We just purchased a newer existing home (built in 05) that has a masonry fireplace in the dining/hearth room.
The flooring around the fireplace is all tile and it is cold to say the least in the winter.
So...I am wanting to install an insert into the fireplace to do a couple things....
1 to help heat the house on the weekends and evenings, to get it warm and not just warm enough to get by.
2 to help with the cold tile floor all around the area, the kitchen and dining room are freezing to walk on.
3 stop the drafting of cold air all around the empty fireplace, just gas logs in there now.
My questions are...
We are looking for a fairly contemporary looking insert that would be flush with the fireplace.
Is that a zero clearance insert? or just simply a flush insert?
I've noticed the back of the firebox tends to slope inward (towards the front) thus really making the firebox
shallow at the top of the fireplace opening...so do I have to take the top (shallowest) measurement for my depth, or do inserts
slope as well allowing for this slope toward the front?
The approx dimensions for the firebox are...
H 30.5"
W (at opening) 36"
W (at back of firebox) 30"
D (at bottom of firebox) 21"
D (at top of firebox) 17"
The home is approx 3600 sq feet with a large portion of the home being completely open.
It is energy star rated and seems to be fairly insulated.
As a test...I put a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater in front of the fireplace and it pretty much heated our entire house, even on the really cold windy days except for the lower family room and basement of course.
I'm not wanting to heat 100% with an insert, but just simply get the house "warm" during those cold winter months without worrying what the gas bill will be. Every time I hear the furnace kick on I swear my wallet gets thinner...LOL.
I live in Central Ohio and can get most my wood for free (minus fuel and splitting).
Any suggestions as to what type of insert I should be looking at would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jim
The flooring around the fireplace is all tile and it is cold to say the least in the winter.
So...I am wanting to install an insert into the fireplace to do a couple things....
1 to help heat the house on the weekends and evenings, to get it warm and not just warm enough to get by.
2 to help with the cold tile floor all around the area, the kitchen and dining room are freezing to walk on.
3 stop the drafting of cold air all around the empty fireplace, just gas logs in there now.
My questions are...
We are looking for a fairly contemporary looking insert that would be flush with the fireplace.
Is that a zero clearance insert? or just simply a flush insert?
I've noticed the back of the firebox tends to slope inward (towards the front) thus really making the firebox
shallow at the top of the fireplace opening...so do I have to take the top (shallowest) measurement for my depth, or do inserts
slope as well allowing for this slope toward the front?
The approx dimensions for the firebox are...
H 30.5"
W (at opening) 36"
W (at back of firebox) 30"
D (at bottom of firebox) 21"
D (at top of firebox) 17"
The home is approx 3600 sq feet with a large portion of the home being completely open.
It is energy star rated and seems to be fairly insulated.
As a test...I put a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater in front of the fireplace and it pretty much heated our entire house, even on the really cold windy days except for the lower family room and basement of course.
I'm not wanting to heat 100% with an insert, but just simply get the house "warm" during those cold winter months without worrying what the gas bill will be. Every time I hear the furnace kick on I swear my wallet gets thinner...LOL.
I live in Central Ohio and can get most my wood for free (minus fuel and splitting).
Any suggestions as to what type of insert I should be looking at would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jim
