For older folks who are tired of having to stack or store bug infested wood piles on their lot, hauling it through the formal areas of their homes, having to clean ash and soot off the walls and fabrics, a DV fireplace should really be considered.

They throw oodles of heat and are sealed combustion which means they do not impact indoor air quality....or lose heat to the outdoors as much as most wood burning fireplaces do.

My opinion is that wood burning is for a certain type of person who usually has a fireplace in an informal area, and has no problem storing the wood on their property and hauling it inside when they want a fire. I'm done with them, unless I get a cottage up in the upper peninsula or something with a big stone fireplace and a forest of wood surrounding the place to burn.

kritlyn:
The price quote of 28,000 to 30,000 seems awfully high. Is this a consensus or just one bid?
What is somewhat puzzling to me is your desire for a fireplace which would then be used to house an insert. Inserts are really a compromise for people who have a fireplace but want the efficiency of a wood stove.
A free standing wood stove with doors that open for a fireplace ambience would seem to be ideal for you - especially with a hearth constructed to give it a "built in" look. You would then have the option of a triple wall metal chimney or a masonry chimney. Even the second option should be far less expensive than building a fireplace.

Mainegrower, the price quote was from just one mason. We really don't think we can even find 20,000 in the budget for a fireplace so we didn't even bother to get any other bids. Can you explain how would a hearth can be made to give a built-in look to a wood stove? Could a stove be set back into a wall and the pipe be built into the wall or is that a fire hazard?

christopherh:

Yes, you do sound like the type that has a use for a wood burning fireplace, but my point was that they are not for everybody.
After you burn a few cords, check how much soot is left on the ceilings in the corners of your painted rooms. Also, burning wood does pollute the inside air unless you have sealed combustion. There is a fire hazard inside and outside from possible sparks if you have to leave the house with burning embers still in there, and the inconvenience to people who have busy lives is not always acceptable.
I come home late, push the button, and I have a nice fire and instant heat. The fireplace never needs cleaning and I don't need to purchase or store wood.
As fas as Vermont, yes, that is a great place to have a nice nice log home or informal living space with a nice wood burning stove to heat the place in the cold winters. The fact that it is appropriate there, does not mean it is for everyone in the other 49 states.

Krityln: One Suggestion

Even though I am partial to the Troja design which is both Tulikivi Soapstone and a fireplace w/o the Tulikivi price.

And by now you know what a Mason charges for a chimney; there has got to be a 'better way' .

Good Luck with your search.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fire By Design

kritlyn:
With proper clearances (likely to be quite large),insulation, and building materials there's no reason I can think of why a wood stove and chimney could not be recessed in a wall, although I'd cetainly check your local and state building/fire codes.
One disadvantage of doing this would be the fact that a good deal of the heat you want in the living space would be
lost.
More what I had in mind would be a hearth with a masonry wall behind it, built close to an exterior wall so the stove is not sticking out a great deal into a room. This might be done in a corner. A masonry wall could be designed in any number of ways - creative masons usually relish the challenge of this kind of work.
Incidentally, an easy way too decrease the overall cost of a masonry chimney is to specify concrete lifts where the chimney does not show, and brick or whatever where it does as well as any part exposed to the outdoors. This cuts down on material costs and, more importantly, time and labor costs.

Jolly,

I've had a wood burning insert for 2 years now..no soot on my walls, no bugs...Cords of wood get dropped off.. My wife, myself, and kids stack onto covered front porch in less than 2 hours. From that point, it's carrying some logs in from the porch to the living room...simple, economical, great real fire. I've seen gas fires, you can have it.

"After you burn a few cords, check how much soot is left on the ceilings in the corners of your painted rooms. Also, burning wood does pollute the inside air unless you have sealed combustion"

i heat with bituminous coal and burn it in an open fire as well; and I have NO soot or anything on the ceiling corners of my rooms. without sealed combustion wood burning in a properly designed firplace/stove/furnace does NOT pollute the indoor air; I am afraid you have a very poorly designed fireplace.

Common Brick masonry fireplace and chimney goes for $8000
a one flue chimney even less. Lot of miss information give here you could have a brick front and a 8/8 flue masonry hearth setup for a free standing wood stove as one poster suggested. Probably $5000 Ask this same question same Hearth.com forums. Better chance to get factual advice

"...check how much soot is left on the ceilings in the corners of your painted rooms..."

I have no soot on my walls.

"...Also, burning wood does pollute the inside air unless you have sealed combustion..."

Yeah, it's called a woodstove.

"...There is a fire hazard inside and outside from possible sparks if you have to leave the house with burning embers still in there..."

We leave the house all the time with the stove going. We also go to sleep every night with the stove going.

"...and the inconvenience to people who have busy lives is not always acceptable..."

Ah, yes. Busy! Busy! Busy! I work 12 to 15 hours a day in my business. But I only walk 68 feet to my shop. The traffic in a blizzard can be terrible!

But to some, a gas stove is the right thing. Some like the "ambience" and don't use the stove for heat. I have a 3 year old home and we installed the stove so we don't have to use so much oil. It costs MUCH less to heat my home and I love the heat only wood gives off. And like a number of other posters, we stack the wood on our covered front porch. I will heat my home for under $500 this winter.

Hi, I googled, found this forum/article and want to add my two bits. I was also contemplating a fireplace with wood-stove features - back in 1991 when I was planning on the building of my new house. I decided the way to go then was to use the Vermont Casting Winterwarm system. It consisted of a 250 lb sheet metal cabinet that had a standard stick frame/plywood exterior built around it and the accompanying insert unit which added another 400lbs - it was then state of the art. The framing created a chase where 8" double walled steel flue was set with firestops (code concerns), insulation and a complete stainless steel sheet capping off the chase, with the vent pipe popping thru, of course. The framing could have been covered with vinyl siding, keeping costs lower, but we chose to brick it all the way up. So the costs amounted to (in 1991 and 1992) for the foundation- a couple $hundred, framing- a couple $hundred, brickwork - less than $3k not including the stove /fireplace/flues which ran under $5k parts and labor.
A fresh air vent with shut off was installed at minimal cost - I did it myself. BTW, the fresh air vent is the key to health and happiness here. It minimizes pressure differences between the house and outside resulting in less backpuffing and a moister atmosphere in the house during the cold seasons.

The results were that this baby heats my 3700 sqft house down to 10 degree F. everywhere except the room over the garage. When I have it lit, that is.

Now the concerns: Vermont Castings ain't like it use to be. the company got bought out by a publicly traded one and the corporate mindset set in. The product is no longer on my recommendation list. My unit, built in 1991 needed a catalytic replacement after 10 years, the second one lasted only 3! Otherwise, I have sunk in less than a thousand dollars in 15 years on replacement parts.

As for you concerns on costs: A conventional masonry fireplace cannot be used in conjuction with an insert. New codes stipulate that the stove has to have heat rated pipes going all the way from stove to the top. You can not use clay liners. My suggestion is to find a high quality insert out there made by a company with a wide distibution base, build a zero-clearance or minimal clearance base/chase according to the manufacturers specs,
use double walled or better stainless pipe. You decide what to use on the exterior of the frame and the interior walls. But remember, if you think of adding brick/stone to the looks in the future, overhang at least 4 inches of foundation on the sides for weight handling.

Good luck!

Andy S.

"You can not use clay liners"

absolute rubbish! a clay liner is the best form of chimney liner and, if properly installed, the most durable and longest lasting.

the only reasons that people reline when they install an insert is when the flue is far too large for the new appliance and also, in the situation of an insert (not a freestanding stove) relining with stainless makes cleaning much easier- you don't have to pull the insert every time you clean the chimney.

If you want to heat with it install a cast iron stove that opens to see the fire but closes for heating. You can even get them with gas burners visible through glass with a wall thermostat.

If you want an open fireplace install a zero-clearance metal one with a metal chimney and a masonry liner like the Lennox Colonial 36. It can be set flush with the floor if you are willing to cut into the floor and to provide proper fire protection.