Traditional open, wood burning fireplaces have been featured in human living areas for thousands of years. A second type of wood burning fireplace has only been available for about twenty years. This clean burning fireplace is many times more efficient and dramatically more clean burning than the traditional design. Both designs have advantages.

Woodburning fireplaces can be installation sensitive because they have large chimney openings and are natural drafting. There are several “best practices” for their proper location which will make them perform very well for many years. Fireplaces that are hard to start or seem to spill smoke have not been located properly in the home. Be sure to follow all the following guidelines when locating your wood burning fireplace: http://hpba.org/consumer/BestPracticesForWoodburning.pdf

The Traditional Wood Burning Fireplace:

These fireplaces can be very large. They have an open fire which allows for the best realism. There is nothing more fun than sitting around a large traditional wood burning fireplace with family and friends. It’s also rumored that these fireplaces are the only ones that Santa can fit into and come down on Christmas Eve.

In today’s world however, their use should be limited, because they produce almost no usable heat and are a significant contributor to local air pollution. They are better suited as a decorator item for use on special occasions when the esthetics of a real, open wood burning fireplace can be enjoyed. Yes, they are very enjoyable, but remember, they do produce large amounts of air pollution. It’s not uncommon for air quality data gathered by our Clean Air Committee to show significant "spikes" in air pollution during winter holidays, when traditional fireplaces are used the most.

The Clean Burning Fireplace:

Clean burning fireplaces provide the desirable combination of being able to burn wood and operate at very high efficiencies. The most efficient ones use modern wood stove technology and are certified clean burning by the EPA. They burn so cleanly that there is no visible air pollution. When operated properly the only thing visible coming from the chimney is steam.

The technology that creates such clean burning also creates high operating efficiencies. Because of this, these fireplaces can be used as a primary heating source and particularly good where firewood is plentiful or where air quality problems exist.

They are very heavily constructed to handle their high heat output. Their clean burning technology does require that they be smaller than traditional fireplaces and they are not well suited to having casual recreational fires in them.

One of their biggest advantages is that they are environmentally friendly. Not only do they use a renewable fuel that does not deplete the earth’s resources but they do not cause global warming because they do not produce any net increase in carbon dioxide.

Please checkout www.woodheat.org. It's a very valuable website for those wanting to find out more about the many advantages of heating with wood.

We sell clean burning fireplaces from Fireplace Xtrordinair. They are one of the first to put clean burning wood fireplace technology in production. They are available in a variety of architectural styles and on display in Fireside. They are available in two models, the 36 Elite and the 44 Elite. The hammered "Artisan" face and doors are particularly popular with Central Oregon customers.

Customers who want the realism of wood burning, don’t mind having to handle wood and want lots of heat from their fireplace, greatly enjoy the fireplace Xtrordinair clean burning fireplaces.

FireplaceXtrordinair.com

The High Country Fireplace from Napoleon Fireplaces is an impressive new design that we’re now selling. This design is what many customers have asked for. It has the large size and operating convenience of traditional fireplaces, but the heavy duty quality and most of the high efficiency of catalytic fireplaces. The rustic elegance of the wrought iron face and doors are truly spectacular. Be sure to check www.napoleonfireplaces.com and see it in person at our Reed Market-Division St. location.

Wood Burning Fireplace Costs

Type	Low	High
Traditional Commodity Type	$800	$3,000
Premium, Clean Burning	$3,500	$5,000

Fireplace Glass Doors

One of the most important additions to a traditional wood burning fireplace is the addition of a set of glass doors. Glass doors eliminate cold drafts and a significant loss of heat up the chimney when the fireplace is not being used. Doors are available for traditional factory built fireplaces and for site built masonry fireplaces. Doors for factory fireplaces can be the inexpensive type made by the fireplace manufacturer, or higher quality made by a fireplace door manufacturer specifically for the factory built fireplace.

Doors for Masonry fireplaces have to be custom built for each fireplace because each masonry fireplace is a different size. These custom doors come with screens and are available in a wide range of styles and finishes. There are even arched doors available for fireplaces with rectangular openings, giving the fireplace a very custom look. Popular finishes include antique copper, hand wrought iron, antique nickel and many more.

Standard fireplace doors, including screens for factory fireplaces can be easily ordered if the fireplace brand and model number is available. Installation and proper adjustment of these doors can be somewhat tricky, but homeowners with good mechanical skills can do it successfully.

Doors for masonry fireplaces add a beautiful decorator touch to your living room but they are quite difficult to measure correctly for and are even more difficult to properly install, adjust and grout. This is made even more complex by the many different door styles and whether the installation will be an “inside” fit or an “overlap” fit. This kind of door must be measured for and installed by experienced fireplace door specialists if they are to fit and function properly. We have 25 years of experience with these doors and have installed thousands of them. Please contact us so we can help you select the best style for your home and correctly measure for and install the doors for you.

It is very important for us to track customer usage of our website and to provide an incentive for customers to visit our stores. So, we‘re offering the following website discounts. Simply print the Website Discount page and bring it with you. It can be used with any product in the store, even if that product is already on sale or is being sold at a special discount. If you read this page within 30 days after your purchase, we will still offer our website discount.