Fireplace suggestions with new house build - spray foam insulation

[Huntindad]

Looking to build a new(and last) house soon. Will be spray foamed top to bottom.

I want a fireplace to build(play) fires in with "real" wood. For folks that are knowledgeable or have built this type of fireplace...looking for input

What brand is good? fans or no? I'm looking towards a 42" fireplace. suggestions...do's and don'ts...

Appreciate any/all info.

[Bill M]

Moser is your man to ask.

[Huntindad]

yeah, I figured he'd know. Thought I would throw it out there. Not sure Dale is in the fireplace business these days though.

[glen]

If I was going to have one and building I would use the energy. Sister had one that had some sort of system where it pulled heat off and sent it out two blowers on opposite sides of house

[60 Deluxe]

I would build one that uses outside air for combustion. If you want efficiency, you must keep heated room air from being drawn out the chimney. That means an insert or a wood stove. A regular fireplace is an almost total waste of money unless you just want to enjoy a crackling fire on a mild evening. We put in a Vermont Castings wood stove when building our home nearly thirty years ago. It has served us well with minor upkeep. Prior to buying a big generator, it was our only source of heat in some pretty extreme winter weather. Even when the power is on, the woodstove can be used to heat the home or just to create a warm spot for people to back up their cold hineys up to.

[tpack]

If I had it to do again, I`d put in a wood burning stove. Had one in our other house for 18 years and it would heat the whole house (1800 sq. ft.). We went with a ventless gas fireplace when we built in 2017 and it puts out minimal heat (compared to a wood burning stove) with the help of a fan (42,000 BTU`s). It looks nice, no clean up, doesn`t use a lot of propane, flip the switch and it`s on but doesn`t put out a lot of heat unless you sit in front of it. High ceilings don`t help either. It probably takes an hour and a half or more before you can tell that it is helping keep our living room-dining area warmer.

[Dale Moser]

I would build one that uses outside air for combustion. If you want efficiency, you must keep heated room air from being drawn out the chimney. That means an insert or a wood stove. A regular fireplace is an almost total waste of money unless you just want to enjoy a crackling fire on a mild evening. We put in a Vermont Castings wood stove when building our home nearly thirty years ago. It has served us well with minor upkeep. Prior to buying a big generator, it was our only source of heat in some pretty extreme winter weather. Even when the power is on, the woodstove can be used to heat the home or just to create a warm spot for people to back up their cold hineys up to.

All true. In a foam encapsulated house, a regular fireplace will never work right, without cracking a window or something...which kind of defeats the purpose. There are some wood stove style built in fireplaces now that have their own combustion air inlet, are sealed from the inside of the house, and will make viable heat for the home. Some have ducts that can be vented into the living room or adjacent rooms, and some have ducts and dampers to tie into existing HVAC ducts to supplement that system, or provide heat for that system to distribute.

I don't keep up with new fireplaces like I used to, as that is my business partner's area of expertise, but if you can narrow down your choices, I can likely provide some info.

We put in a very nice stove type fireplace in MikeD's home several years ago, and he was using it on it's own to keep his house warm in the big freeze in '21. I want to say he was holding most of his home around 70-72 with a couple armloads of wood per day, but I'd have to ask him again for specifics.

[Dale Moser]

This is the one we put in for Mike. It’s an RSF Delta Fusion.

[Rush2Judge]

We have one like Dale describes. Pulls air from the attic. We have since spray foamed attic and under house. To make sure it draws air properly, I just pull down the ladder access in the garage a couple inches. If you design it correctly up front, that won't be needed. I have also seen a house that ran the exhaust pipe up the chimney and then tied the chimney into the return air duct of the HVAC. Essentially preheating the air before spreading through out the house.

[HOOKNBULLET2]

This is the one we put in for Mike. It’s an RSF Delta Fusion.

We installed one like this. It does a great job of heating the house and doesn’t use a lot of wood.

[Huntindad]

All true. In a foam encapsulated house, a regular fireplace will never work right, without cracking a window or something...which kind of defeats the purpose. There are some wood stove style built in fireplaces now that have their own combustion air inlet, are sealed from the inside of the house, and will make viable heat for the home. Some have ducts that can be vented into the living room or adjacent rooms, and some have ducts and dampers to tie into existing HVAC ducts to supplement that system, or provide heat for that system to distribute.

I don't keep up with new fireplaces like I used to, as that is my business partner's area of expertise, but if you can narrow down your choices, I can likely provide some info.

We put in a very nice stove type fireplace in MikeD's home several years ago, and he was using it on it's own to keep his house warm in the big freeze in '21. I want to say he was holding most of his home around 70-72 with a couple armloads of wood per day, but I'd have to ask him again for specifics.

The Delta fusion is a nice unit. May be a tad bigger than what I am looking for. Hopefully, the fireplace installer knows to put in a fresh air intake. I was looking at the Iron Strike Montlake 300 Wood Insert - [ML300GL]. Like the idea of blowing warm air into the room. But just want to keep it simple and not hook into the air ducts etc.

[Dale Moser]

Inserts don't make a ton of sense for new construction, you're paying for a fireplace AND then the insert. Look at a fireplace that will do what you want. Check out the Warm Magic from Majestic.

[Huntindad]

Agreed about the insert and new construction. Guess I am lacking in my knowledge of fireplace designs. I do like the model you suggested by Majestic.

[JhuntsAlot]

Wood burning stove or insert (wood burning) with a circulation fan I think is the best for being functional and making heat.

Gas burning is almost useless, except for looking good.

At least, I havent had a good gas fireplace that provides decent heat. Maybe others have.



J

[friscopaint]

We have ashley insert that has an electric blower that heats our house great. But.....if you lose power you will need a generator to run blower or open door and your fireplace is now much smaller......we are getting a rack for "regular" fireplace to burn wood if we have no power and run out of fuel for generator and pull out insert, this is long term I'm talking like an EMP attack not a couple of days or week.