"95% regret doing." Fake news. Many of the prefab fireplace manufacturers don't see a market so don't spend the 10s of thousands of dollars to have certified. I found a few when I was searching. Majestic is one. Heatilator is another. A properly designed masonry fireplace will work, but finding a craftsman who knows what he/she is doing is a lost art.

Such bs, both from your fireplace “expert” and from the first poster in this thread. As long as the fireplace and flue are properly located and constructed within the structure, and there is an adequate supply of air for combustion and drafting, you’ll be in good shape.

FireRock Indoor See-through Fireplace Kits

Where we live there is absolutely no legislation against wood burning, however you are right in most areas. An hour away in the lowlands (we are at 5000 + ft, with few other houses), there are no burn days that are restrictive, but no limitations for us. For many years we have used a wood stove, and the organic and natural way we've been doing things, makes for a difficult change of mind and heart..but we might defer to the gas/propane. Still thinking about it. I have seen what Majestic offers and it is lovely, really nice! On their own website they refer to the fact that you need a master installer to do it right, and if done correctly no issue. The question being, can we find someone of that caliber ?? Thank you everyone, so far. Helpful!

In my experience, it's more difficult to get a two-sided fireplace to draft properly--whether wood-burning or gas (we're currently working on a two-sided masonry fireplace that's being converted to gas logs.) If you're looking for ambiance, a two-sided fireplace can draft okay once you've pre-heated the chimney, but it won't be particularly energy efficient. If you're looking for heat output, well, fireplaces in general are a poor choice for that.

We found this one for our new build: https://supremem.com/duet.php (there's also a freestanding version)

Apparently the only EPA certified double-sided wood stove available. Haven't used it yet of course, but seems very solid with great seals etc. Can't imagine it drafting less well or being dirtier than the other wood stoves I've owned.

Robbin, thank you for the link. This looks amazing! The latest I've heard is that the better insulated a home is (such as in new builds), the more difficult to ventilate a wood burning unit well. Let me know feedback please, once you use it..Just beautiful and great size too.

Isokern (earthcore) is an amazing product I just found too...pricey! We will have great HVAC, so not reliant on FP to heat but so used to the log crackling and bringing the wood in. Still contemplating best way to go. Thanks everyone!

Best of both might be a gas igniter for wood burning.

We were told that it is no longer allowed. ??? But no problem starting the fire. Just concerns about the wood and smoke not drawing properly and creating a smoky effect inside, since the house will be tightly insulated...and the "pros" keep telling me that is the case. I don't think that they can all be wrong. The key seems to be in properly preparing so that smoke exits the house well.

We are doing a gas log starter in a 42" wood burning fireplace. The fireplace unit has an outside air kit to aid in drafting as well. Our hope is between the starter and the outside air, we won't have issues with the unit not drafting properly (knock wood).

We're planning on an HRV system for that and other ventilation needs. I used to live in a house where the wood stove would backdraft if the clothes dryer was running when you started it. So it can be an issue but there are options for make up air.

We have an extremely well insulated house (it's ICF), and installed a 2-way gas FP between the living room and breakfast/kitchen area, and a woodstove in the lower level walkout TV room. Both are in the center of the house and are intended to be backup heat in case of power outages. For short ones we have crucial things (including the electric FP starter) hooked up to a partial house generator, but if the Eastern power grid goes out again for 4+ days in the winter instead of the summer, we'll be happy to have the FP and WS.

Although we use the woodstove in December and January to burn the wood from the trees we cut down to clear the lot (14 years later we're using the last of them) and ease the load on the geothermal furnace, we usually use the 2-way FP for about a half hour first thing in the morning in the late fall, winter, and early spring.

We have 9' ceilings, no vaults or open plan, but wide openings and excellent circulation. There's makeup air for the woodstove and an HRV for the house. The tighter the house, the smaller the FP or woodstove to not overheat the rooms.

Anne

Love the wood ambiance - use our fireplace daily from mid October to early April. We have an RSF Focus single sided, but they do make a 2 sided one.

https://www.northweststoves.ca/stoves-fireplaces2/wood-fireplaces/532-rsf-focus-see-thru

Had an RSF Opal 2000 in 2 previous homes. I don't think they make a 2 sided version of that, but it created way less residue build up on the glass doors. Something to consider when you really want to see the fire from both sides.

We are a new build in an area with stringent code requirements. House is super tight, and sometimes when the weather is just so (low pressure coming in...), we need to crack a door when lighting the fire to prevent the back draft of smoke into the house, setting off the very sensitive smoke alams...

Such helpful information. Much appreciate. Thank you for the link, too.

The most hateful chore of my childhood was cleaning the ashes out of my grandparent’s fireplace. It was the sole heat for the place, and they went through a lot of wood, generating lots of filthy track everywhere ashes. I haven’t used a wood fireplace since. If it can’t be converted to gas, it stays decorative, after insulating it so it’s not a direct route for cold air into the home. I love the smell of woodsmoke, but leave that to the exterior fire pit.

Take a look at Ortal Heat gas fireplaces. They have a number of configurations--one-sided, two-sided, and corners. They are not inexpensive and the builder/designer needs to fully consider the specific framing and materials needs for installation, but they're pretty fantastic. I designed a two-sided fireplace set between a family room and a dining room, and it came out great. Sadly, I don't have a photo of it to show you, but it looks something like this:

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I've have had both gas and wood burning fireplaces in 3 different homes. They both have pros and cons. The natural gas was 2 sided. I've never had problems with any of them.

You can't beat the pleasant look, sound and aroma of wood burning and you can roast marshmallows and popcorn. Going out in the freezing cold to get logs can be a pain.

Gas is nice since you can shut it off and leave the house. But you can't roast marshmallows on them unless you like the look of burnt marshmallows on the ceramic logs.

Personally I prefer gas because of the instant on and off.

In most jurisdictions you'll be required to do EPA Phase II fireplaces. I don't know of any such two sided wood burning units made by any of the major brands (Heatilator, Heat-n-glo, Superior, Napoleon etc.)

I have done a two sided masonry heater that was awesome... not cheap but amazing. It consumed very little fuel, far exceeded the the EPA requirements and would burn for hours on a couple of logs. The brand we used was Temp Cast. I'm pretty sure there are others.