Just to make sure I had my facts straight, I did a search throughout the net for any expert who wanted to undertake informing readers of the steps involved in installing a traditional fireplace. As I thought, none did. They will venture to inform readers how to change the face of a fireplace or how to do repairs, which means you have to have a fireplace.

But, none of them want to address the actual installation of a fireplace. I can certainly understand why. There is a thing called liability and few experts want that. They know that if you come to them to ask questions, they can answer you with the utmost authority. Then, they can even do the work. But, to be able to try to help someone understand the work involved, the safety issues and every other concern in a simple how-to over the net, that’s a completely different story.

The reason is because there is so much involved. Just to brief you on all these different things, you would have to first find the place where you want the fireplace. Easy enough right? Not really. You can pick the most obvious places in the middle of your living room, dining room or bedroom and probably get away with it just fine. But when you go outside of those areas, now you are looking at possible problems. Pipe work or electrical wiring might be running where you intend to put your fireplace. It might be a load bearing wall. Are you starting to get the idea?

After you have picked your perfect place, now you have to look at all the construction that is involved. You are going to need to make the floor safe and that means installing a hearth. Stone is best. But, there are other materials. You need to install a firebox, which will house your fire. That requires knocking a hole in the wall. Run your hole straight up to the roof for the chimney, which will require fire resistant material. The standard is brick. The chimney is often a little more work than you think. You might not even be able to live in your house while all the construction is taking place.

Of course, materials are easily going to run you several thousand dollars and labor, unless you can do it yourself, will run another several thousand dollars. A good rule of thumb is that when it is all said and done, you will have spent anywhere from $5000 to $7500. That’s around the amount where you would need a loan unless you are rich and can just write a check. And if you are reading this, I can safely assume that doesn’t apply to you.

Safety concerns include of course the fire resistant material that you have chosen and the construction of the fireplace itself. There can be no mistakes or you might be saying good bye to your house. You wanted a good fireplace experience. Roast marshmallows on your front lawn while the local fire company tries to save whatever they can of the house where you once lived. Not funny? Well, it proves my point though doesn’t it. There is another concern that involves smoke ventilation.

These things are important and I’m sure you are well aware of that fact. But, you really want a fireplace? When you looked at the house and you wanted to buy it so bad, that was one thing you didn’t think about. But, now it’s getting to you that you have a house without a fireplace. Well, consider an alternative.

For over twenty years now, there has been an alternative to the traditional fireplace that really can beat all the other alternatives at every issue. A ventless gel fireplace is easy to install. From the time you put in your order to the time you receive it will be about two weeks. It is mobile and you can put it anywhere you want throughout the house. No holes to knock into the walls. No floors to tear up for a hearth. Place it where you want and light the gel.

It is ventless, which means you can have no fear of ever being smoked out of your house. The gel burns into a water vapor that completely evaporates before it leaves the room. The fireplaces come in traditional wooden styles as well as new contemporary styles like wall units and middle of the floor units. You can also get styles that go nicely on the back porch. The greatest factor yet is how inexpensive the ventless gel fireplace can be. As low as $300, you can see the big difference in cost.

Fireplaces add ambiance to any room. They make the difference between a house and a home. Quite romantic and rather inviting for all occasions, it’s not hard to understand why a home owner would want a fireplace where a wall now stands. That’s why more and more people are turning to the ventless gel fireplace. They get the fireplace experience without all the hassle.

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The Stone Fireplace can provide a mysterious look to an interior of a house, using stone structures to add warmth and depth to a room is not an uncommon feature in interior design. People who choose to have a stone fireplace in their house should be aware that the stone has a very dramatic and strong presence in the room, and it will not go un noticed, some feel that the stone gives a room a medieval feeling and does not compliment modern furniture and style, but this is obviously a choice of the home owner.

Adding extra features next to a stone fire place will combine the elements into a solid design statement, if the people living in the house would not object to having more stone or iron furniture placed in the vicinity of the fireplace you can create a flow of stone and iron elements and create a sort of medieval, 1500’s sort of look, which can be great in some spaces, especially if it is a room that is not used on a daily basis.

In the past fire places designs were very traditional, and usually comprised the same material and same basic building plan, this made most of the fire places to look the same and feel the same in any given room. In the last 20 years there have been enormous changes to this market, especially due to the fact that people wanted a unique fireplace, this is especially true to places where winter is hard and long and the fireplace is a focal point in the house.

There are modern designs that combine stone, wood and metal, to create a very plain and strong industrial look, emphasizing the usability of the features in the space and letting unique and specially designed parts to speak for themselves, this is why a stone fireplace will be perfect in this kind of an environment, it is also possible to paint the stone, or bleach the bricks so they will not appear dark but have a more bright color, this will bring more luminosity into the room and will also allow the home owners not to break to color theme if they got a light colored living room.

Combining wood and stone can create a very impressive fireplace, both natural materials and are also the base of the fireplace essentials, a wood frame to a stone fireplace base will create a feeling of warmth and will probably not disturb any existing design statements that may already be in the room.

Last but not least, stone made fire places sound great but not everyone likes them, you should make sure that you can live with a stone fireplace before you even start shopping around for one, for those who already know that stone designs are their favorites there is not a question here, but what kind of stone fireplace will it be.

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Having a decorative fireplace screen not only adds beauty to your homes interior, but they also provide an important safety barrier as well.

Talk to anyone in the hearth industry and they will all agree, a fireplace screen is a must have item for any fireplace, especially a wood burning fireplace. These types of fireplace accessories give your home a great deal of warmth and ambience.

Naturally, a fireplace screen is first and foremost a safety accessory that helps to protect your home from dangerous sparks and embers that could pop out from the burning logs. It also protects your carpet from getting burn marks, as well as keeping children and pets from reaching into the fire.

A fireplace screen will also guard against a sudden burst of wind that could come through the chimney without warning.

Another popular use for fireplace screens is to decorate your rooms decor. I’ve seen many custom made fireplace screens that feature hand drawn artwork on them. Others can be specially made to blend in with your rooms colors.

There are fireplace screens in every different design. They can range from an antique design, traditional, or contemporary. They can feature polished brass, chrome, natural iron, copper, and a whole host of other finishes. Your imagination is the limit when it comes time for designs.

Of course, the most basic style of fireplace screen is the black mesh screen built into a copper frame. You can also get multi-paneled glass screens, single glass screens, etc. Have an extremely over-size fireplace? Consider adding a five-panel fireplace screen.

Screens can be purchased as a stand alone item or bought as part of a complete fireplace kit. A fireplace accessory kit will contain the screen, log holder, and complete set of utensils to use in your fireplace.

By having the fireplace screen that you like, you’ll give your fireplace that special touch, and make those long days of winter a little more enjoyable.

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