Short Hearth Question

[shortHearth]

Hi All,

I am looking into buying my first house. Overall I like the house. The disclosure report says that the Fireplace has a short hearth and is not usable for burning wood/coal. I am trying to find out what my options are with fixing this.

My realtor said that the ONLY fix is to get a gas insert. That I believe will cost me over $2k.

Would installing a door/screen help with the regulations? Do I have other options?

Thanks a lot.

 

[STOVEGUY11]

I guess it would depend on what you are wanting to do with this fireplace. A fireplace on its own is very inefficient, but they do have that cozy look and feel to them. There are easy ways to extend a hearth if you want to put in a wood stove or insert into it. Yes they will run 2k plus, but they will give you some nice heat with the potential to heat your house. You could have a mason come in and extend the hearth out. Or compaines out there make heart extensions which you can get in different decorative tiles and bricks.

 

[shortHearth]

Thank you StoveGuy for your response.

I guess I am looking for the cheapest way to make it usable. I know I won't be using it to heat the house, as you rightly said it is inefficient.

Spending 2k on the insert is beyond me. It seems that "hearth extension" would be my best option.

One of my colleagues mentioned that using a Stove Board would also work. Is that right?

 

[STOVEGUY11]

Yea stoveboard or hearth extension, same thing.