Could use some help - new lodge style home

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Fyn

New Member
Nov 22, 2020
2
Wa
Hi,

TL;DR - I'm looking for the largest viewing (ideally with double doors) mountain lodge style fireplace I can get in Wa. state.

Been lurking for a year or so and decided to register when it became clear I needed to call on the collective wisdom here for some help, so let me say thank you in advance. My wife and I are building a new home in Washington state in a classic mountain lodge style. The home is about 3500 sq ft, and the fireplace will be in the great room (not along an exterior wall) with ~30' ceilings. The floorplan is open to the kitchen and dining room, and the fireplace is *the* focal point of the house, and getting this right is something I care about deeply. I just can't seem to find the right solution. I also have a ton of respect for the passion around wood stoves here, but we're only considering fireplaces.

Before anyone asks - heat output and efficiency are not super important to us, aside from wanting to balance the aesthetic of what we want in a fireplace with wanting to be reasonably good stewards of our air quality.

Before I get to examples of what we're looking for I'll list our ideal use cases:
- Large gasketed glass doors that can be used open (with a screen) or closed.
- non catalytic combustion for lower maintenance
- our designer pegged ~50" width as the ideal proportion given the size of the room and stone surround. Can probably be a little smaller and still be OK?

I hesitate to say money is no object, because it obviously is, but I've yet to find a factory built fireplace at a price I wouldn't pay assuming it was *the* right one for the space. It's just that important to this house design.

Options we've considered, and our concerns:
Renaissance Rumford 1500 - We had landed on this one for a while, but the lack of any rustic surround keeps giving us pause. I also haven't found any examples of a metal/ironwork custom surround with this one that would add some rustic flair, so I don't know how possible it is to do that.
Valcourt Frontenac - Same basic concern as the Rumford, though the fact that it's wider than it is tall is a bit more the right style? Again, haven't been able to find examples of custom surrounds to add rustic flair.
Valcourt FP15A (Waterloo Arched) - Closer to the right style but wished they had a 'ironwork' type option for the surround. Viewing window is shorter than we want (~15"). Width of the overall unit seems reasonable.
Hearthstone WFP-100 - Too rustic? :) Viewing area seems too small
Ventis HE350 - Style is OK, not great. Viewing height is shorter than we want.
Napoleon NZ6000 - Style-wise good, but not legal in Wa?
FPX 44 Elite - Style-wise also good. Viewing window height is among the tallest for double doors, I think. Higher maintenance w/CAT. We're worried that it'll put out so much heat we won't be able to use it for aesthetics!

Did I miss any? I hope so, because we just can't seem to find the right solution. We also considered the modular masonry fireplaces like Mason-lite, Isokern, but they strongly disrecommend operating with the doors closed.

One closing note - if I could just put the Acucraft Hearthroom 44" in and be done, this would be decided. But it's unclear if we're allowed to install it even as a decorative unit in Wa, and we've gotten conflicting information (regs say one thing, multiple fireplace shops say non-heater fireplaces are exempt). It is the *exact* style we want. It's so perfect it's making us consider just going with the gas version of it. And I *hate* gas fireplaces.

Again, thanks ahead of time for any help. Especially if you read the whole thing. ;)

-Fyn
 
The Valcourts are big units. One thing to inquire about is the door hinges. Some big fireplaces have an issue with them over time because of the heavy weight leveraged by a large door. There were some reports of issues with the NZ6000 in this regard. When they start to sag, alignment and sealing of the two doors in the middle can be an issue.
 
The Valcourts are big units. One thing to inquire about is the door hinges. Some big fireplaces have an issue with them over time because of the heavy weight leveraged by a large door. There were some reports of issues with the NZ6000 in this regard. When they start to sag, alignment and sealing of the two doors in the middle can be an issue.

Thanks BeGreen. I searched (a lot) and did notice those issues, but also saw Napoleon shipped improved handles. Interestingly, I haven't seen complaints about that from owners of the FPX44...