Raised Hearth vs. Flush Hearth & VC Chateau vs. Lennox Montebello
Comments (7)
worthy
16 years agoSo much depends on the overall look you want for your home.
That determines the size and placement of the fps.
Exposed beams and stone of any sort sounds traditional.
For your great room, I'd go for a raised hearth and a surround, mantel and overmantel that are in scale with the room. And that means large!
The trend here in master suite fireplaces is to mount them about three feet high without the traditional wood fp trappings at all. A matter of taste.
I put in three-four fireplaces in every home I build; and none in any home are the same.
For instance, below is another fp in the same home as in the "building a home thread" thread. But since this is the kids' play area in a small basement room (as you'd probably guess from the photo), we scaled the fp accordingly.
Kingsman gas fireplace, Century Stone concrete brick surround, raised Indiana limestone hearthRelated Discussions
Direct vent fireplace
Comments (44)macv - he was talking about using isokern for our other 5 fireplaces (2 in basement, one screened porch, one den, one keeping), not the fireplace in the small study, which is 12 x 12, where there is currently not one. I think he was talking about the depth difference between traditional masonry and isokern standard - he did say the fireplace was 2 feet (?), and the back to back isokern (in keeping and screened porch) is 4 feet. As one is on an interior wall and one is a back to back fireplace, we don't have the option of pushing the chimney outside, and our rooms are not very big so the 2 feet for the fireplace and 20 inches for the hearth make a difference I am finding! I think the plans are getting very close to being finalized and we were able to put two doors in the study (one from entrance hall and one connecting den and study with walk through butler's pantry like bar in the short hallway, which is a great place for the bar which we have been struggling with). I am going to have an interior designer look over the plans to be sure about room size as far as furniture placement, sight lines, flow, etc. and I will have her weigh in about the fireplace as well. How deep is a traditional b-vent? If we just have to find a foot for it that is less problematic. . . The hearth doesn't bother me as you can easily push an ottoman right up to the hearth (it will not be raised) if you need to. I still would like to have one but now that the room is not a dead end I feel much better about it not being necessary....See MoreDirect vent fireplace venting questions
Comments (13)Thanks for your input, Renovator8. That fireplace has been through a few transitions. It was first an Isokern masonry like fireplace but to save some money we changed it to a b-vent on the plans. Once we placed the house on the lot, it became apparent that the b-vent pipe would be viewable from the street, and would have to be fairly high due to the slope of the roof. The initial hope was to hide the b/vent pipe from view behind the upstairs Isokern chimney, but the house is oriented in a way that it is viewable on approach, even though not seen in the front or back yard. We then changed to an direct vent. The whole reason for the direct vent was to not vent to the roof, so I would like to avoid that. We have a couple of options with the Montebello like running them behind a bookshelf in the dead space and then over a boxed bay bumpout, but the pipe is so big it may make it not feasible. I don't think we have enough rise available to run it over the master bedroom tray ceiling above, unfortunately, because that will vent out the side of a house above the a/c in a very inconspicuous place....See MoreRecommendations needed for direct-vent fireplace
Comments (19)We had a Jotul DV gas insert installed into our prefab fireplace a few months ago. Some impressions that might be useful to you: They start heating gradually and after a little while start to feel like a blast furnace. But it's radiant heat, so that the farther you are from the source the less heat you feel. Therefore, a means of circulating the air in the room is a good idea. We have an old fashioned Hunter ceiling fan that we've owned for over 20 years, and it's still going strong. The nice thing about this fan is that you can "twist" the position of the paddles so that instead of blowing air down, which you want in warm weather, it blows air up. That produces a gentle circulation of air throughout the room and evens out the temperature. The other thing you should definitely consider is to get a remote control thermostat. I think the remotes are better than the ones you install in the wall, because you never know in advance the best position for the remote that will give you the best result. Finally, because of a disappointing experience we have had with the installation of our insert (we're still waiting for a final piece that, fortunately, only affects appearance, not operation or safety), I think it's very, very important to select an installer who can independently demonstrate that he knows everything he needs to know about the fireplace you select. If a GC has expressed doubts about a particular fireplace that you like, it's probably because he doesn't know it and is not sure he can do it. Our insert was a really complicated installation that took over a day. A whole fireplace is likely to be even more demanding. Good luck with your selection....See MoreWould You Have a Woodstove?
Comments (39)We've used a Vermont Castings Encore for the last 15 years and wouldn't want to be without it. We absolutely love it! If we ever move from here, we'll get another wood stove for sure. I love not paying for electricity or oil for heating, and the stove makes such a comforting crackling sound early in the morning and heats the house up quick like a bunny. There is no mess. I fill up the wood basket outside on the deck and then bring it into the living room, so there is nothing to clean up. DH empties the ash tray and doesn't make a mess with it at all. If I ever have to live with electric or oil heat again, instead of a wood stove, I'll be very disappointed....See More
vineyard
16 years agoThanks, macey and worthy, for your replies! I'd love to see the Montebello in person; maybe if there are none displayed in the East Bay, I guess I will have to go to the city... :)
worthy, about those MBR fireplaces being 3' high, do you mean that they don't have any surround at all? Or is it more like a picture frame, with just some cast stone trim/molding around the firebox? Sorry, I'm just not getting a clear understanding of the "traditional wood fp trappings" are. Here's one I saw that I really like for the great room, I love the massive columns and the sheer size (89 1/2" W, 64" H). I agree that an overmantel would be a good idea for the great room, due to the ceiling height.
And here's another one that seems more formal, maybe for the living room (I might want to delete the corinthian capitals, though):
{{gwi:1523605}}
worthy
16 years agoI've been seeing MBR fireplaces with no surround at all, as in the example below of a new spec home near us listed for $2.150 million
Remember the builder is only spending what is necessary to impress prospects and clinch a deal. But not trying to make too much of a statement. Blandness sells. But this builder has a good track record on sales recently.
Personally, I would put some surround on the fireplace. But note that the unit is well-scaled for the room
Photo: Toronto Real Estate Boardoruboris
16 years agoUser
16 years agovineyard-
Here are 2 pics of our fp with raised hearth in our LR with a 14' barrel vault ceiling. Woodburner is a FXP 44 Elite with Corinthian Granite as the surround. Still not sure what we're doing for a mantel. The raised hearth is rounded on the front and 24" deep at the max and 13" high all around.
sandyponder
vineyard
16 years ago
Macey