hi I'm new to the forum and was hoping to get some advice...I have a relatively small home ~1200 square feet (one level), the room the fireplace is in is approximately 400-500 square feet. The plan is to box in the fireplace with cement board and steel studs and stone the surface up to the ceiling and have a mantel....great...but
Most fireplace people i have talked to have recommended putting in a gas insert. which i understand with the chimney which is the easier approach...
however...the zero clearance have a nicer (bigger) viewing area...but take up more room (having to be built out of wall much more (18+ inches)...and the venting would not likely use the chimney but some other point..either threw side of the chimney or wall or roof...
So....has anyone done this or it more work than its worth...and just put in a insert..
also...the primary objective is for this to have a really nice flame and a center piece of the room...if i have an insert...and the flame is up and the fireplace looks great...am i likely going to have the windows open on account of it heating the house so well...to the point where its never really on for any length of time...
as awful as this sounds is there a more inefficient way to do it so i can have a beautiful fireplace running that doesn't cook me out of the house...i know there is the log set route...but i was hoping there was another option...I read somewhere that town and country fireplaces have this and create a beautiful fireplace without being a blast furnace.
I've attached a picture...
Most fireplace people i have talked to have recommended putting in a gas insert. which i understand with the chimney which is the easier approach...
however...the zero clearance have a nicer (bigger) viewing area...but take up more room (having to be built out of wall much more (18+ inches)...and the venting would not likely use the chimney but some other point..either threw side of the chimney or wall or roof...
So....has anyone done this or it more work than its worth...and just put in a insert..
also...the primary objective is for this to have a really nice flame and a center piece of the room...if i have an insert...and the flame is up and the fireplace looks great...am i likely going to have the windows open on account of it heating the house so well...to the point where its never really on for any length of time...
as awful as this sounds is there a more inefficient way to do it so i can have a beautiful fireplace running that doesn't cook me out of the house...i know there is the log set route...but i was hoping there was another option...I read somewhere that town and country fireplaces have this and create a beautiful fireplace without being a blast furnace.
I've attached a picture...
