What kind of fireplace

[Fae]

I am going to remove the flue I had built for the woodburning heater and have a fireplace put in next spring. I know so many fireplaces don't heat very good and I have heard so much about the rumford design. Does anyone have one or another disign they like? This hearth takes up to much room in my small living room plus it is just to hot. I have to open windows and sometime doors to cool off. I have a consolidated dutchwest and it works real good but to good for me. I also want to have a swinging bracket installed in it for cooking. My DH wanted a fireplace but I had wanted a wood-burning heater for years so that's what we did. We will use these brick to build a barbeque pit with chimney if we can clean them. Any suggestions?http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ima...ilies/help.gif I guess I learned I don't know how to use smilies!

[Bearfootfarm]

I have to open windows and sometime doors to cool off.

Build smaller fires and you wont have that problem.
You dont HAVE to fill the firebox

[Curtis B]

I was always told the same thing about fireplaces not being good for heat. They do work though to a point. This year I have heated my entire house with mine , and the temps have been dropping into the teens. I don't have an opinion on the type, but you can get a fan that goes above the FP to blow heat out farther into the room.

[KMA1]

If you are certain you want a fireplace, I really like the Rumford that I built from online directions. The rumford design is relatively shallow and has has more angled side walls on the firebox, which increase radiation into the room over other designs. It does a really good of radiating heat with even a small fire. The other key to heating with a fireplace is creating enough brick/cement/rock mass to heat up so that it radiates heat out from as much space as possible. Best if the whole thing is in the center of the house and exposed. At least expose the front to the ceiling and the back into another room.

[mdharris68]

If I were doing it I would build one of these:

http://www.woodmasonry.com/pages/whatis.html

[Fae]

I have instructions for the rumford and am going to try to find someone to build it for me. Bearfootfarm, the problem with that is, I do build a small fire but my small house gets hot and I can't find the off switch. That's why I open windows and doors. This cast iron gets hot and stays hot for a long time. The big problem is that I smother when it is to warm in the house.