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Post by mom2jnk on Dec 3, 2014 21:44:23 GMT
This may be crazy, but I have no idea if this is possible or not. Has anyone ever had a true wood burning fireplace installed in an existing construction home? We have lived in our house for several years now and it is the first time that we have not had a fireplace in our home. When we purchased our home, I fell in love with the design and layout and thought that a fireplace was not enough to be a deal breaker, but we all miss it!
It looks to me like there may have been a place intended for a fireplace in our home's design as there is a recessed area measuring about 5' wide, 8' high and 2' deep in the wall of our great room that our TV stand sits inside of. From the outside of our house, it looks like we have a fireplace as it has a "bumped out" column running up the side of our house, if you know what I mean? I think that we can probably install an electric or gas fireplace, but I really love woodburning fireplaces. Anyone have any ideas? |
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,107
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on Dec 4, 2014 2:34:32 GMT
I know someone who did that. Looks and works just fine.
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Post by lindywholoveskids on Dec 4, 2014 2:59:54 GMT
when we did a huge remodel we replaced our wood burning fireplace with a new one, and a new chimney. Since then, I believe our city has restricted wood burning fireplaces.
we really never use it. too bad, huh?
it's beautiful though!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:43:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 4:26:27 GMT
I would go with gas fire place. You can put a smoker box in it. And some come with snap crackle pop.
I say this because I had to chop wood for the wood stove for years. Clean the damn thing and then the insulation around the chimney caught fire. I am not fond of a wood fireplace.
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Post by mama2three on Dec 4, 2014 4:35:21 GMT
This may be crazy, but I have no idea if this is possible or not. Has anyone ever had a true wood burning fireplace installed in an existing construction home? We have lived in our house for several years now and it is the first time that we have not had a fireplace in our home. When we purchased our home, I fell in love with the design and layout and thought that a fireplace was not enough to be a deal breaker, but we all miss it!
It looks to me like there may have been a place intended for a fireplace in our home's design as there is a recessed area measuring about 5' wide, 8' high and 2' deep in the wall of our great room that our TV stand sits inside of. From the outside of our house, it looks like we have a fireplace as it has a "bumped out" column running up the side of our house, if you know what I mean? I think that we can probably install an electric or gas fireplace, but I really love woodburning fireplaces. Anyone have any ideas? You should have a contractor check it out. Someone may have previously closed up a fireplace and it's there just ready to be opened up and cleaned out for use. Old houses have lots of surprises. (In one old house we remodeled, I hated the layout and kept saying that there should be a door at the end of the hallway. When we went forward with cutting through to put in a doorway, we found there was already one there that had been plastered over. Why was beyond me). You could also put in a Franklin stove to get the look of a wood fire but benefit from the heat from the stove. If there is an existing chimney, you may be able to tap into that. Fireplaces are nice, but they aren't good for sealing off drafts in winter. They're more like conduits for cold air. |
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,316 
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Dec 4, 2014 4:39:30 GMT
We have one, but every time it gets cold enough to use, they institute a "burn ban" so we rarely get to use it... then it warms up and the air quality improves and they lift the ban. It gets cold, burn ban again...
We're considering an electric fireplace so we can at least use the darn fireplace.
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akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
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Post by akathy on Dec 4, 2014 4:42:02 GMT
We bought a house years ago that the people before us added a wood burning fire place to so I know it can be done. We had it taken out when we had a new roof put on because we never used it.
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Post by mama2three on Dec 4, 2014 4:56:34 GMT
To answer your original question my parents installed a fireplace in their ranch house when I was a kid. Looks and works great.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 19:43:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2014 5:17:17 GMT
I would check to see what restrictions you have on fireplaces. Here we have inversion layer for weeks and the only wood buring allowed is if you heat your home with a wood or pellet stove.
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Sue
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,266
Location: SE of Portland, Oregon
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Post by Sue on Dec 4, 2014 7:43:26 GMT
We added a zero-clearance fireplace several years ago. It required that we build a chimney chase on the outside wall of our house that the triple-wall stovepipe fits into... lots of local and county code requirements and building restrictions involved. It's something that you must research thoroughly so you can make an informed decision before going ahead with a project like this.
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Post by trainscrapper on Dec 4, 2014 13:55:44 GMT
You could put in a wood insert, that is what we did. We are remodeling the house my husband grew up in and it had a large fireplace. We put in a wood insert (size depended on size of house) and it has a blower on it. When we get that thing cranked up and going will practically heats the entire house (1 level, open floor plan), and our heat pump can take a break. You could then just build a mantle around it. However, as others have said always check codes and do the homework first, it will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Let us know what you decide.
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Post by mom2jnk on Dec 4, 2014 15:56:27 GMT
You should have a contractor check it out. Someone may have previously closed up a fireplace and it's there just ready to be opened up and cleaned out for use. Old houses have lots of surprises. (In one old house we remodeled, I hated the layout and kept saying that there should be a door at the end of the hallway. When we went forward with cutting through to put in a doorway, we found there was already one there that had been plastered over. Why was beyond me). I should have said...our house is just five years old, so probably no closed up mysteries. But, we think that the people that built the house may have run short of funds as most of the home is very well built and has quality finishes, but there are several places that seem incongruously skimpy and not finished well. Unfortunately, our master bathroom is one of them  . It does seem like there is a place for a fireplace to be located, but it is just an empty spot. |
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Post by mom2jnk on Dec 4, 2014 15:58:46 GMT
I would check to see what restrictions you have on fireplaces. Here we have inversion layer for weeks and the only wood buring allowed is if you heat your home with a wood or pellet stove. We live just outside of a small town in a pretty rural area of Illinois, so no restrictions on fireplaces thankfully. |
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Post by mom2jnk on Dec 4, 2014 16:00:55 GMT
We added a zero-clearance fireplace several years ago. It required that we build a chimney chase on the outside wall of our house that the triple-wall stovepipe fits into... lots of local and county code requirements and building restrictions involved. It's something that you must research thoroughly so you can make an informed decision before going ahead with a project like this. Yep, I figured that there would be codes and building permits involved, but I guess that I wanted to know if it was even a possibility before I started calling contractors...didn't want to get laughed off the phone! |
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. It does seem like there is a place for a fireplace to be located, but it is just an empty spot.