A proper fireplace should not cause discolored walls. You do have to deal with the ashes. What we found really handy is to get an "ash vac" which is little more than a metal shopvac that you can use on the fireplace (frankly, you can use any vac as long as you are absolutely certain no embers remain).

Most of the prefab fireplaces will have outside combustion air and sealed glass (though many allow it to be opened and replaced with a screen if you want that direct-to-the-flames ambiance).

You can easily get a prefab woodburning fireplace that uses a stovepipe and avoids any masonry construction. We have a pair from Renaissance (they're up in Canada) installed (but construction isn't yet complete).

The Renaissasnces have a passive heat recovery (they just convect air from floor vents through the surround of the firebox and then out the top). I've seen the thing in the showroom here and it works quite nicely.

Been there, done that. Not worth it to me. (I'm the wifey.)

Get him an outdoor fire pit and let him plan a gathering spot around that. You don’t want the expense or headaches of burning wood in your house.

I have a wood-burning fireplace in my home. When I moved in, I was so excited about it. But I've used it twice only. That's because (1) I'm sooo not in the mood the next morning to sweep and dispose the ashes, (2) log storage takes up more room than I anticipated, both the pile outside, and having a few logs inside, (3) mine lets in cold air from the flue while the fire is burning, (4) the burning wood smell--so nice the night before--lingers in the living room in a stale way the next day. So I don't use it. YMMV.

I burn half a cord of wood each winter. I have a masonry fireplace with a Superior insert. There is no soot accumulation and no smell of smoke. I remove the ashes after 5 - 10 fires.

The only problem is air leakage on a cold windy day. But I still enjoy making fires almost every night in the winter.

This is somewhat of a polarizing subject so you'll get extreme responses both ways, so I'll do my part. :)

You're either a wood burner or you aren't. My wife and I are, and we're willing to do what it takes to have a real woodburning fire. Our current home has many of the problems people associate with burning wood - ash smell the next morning, drafty firebox with a chase that wasn't insulated and freezes you out of that room on cold days, etc.

But because we're wood burners at heart, rather than settle for gas we just addressed those issues in our new build. We chose an EPA ZC stove (Quadrafire 7100) instead of just an open fireplace (we have one of those too, it just won't be our primary burner) to address the morning-after smell as well as the cold downdraft. It can be used as a stove with the doors closed, or used like a fireplace with a screen. So when you head off to bed, fill it up with wood and close the doors. It'll help heat the house all night with no smell the next morning.

And while fireplace #2 is a regular open fireplace, we had the chase insulated and sealed like crazy so that it isn't cold when not in use.

As for the wood part, yeah you have to deal with wood but I enjoy that aspect of it - call me crazy.

So if you want to burn wood, you're at the perfect stage now to address potential drawbacks before they happen. Get a unit that fits your usage/style and enjoy it!

Miranda, how does cold air come down the flue when the fire is burning? Do you mean when it isn't burning? If so, just stuff some non-flammable insulation up there when you aren't using it. That'll at least take care of #s 3 & 4 - can't help with the rest though!

Dbrad - great post! I am stuck with what my house came with. I wasn't clear when I wrote about the cold air coming in. When I am not using the fireplace, there is no cold air coming in because the flue is closed. The cold draft is felt when the fireplace's fire is still burning, but has died down. And because I am not going to close the flue until the fire is completely out, the draft can be felt for some time while the fire is no longer roaring, burns low, and eventually just has embers.

That's not coming down your flue - otherwise your house would be full of smoke. It's probably the same problem our current home has - a poorly sealed/insulated chase. I guess it could also be the outside air kit if your unit is new enough to have one. Either way, it'd be worth a call to your local fireplace store to ask them to check it out - they may just have a fix!

Yes, definitely an EPA stove or fireplace. I personally recommend a free standing wood stove. They put off so much heat and are easy to burn. Something like a Jotul F500.

a properly vented gas fireplace should not have a smell, as you stated in your first post.
is natural gas expensive in your area?
electric fireplaces have come a long way....

If you're not doing it for the warmth...

Set up a big bon fire at night outdoors. Take a video camcorder set it up on tri pod to film the fire burning.

When the fire burns down throw a few more logs on the fire.

Keep filming the whole process. The idea is to have the fire fill the whole frame of the video.

Then you take that footage and make a DVD of it. You can use that 'put a log on fire' as a menu option on the DVD.

If making a video adventure is too much for you, I'm sure they sell these on line somewhere.

This option gives it all to you (except the warmth, unless you are using a plasma TV.) without the ash mess, or having to haul wood in and so on. Just make sure you get the audio right so you can hear the snack and crackle of the wood burning.

You don't even need a fireplace. Cheers. ;-)

Thank you, however I'm into building a house not making videos.

Woodstoves and inserts are practical and functional if well used and maintained, they provide useful heat and can make sense to include in areas of frequent power outages. Still, it's the 21st century and burning anything indoors is unnecessary and unhealthy. Indoor fireplaces are expensive, rarely used, introduce a major source of catastrophic house fire, compromise energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Indoor fireplaces must be top of list of "wants" to avoid in new construction.

We just moved into our newly built house. We also wanted the ability to burn wood. We opted for a wood burning stove over a fireplace because of the drawbacks mentioned by many in previous comments, which we got to experience at our old house. We got a J.A. Roby cuisiniere. It keeps the house warm and I can bake in it because it has an oven and I can cook on top of it. We chose that one because it uses outside air for combustion and doesn’t draw from inside the house. There are many options out there. It really depends what you want to use it for. If you want to just be able to watch the fire, many wood burning stoves have a glass door. The ashes are kind of messy, but I don’t mind even as the wifey. A wood burning stove with cooking and baking features was a priority for me. It’s really nice on these days of single digits to come home and have a fire. We live on 20 wooded acres so the cost of wood and the space to store it were not really a concern to us. It all comes down to what your priorities are and what you can live with.

Springtime Builders....what???? Unhealthy? We have a closed fireplace. Uses no inside air. Adds lots of heat and ambiance. Adding a German contemporary, high-efficiency stove in a new addition, that will be even better. There is nothing like a high-efficiency fireplace or stove.

I've had both wood and gas fireplaces, plus a wood-burning stove. I greatly prefer a gas fireplace that vents directly outdoors. I had one in my last house and used it daily October thru May. Flip a switch for instant ambiance. Flip it again when it's time to leave the house. I rarely use wood-burning fireplaces. For me they're not worth the hassle and mess of stacking wood, hauling it through the house, and having to constantly tend the fire. Wood-burning stoves are OK, but they tend to put out a lot of heat and can quickly overheat a room.

I guess it depends on the application and your floor plan. Our home is very open floor plan with tall ceilings to boot. We have no hallways to speak of so the heat from the stove disperses through the house. It’s really hot if you sit right by it, but it’s nice to have the radiant heat. Now if only they would have listened to me about the windows...but that's another story.

It shouldn't be surprising that burning things indoors could be unhealthy. This mainly applies to wood burning and ash clean out operations. It's tough to contain all the fine ash particulate that's disturbed when cleaning out the remains of a fire.

In my research and experience, there is no such thing as a truly "closed fireplace". This goes for direct vent, glass doors, and all gas fireplaces. Sloppy installation is the main problem, even when using dedicated or certified fireplace installation contractors. Installation problems aside, I think fireplace manufacturers purposefully avoid making their units airtight in attempts to reduce dangerous backdrafting.

All fireplaces face this issue and there are many design and operational variables that influence the outcome. For "closed fireplaces" or direct vent units the main danger to be aware of is the kitchen vent hood. It's one of the reasons building codes require make up air for vent hoods over 400 cfm. This important provision is not a guarantee for success and speaks to the issues of using combustion appliances in efficient homes.

Wifey here. Did not want one at all. We moved into our rental home which has one and I would never build without one. I love it. The ashes arent a big deal. I get them out maybe once a week if I have been burning everyday (It is harder to build a fire with a fresh start as opposed to having ashes in there.) I am ok at getting the ashes out it does not look perfect but guess what WE. LIVE. HERE. lol and then I my maid who comes every other week cleans it out to perfection for me. I saw a poster above talk about an ash vac and I am going to look into that but I have just been using a regular old fire place shovel and metal bucket. It seriously takes MAYBE 5 minutes. I would say the hardest part of having a fire place would be rounding up the wood but hubby does that part. We were visiting with an elderly neighbor the other day and discussing fireplaces and she said "yeah and guess whose job it was to clean out the ashes everytime....MINE" and I was thinking in my head what's the big deal? it takes 5 minutes lol but I guess to each their own!

Plus, one of the side benefits to the newer EPA stoves is that they create much fewer ash than the older ones, or an open fireplace. You just don't have to empty them nearly as often.

I was referring to the fine particulate that go airborne when cleaning. Don't have experience with the ash vacs, maybe a good solution but skeptical. Try using a flashlight or direct sunlight to reveal the many particles that are sent into the air, during and after ash cleanout. When I lived with a woodstove, I would open the windows and use a box fan to flush out the indoor air after cleaning the firebox.

I've never wanted a fireplace, and always feel chilly when there's a fire going at my in-laws' house. However, we rented an apartment with a small wood burning stove during our recent reno, and I LOVED it. When the temp outside wasn't brutally cold, the stove was able to heat the entire apartment. The heat coming off of it was really pleasant, and the pets loved it as well. The ash mess wasn't bad at all, and with the stove door closed, I never smelled smoke.

We're thinking about installing a wood burning insert in our old (non-functional) gas fireplace.

Going with both a fireplace w/insert in the family room and wood stove in the living room. Home will be in an area with abundant, relatively cheap wood. Most people in the area burn wood. Storm power outages can take a day or two to repair, so it's good backup.

It might be just a little dust to hardy individuals, but be careful with children or those with weakened respiratory systems. Plenty of chilling research out there on asthma and other health problems associated with indoor wood burning. It's a major source of outdoor air pollution as well, something to keep in mind if burning in an urban area.

Wife here. We’re building and we chose gas because we just couldn’t swing a wood burner due to its placement etc. Lived with both wood burning and gas, and much prefer wood. I love making fires and tending them. I find that running a gas fireplace is ridiculously expensive. In my previous home, I hardly turned the thing on because my gas bill got stupid high when running it. So, sitting down and relaxing by the fire was never truly relaxing because I was always so conscious of how much money I was burning.

Years ago I lived in a house with a wood burner and it had a little metal trap door in the bottom of the fireplace where the ashes were swept. Do they not do that anymore?

Springtime: you must wear a belt and suspenders, too! (Lol!). So far, your recent posts have been anti fireplace/stove, and gas dryers. What else can you scare people about? RELAX!!! There are better products today, that don’t require a box fan in the room to blow ash out of the house. Some of the new fireplace stoves ACTUALLY have a box that ash drops into, and a lid that closes on it, for tidy cleaning.

My woodstove cleanout boxes always created more airborne particulate, not less. Sorry to come across as fear mongering but I am just trying to promote public health awareness. I take my job seriously and want people to make the best decisions, especially relating to health and safety.

Our most recently completed home has a gas dryer, gas water heater and gas cooktop. Better believe we took a belt and suspenders approach to making these products safe, but future problems are always heavier with gas and it's troublesome combustion exhaust. Of course opinions were aired (energy rater too), but we built the home our client wanted. Luckily, I was able to steer them away from a vented crawlspace ; )

I'm pretty familiar with available combustion appliances and very familiar with building science. That's why I recommend avoiding combustion appliances whenever possible, which aligns with the direction of building codes and home performance research. Learn enough about how buildings work and you will probably reach the same conclusions.

I'm not sure that when people opine over internet forums in these subjects, they could be contributing to the negative health of others with little choice in the matter like children, future inhabitants and neighbors.

nidnay, yes they still make them. In addition to our EPA stove we also had an open fireplace installed for those times when we just want an open fire - it has an ash tray/bucket built into the bottom below the firebricks. Really neat idea.

Lots of stoves have them too.

dbrad.....funny, that was one of the things I really enjoyed about having a wood burning fireplace....sweeping all the ashes down the hole....it’s the simple things I guess :)

Springtime, the tone of your last post was really unnecessary. Because we burn wood, now we're "contributing to the negative health of others with little choice in the matter like children"? Did you seriously just write that?

15 degrees out, but 73 degrees in here. This stove is great.

We left room in our main chimney chase to put a freestanding stove in the basement if we ever finish it. Something like that Jotul would do great down there.

Have you looked at the La Nordicas?

Hello Kimfred,

There are several EPA certified appliances that are efficient and also economical. You don't necessarily need a masonry chimney to install an aesthetically pleasing woodstove. It's very common to use connector pipe along with a class A chimney pipe through combustibles. This can be done during the build of your new home or even after construction is complete if you decide to add a wood burning appliance later on.

I am having a new custom home built and I decided to go with an electric fireplace. I l lived in a home with a wood-burning fireplace for many years and I really didn't use it that much.

Old thread but I'll add my 2 cents. No complex chimneys required. Builders use stainless insulated pipes and prefab fireplaces that slide into it's home . They may go as far as building a beautiful exterior chimney for aesthetics and again, this is not needed. I had my home built and I have the system I described in my living room without the beautiful stone exterior chimney. Later, I decided to install a Vermont Castings Defiant wood burning stove in my family room. I installed the stove and exterior stainless pipe myself and then had the town come to inspect it. The fire place is used on special occasions and the wood burning stove is working all winter 24/7. If we lose power which is too often with these crazy storms in NY, we're guaranteed a toasty warm house and no smoke smell with the modern wood stove! If a tree falls or you have one taken down you have wood for the stove. There're some amazing firewood suppliers too. Some deliver it in huge waterproof bags and food grade because no chainsaws or mechanical oils are used to cut the wood. So, it's really a big yes from me for wood burning stoves and fireplaces. As for discolored walls....not from my stove of fire place...I've seen it from scented candles though :) I'm 51 and like the exercise either stacking or cutting the wood. Maybe when I'm 70+ i'll op for gas :)

Last I checked, testosterone does not preclude ash cleaning. I love our woodstove, but cleaning it out and sweeping up any ashes is my husband's job. Tell your husband that your wifey/maid duties do not include the woodstove. If he wants it, he has to clean it.

was your previous gas fireplace invented? you shouldn't smell gas or fumes from a vented fireplace.
I do get s headache from my sil's invented gss fireplace. I think she needs to get it serviced, and I've commented that to her...

wood burning fireplaces are beautiful, and the two we've had were used two or three times a year.
mine now is a very realistic electric. I live in Florida. I like being able to enjoy the fake flames, without generating heat...

As the wife and maid. I'm concerned with the ash, soot and discolered
walls that a wood burning f/p can do. Is it worth all the added clean up
just to have the aumbeunce , warmth, snack, crackle and pop of a wood
burning f/p?

It would be worth it to me, just to make my husband happy. :-) Find ways to overcome the biggest negative(s), and work to get a fireplace for him.

[I just saw that this thread is kinda old, sorry....]

We've two wood burning fireplaces in our current house. The Family Room gets used about 30-40 times per year, living room about 5. Wood-burning fireplaces were a must for our new house. We really enjoy them.

Health. The issues @Springtime raised are real issues. Relative to other risks to our health are quite low though. You are likely to loose massively more years of your life to being overweight, obese, having a sedate lifestyle, or being on or near a U.S. road than to any issues with a wood burning fireplace used EVERY DAY. That said, reducing the risks with good fireplace design and ventilation are still a good idea.

For instance, outside vents directly in to the fire box provide only about 200 cfm so we run our MUA @ 400 CFM when burning a fire and for at least a couple of hours after it's gone out. This insures that combustion by-products mostly go up the chimney. I also open the flue and run the MUA when cleaning ash out.

Energy. Wood-burning fireplaces are not energy efficient. But, perspective. An hour of fire with an outside ambient temp of +20°f uses the same energy as driving an SUV about 1.2 miles IIRC (need to double check that number though). We ride bicycles for nearly all of our local transportation and our cars are electric (and charged by solar) so all in all the wasted energy of all of our fires for a year is a rounding error compared to how much less energy we use for transportation than an average couple or family.

Whether health or energy efficiency, every little bit helps. But we shouldn't spend a lot of time and energy swatting flies when an elephant is getting ready to crush us.

We are currently building a house and went with a wood stove.

PS.......One thing to consider is where in the house your wood burning contraption will be. Even if you don't mind stacking the delivered wood or splitting your own wood.... If you need to drag wood through several rooms or up stairs it can be a bit messy and tiring. The location of my wood stove is perfect...I open a glass slider door and the wood is right there feet away from the stove. My fireplace is further in the house with stairs which can be messy and tiring. This is done only occasionally as the stove is used mostly. I have heard this wood lugging issue to be something that older folks get tired of over the years....not me...not yet ;) NOTE: to you new comers considering wood stoves (maybe for fireplaces too) You can install them easily with exterior mounted chimneys. They're highly polished stainless insulated pipes in 4' modular pieces. I remember being a kid and admiring this on my neighbors home. I now have the same on my own home. A wonderful thing about these chimneys is the ease of seasonal chimney sweeping done by the homeowner safely standing on ground... with an inexpensive easily storable brush system. I save approximately $100 each time I clean...it's about $2500 saved over the years but that's not what I like most. I like the fact I can get it done when I like and it only takes about 45 min. if I take my time.

Adding to my previous comment:
A wood-burning fireplace is an emotional choice, not an economical or logical decision. Like having a bathtub, for some it will give hours of pleasure, while for others it will be a seldom used waste of space. This is your house; make the decision that is right for YOU.

A distinction should be made between a wood burning open fire and an insert. Big difference. We have a 3100 sq ft home in a cold climate and our predominant source of winter heat is a high efficiency EPA Regency wood stove insert with blower. It amazes me how much heat this puts out with just a few logs. I kinda hate the term Wifey (i am one but don’t tend to call myself that) but this Wifey has no problem with a little extra dusting, to save hundreds/thousands on a winter gas bill (our backup source when we’re not home to tend a fire, a gas furnace). Not to mention the exercise it provides, cutting, splitting, loading, stacking, and carrying out the ashes- ashes are the least of the burden as it’s so efficient. Not judging anybody who doesn’t want to deal with the extra chores. But as we source all the wood ourselves, it is a considerable cost saving on our utility bill, as well as loving the smell and ambiance of burning wood. To each their own!

We closed up our wood burning fireplace and put wall board over it. Both the fireplace and discussion was closed.