Home > Video Channel > Fireplace Options

Fireplace Options

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Fireplace Options

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. While it s hard to argue with the romance of a crackling fire on a chilly night, your fireplace might be costing you more in energy dollars than you know. A fire in an open hearth is only 10 percent efficient at best, which means that 90 percent of the heat energy you ve paid for goes up in smoke. Heated room air is drafted up the chimney as well, so your main heating system actually works harder to keep the house warm. Glass fireplace doors raise the efficiency somewhat but only to about 20 percent. While wood burning is becoming less viable in heavily populated areas, if it s still your fuel of choice you should invest in an EPA-rated wood stove with a catalytic combuster. And only burn seasoned wood or wood that s been split and stacked in the sun for about 6 months. Green wood makes for a smoky fire that pollutes more and coats your chimney with resins, which can lead to chimney fires. If you re tired of shoveling ashes and hauling wood, a gas-burning fireplace insert is a more efficient option that also saves space. A built-in fan distributes heat into the room and a thermostat allows you to set a target temperature. Some models even have a timer so a roaring fire welcomes you when you get up in the morning. One gas fireplace insert can heat a whole small house in all but the coldest weather, which can save you a lot if your main heating system is oil-fired or electric. Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008


More Videos »Related Videos

Vermont Castings Plant Tour
Vermont Castings Plant Tour

Bob shows off the beautiful red Victorian inspired wood-burning stove to be installed in our project. To give further details he visits the Vermont Casting plant. For additional information see our article written in season twelve during the Elmwood project. At the plant Bob visits with the plant manager and they discuss how the mold is crafted then cast to make future stove panels. They then head over to the hoppers where the cast iron ingredients, including recycled material, scrap and pig iron ingots are mixed to provide consistent material for the stoves. The molten cast iron is added to a sand mold then cooled and sand blasted to smooth it out. Enamel paint is then applied and baked on in a kiln for two hours. The initial color sprayed on does not look like what comes out of the kiln. One of the last steps in the process of building the stove is adding a catalytic converter, which makes it more efficient and pollute less. The stove we are using in our project has 26 individually cast, iron pieces.

Direct-Vent Fireplace Installation
Direct-Vent Fireplace Installation

Jack Murdock from RMI and Craig Ryans from Vermont Castings of Mississauga, Ontario, demonstrate how simple it is to have gas appliances and heat in a rural location. With a 500 gallon underground or exterior tank, enough fuel is stored on site for most common uses and requires just a few fill ups a year. The stove being installed, a Vermont Castings product, uses a direct vent technology that draws no interior air to aid in combustion. The unit pulls air in from outside through a cylinder pipe and releases exhausts outside as a typical furnace would. Gas appliances and heat function during power failures, although electric fans that circulate the heat will not work without an auxillary power supply. The fireplace installed in the Modular Mountain Retreat project home will provide 30,000 BTUs of heat. A realistic ceramic grate burner and ceramic logs enhance the fireplace�s look.

Barbecue Station and Gas Grill
Barbecue Station and Gas Grill

Bob closes his review of the Rowley Victorian remodel with a look at the barbecue station that sits below grade and is accessed by inset western red cedar stairs. The retaining walls and barbecue station are faced in Cultured Stone by Owens Corning. The barbecue station is topped with granite counters. The centerpiece is the built-in Vermont Castings Signature gas grill for elegant outdoor grilling and entertaining.

How to Fell a Tree
How to Fell a Tree

Whether it�™s to clear land, stock up on firewood or prevent future damage to a home or property, felling a tree can be a fun, challenging outdoor project.

Related Products & Services Showrooms

Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Bill up to 25% Online
Lower Your Homeowners Insurance Bill up to 25% Online

…from over 4,500 local agents and dozens of major carriers • Take advantage of discounts for the simplest of home improvement projects • Identify easy ways to save up to 25% on your monthly rates Compare Online Homeowners Quotes…

Clean, Quiet, Efficient Heating
Clean, Quiet, Efficient Heating

The Boiler Room in a Box is one of the most fantastic advancements in the heating industry. All of the components come piped, wired and packaged in a shipping crate. Developed by A.I.M. Radiant Heating, the Boiler Room in a Box to takes the guesswork out of the component placement in the boiler

More Content »More Content

Cleaning a Fireplace Chimney
Cleaning a Fireplace Chimney

…enlarge) An open wood fireplace consists of a hearth where…
…is burned for heat and a chimney flue for expelling the…
…atop the roof, push a chimney brush from the chimney top down toward the fireplace below, moving the brush…

Replacement Chimney Liners
Replacement Chimney Liners

…innermost membrane of the chimney and helps contain smoke…
…produced by the home's fireplace or furnace. Some chimneys…
…set at the top of the chimney and a line is spooled…
…above the furnace or fireplace. A nose cone is fixed…
…liner is winched up the chimney through the smoke chamber…

Fireplace Innovations
Fireplace Innovations

…don t require a chimney is available now…
…a direct-vent fireplace, which vents either…
…that do start in a fireplace or chimney, two-thirds…
…failure to clean the chimney. About a quarter…
…report using a fireplace as an alternative…

Fireplace Options
Fireplace Options

…warm. Glass fireplace doors raise…
…coats your chimney with resins…
…can lead to chimney fires. If…
…burning fireplace insert is…
…your main heating system is oil-fired…
…The ultimate home improvement web site…

Browse Topics

Click on a letter to browse content by topic alphabetically.



About  | FAQ  | Contact  | Sitemap  | Privacy Policy  | Terms of Use  | Help

© BobVila.com 2009