Can you help me with lots of questions about fireplaces?

Asked by JLeslie (65420

) October 25th, 2020

All questions are about a gas fireplace that doesn’t have a chimney, but is vented.

1. If a house was built with a simple fireplace, no fancy brick around it or tile, is it easy to add the tile or brick to dress is up? Or, is the dry wall done differently, like is the dry wall flush with the fireplace if you are just going to paint the wall, and set back if you are going to add an inch of tile, brick or stone?

2. If the fireplace is the standard square-ish fireplace, is it easy to change it to a more modern thin horizontal rectangle? With the rectangle be restricted to how high of the floor it can be by the “plumbing” that was originally done? Can it be a much wider rectangle than the original fireplace?

3. What is the advantage of having a hearth at the bottom? Do you prefer that look to straight down tot he floor?

4. Do you prefer a mantle or without a mantle?

Please comment on anything that you think might be applicable that I have not asked.

Thanks!

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3 Answers

If it’s going to be used for fires, then I would want there to be enough room outside and around the fireplace that is brick rather than plaster or carpet, for a mesh screen (allowing heat to come out and air into the fire, but not sparks to fly out), tools, some wood/kindling, and sparks and soot and ash to not be an issue.

There should also be consideration for where the accumulating non-flying ash will go out eventually. I prefer it too be sweepable into a shaft in the fireplace floor that leads to an ash chamber below with an access hatch on the outside wall, someplace convenient to move the ash out from.

I like mantles.

I just searched up some images, and was annoyed at how many of the modern examples look unlike what I’d want. Here is an example of what I think of as a good fireplace design.

Zaku (30365

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