We had one in Los Angeles County up in the mountains. DH built the house (with all the permits etc), put river rocks on the wall behind the free standing fireplace, also made a large cement platform lined with river rocks for the fireplace to stand on that was attached to the rock wall. It sat in a corner. We used a triple line chimmney with a screened cap over the top, due to the high fire area we lived it. We got ours at place like Home Depot and it was on sale. If you get one before winter you can do pretty good. Ours was one of the smaller ones, but really heated the whole house, but then we were using the wood from our property and my daughter's property in No CA. Oak burns hot. Pallets are good. Be sure and have a professional clean your chimney once a year. It really makes a difference.

Xanndra, The picture is a bit misleading because of the angle. From the back-side wall of the "cavity" to the "face" of the living room wall it is about 25". The height is about 50" (I don't have the exact numbers here). Originally, I planned on the Heat-N-Glo EM42. I had installers from three different stores come over and measure. The problem, as I found out, was the fact that the house has a 2x6 framing. Great for strength - lousy for the fireplace! It causes the fireplace to be "pushed" forward so that the required offset in the chimney (to get it back into the center of the chase) requires framing modification to the header of the fireplace cavity -- raise it 12" ! Only one of the installers was willing to do the framing work too, and none of them actually thought about alternative, more "shallow" fireplaces. Then the 4th installer came, and he immediately suggested the alternatives -- didn't waste time on moving the header and such. That's why I preferred him. Hopefully I'll resolve things soon... Cheers, Zevi.

If I can't sell an item on CL, I lower the price. How about lowering your price down to $45? If not sold, then down to $30 for both? I posted a few pieces for sale on CL this weekend. One of them, a beaten-up Mission style nightstand was sold for $25 in a couple of hours. The remaining two items are still up. If no takers within an week, I'll start lowering the prices in $5 increments. Usually it works. I also put OBO in my ads. Also, how long has your ad been on CL? If I sell something in 3-4 weeks, it's normal. If I sell a piece in less than two weeks, I'm lucky. A high end (and higher priced) Italian designer set of dining chairs in need of restoration took me 6 months to sell. Goodwill and Salvation Army are my last resorts.

D K and Sons / All: This stuff still hasn't fully hardened. It's clay-like still. I bought it from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hercules-1-2-gal-Furnace-Stove-Cement-35515/202078154 Directions of use: "Surface to be joined or repaired should be clean and free of any old cement or debris. Clean surface and remove paint, grease, or oil before applying furnace cement. Wash cleaned area with water. Do not apply to very hot surfaces; wait until surfaces cool down. Apply thin layer of cement covering all openings. Press tightly into section or part being repaired or sealed. Apply liberal second layer of cement and smooth with trowel. If adding adjoining sections, place gently and avoid any twisting motions. Remove excess cement and smooth edges. Start heat using low temperatures for initial firing. Gradually increase the temperature allowing the cement to cure to a solid and durable mass, free from pores. Full firing may follow. Always keep container tightly covered when not in use." They talk about a "firing" and using heat. It's unclear exactly what I should do though. Doesn't say anything about how long it would take to dry. I'm confused. Thoughts? Thanks.