EDIT 2017-09-13: Installed photos posted below
First time posting but I've followed this forum off and on for years - what a great resource!
Basically, we're building a new home and can't seem to find the right high-efficient fireplace or stove for our needs. A little about us... We love wood burning fireplaces and have one (Majestic firebox) in our current home, but we do not use it for primary heating. We just love a fire and burn it when we're home and it's reasonably cold outside (and yes it sucks up the heat from the rest of the house in the process). We live in upstate SC though so we really only have fires Dec-Mar on the weekends and maybe 2-3 nights during the week. To make it easier we had a gas log-lighter installed when the gas logs were removed (house came with them) and we converted over to wood. Our main issues with our current setup? The ash smell the next morning, and how cold the rest of the house gets when we burn.
So now we're building a new home and want to be as efficient as possible with our fireplace choice, but without installing a free-standing stove or insert. We also still don't intend to use wood as our primary heat source. The house is being built on a basement and we are putting a freestanding stove down there, but for the main level we really want a more traditional fireplace look. The main level will actually have 2 fireplaces and I'm considering having one of them be gas logs. gasp! Well, maybe.
Regardless though, we want at least one of them to burn wood.
At our local fireplace stores we've seen some of the high-efficiency fireplaces and generally like that concept. It lets us open the doors to enjoy the fire during the evening, then fill it up and close the doors at night to let it heat the house in conjunction with the heat pump. As the fire dies down toward morning, the heat pump kicks in and does the rest. That's the plan anyway.
So what's the holdup with the high-efficiency fireplaces? The look. My wife hates how they look. I think they look nice but I'm not in charge of design.
The new house style is Craftsman and we're trying to stay within that. No arches, etc. All of the high-efficiency fireplaces our stores have around here are either arched or - if they are squared off - have large grates above/below the firebox that she hates about as much as the arches. And really, I'm not a fan of the large grates either.
So set me straight if I'm on the wrong track with the high-efficiency fireplace - that's sort of the road I'm on now though. I'm just looking for ones that will pass the eye test of my wife. Or maybe there's a stove out there that gives us those same design qualities without looking to her like an insert. I'm open to all suggestions!
First time posting but I've followed this forum off and on for years - what a great resource!
Basically, we're building a new home and can't seem to find the right high-efficient fireplace or stove for our needs. A little about us... We love wood burning fireplaces and have one (Majestic firebox) in our current home, but we do not use it for primary heating. We just love a fire and burn it when we're home and it's reasonably cold outside (and yes it sucks up the heat from the rest of the house in the process). We live in upstate SC though so we really only have fires Dec-Mar on the weekends and maybe 2-3 nights during the week. To make it easier we had a gas log-lighter installed when the gas logs were removed (house came with them) and we converted over to wood. Our main issues with our current setup? The ash smell the next morning, and how cold the rest of the house gets when we burn.
So now we're building a new home and want to be as efficient as possible with our fireplace choice, but without installing a free-standing stove or insert. We also still don't intend to use wood as our primary heat source. The house is being built on a basement and we are putting a freestanding stove down there, but for the main level we really want a more traditional fireplace look. The main level will actually have 2 fireplaces and I'm considering having one of them be gas logs. gasp! Well, maybe.
Regardless though, we want at least one of them to burn wood.At our local fireplace stores we've seen some of the high-efficiency fireplaces and generally like that concept. It lets us open the doors to enjoy the fire during the evening, then fill it up and close the doors at night to let it heat the house in conjunction with the heat pump. As the fire dies down toward morning, the heat pump kicks in and does the rest. That's the plan anyway.
So what's the holdup with the high-efficiency fireplaces? The look. My wife hates how they look. I think they look nice but I'm not in charge of design.
The new house style is Craftsman and we're trying to stay within that. No arches, etc. All of the high-efficiency fireplaces our stores have around here are either arched or - if they are squared off - have large grates above/below the firebox that she hates about as much as the arches. And really, I'm not a fan of the large grates either.
So set me straight if I'm on the wrong track with the high-efficiency fireplace - that's sort of the road I'm on now though. I'm just looking for ones that will pass the eye test of my wife.
Or maybe there's a stove out there that gives us those same design qualities without looking to her like an insert. I'm open to all suggestions!
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