with steel firebacks which I had planned on trying anyway:
https://www.gratewalloffire.com/
My fire box is about 32" wide at the rear so I was going to go with their 31" wide grate and matching 31" wide by 1/2" thick fireback. The final consideration is the chimney. Our fireplace has a massive 13x13 square clay tile liner which is about 20' from the throat of the fireplace (from the smoke shelf to the start of the clay) to the top. I was told that putting a sealed door on the fireplace opening (and thus limiting the intake air) would cause the draft to suffer, and that the gases would lazily make their way up the large flue, cooling as they went, forming creosote. This did make some sense to me, so I did a little research on fireplace flue sizing. Utilizing the 10% rule my flue size should be 11" diameter or about 96 square inches as opposed to 169 square inches now. I would plan on installing a stainless flex liner and then pouring in vermiculite between the stainless liner and the old clay.
Doing all of this work myself would cost just shy of $4,000, which is about the same price as a good insert and liner with me doing all of the work. However, I figure the benefits would be as follows:
I'm well aware that open fireplaces pull heat out of a house while operating and the only way to really heat a home with a fireplace is to stick an insert into it. That said, I just can't do it-right now the fireplace opening is about 24" x 40". Going with an insert would shrink the viewing window to not even of a quarter of what it is now. I have a super efficient Buderus wood boiler and I have a small wood stove at the other end of the house on the first floor, so the fireplace is almost purely ornamental/atmosphere, but a little more efficiency and a little less draftiness when not in operation certainly would not hurt. The biggest ticket item on the list would be sealed doors:
https://www.wilkeningfireplace.com/
These guys make a door that is essentially like putting a wood stove door on a regular sized fireplace opening complete with pyro-ceramic glass, cam-locks and a sliding draft control:
They would run about $2,100 for my application. I also found this company which makes what they claim is a more efficient grate along with steel firebacks which I had planned on trying anyway:
https://www.gratewalloffire.com/
My fire box is about 32" wide at the rear so I was going to go with their 31" wide grate and matching 31" wide by 1/2" thick fireback. The final consideration is the chimney. Our fireplace has a massive 13x13 square clay tile liner which is about 20' from the throat of the fireplace (from the smoke shelf to the start of the clay) to the top. I was told that putting a sealed door on the fireplace opening (and thus limiting the intake air) would cause the draft to suffer, and that the gases would lazily make their way up the large flue, cooling as they went, forming creosote. This did make some sense to me, so I did a little research on fireplace flue sizing. Utilizing the 10% rule my flue size should be 11" diameter or about 96 square inches as opposed to 169 square inches now. I would plan on installing a stainless flex liner and then pouring in vermiculite between the stainless liner and the old clay.
Doing all of this work myself would cost just shy of $4,000, which is about the same price as a good insert and liner with me doing all of the work. However, I figure the benefits would be as follows:
- Sealed doors would mean no more conditioned air escaping (in summer and winter) when the fireplace is not in use.
- Elimination of the strong BBQ pit smell in the living room on humid days.
- We would still have the ability to simply open the doors, draw the screen and enjoy an open fireplace.