Building a fireplace

[Horse Fork Farm]

Our house is almost a hundred years old and although we have used our woodstove when necessary, we both would be happier with a well built fireplace. We've never built one before but both have a fair amount of building skills. We have family who HAVE built fireplaces who can advise us along the way. We have almost everything we need, just need to buy the firebrick. I'm looking for advice on what sizeopening most of you like and if you had it to do over again what would you change about yours? We are facing it with local limestone so it will fit in with the houses age. I want an elevated hearth to sit on and a mantel made from a cherry tree we took down. I have a set of antique sconces for either side and a mirror for over the mantel. Hope to get lots of ideas to mill over from here! Kathy

[clovis]

One of the Foxfire books, if I recall correctly, had an in depth article on building a fireplace. Very interesting.

Make sure, you set the entire thing on good footing.

Good luck!!!!

[Wisconsin Ann]

We've been designing a huge two story fireplace (heat retaining thing) for our house and have come up with a couple of things that we find necessary.

1)a bread oven If you're at all interested in using the heat from your oven for baking, it's a must. and easily built into a new fireplace. They are usually placed at chest or waist height to the side of the firebox. Sometimes they're over the firebox. Even if you don't want to bake in it, they're great for holding food at a hot/warm temp. or reheating something

2)an opening large enough to put in a swing arm to hold pots for stew, etc. and a spit in front of the fireplace. As long as you've already got a fire going, might as well use that for cooking.

Something to think about is how you're going to clean it. Even with a closed glass front, you'll have soot and ash floating around when you clean it out and that will settle on your mantel and stone facing.

Sounds like a great project. I LOVE, and I really mean LOVE open fireplaces. They're the greatest thing in the entire world