Thats exactly thw problem, and even if a fireplace is well made its placed in the worst place in the house. I have only lived in 1 house that had a fire place in a good spot. Usually they put them right in the way of laying out a room.

Do you have any videos? I would love to see your work and art.

I wish I could get you and your Dad's overall and honest impression of a mason built fireplace built about 70 years ago. The evolution of fireplaces in NH must have some surprises in it.

For real man. I have pinterest loaded with fireplace ideas but never thought of these complex problems. I'd watch these builds.

@@nobodykayaks1041 Depends if the home was simply built to sell or thoughtfully designed. Also depends if you're planning the room around the fireplace (as the centrepiece), or if it's just there as a source of heat. I do hate when the tv and fireplace are forced to share the same wall space- not ideal.

Why not use a wood stove then? They have glass on their doors too. And a wood stove extracts a lot more heat for your house than a fireplace does. And it has cleaner exhaust too.

Would absolutely like to see a review breakdown on these. Rented a condo for skiing in Switzerland and it had a freestanding fireplace that was glassed in like you said.

Check out how things are done in Finland, Sweden, or Norway. Having fireplace is pretty cheap and easy way to ensure additional heating without any compromises.

@aale2000 Not high-quality English fireplaces. The technology of an English fireplaces is outdated, and their modern purpose is primarily as an art piece. Our new fireplaces typically run 30-60k. There are ways to make it more affordable though.

I would love to learn more about northern European building, windows and heating. Does anyone know a good source of info?

Ha! Don’t get me wrong, I’m pro Santa Claus. Will have to find another way for him to make a sneaky entrance. I know there’s some kids in the audience, but they typically don’t read the comments. Parents, be sure to tell your kids that I’m not anti-Santa.

😂😂😂

Santa now comes in the intake of your ERV 🤣

😂😂😂😂

Santa got his fat ass stuck! LOL

He goes a bit far with air seal, not everyone wants to live in hermetically sealed box with air pumps all over the place lol

​@@ronnymcdonald2543 but that is the trade of, if you don't want to live in a high performance house, you pay more in costs of heating and cooling, in size of your carbin footprint, personal comfort and the quality of indoor air.

@@slickmcCool Rubbish, a slight air loss can still be high performance - You guys are air tight snobs and most builders just laugh at that bullshit

@@slickmcCool Couldn't say that any better!

​@@ronnymcdonald2543 why wouldn't you? Saves money, and you get fresh air from the clean HRV tubing, not dusty cracks in the house.

YES! We had a terrible old townhome, but it had a big fireplace in the middle of it. It made cold winters and snuggling with my wife on the couch totally worth it.

I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was 111.00 and 106.00. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long.

@@MegsCarpentry-lovedogs only way to do it. Sounds like you have the perfect setup.

@@MegsCarpentry-lovedogs zone 7 you don't even need heating lmao.

What I wrote to Matt in comments: Matt, glad you brought up this topic. Cold climate Canada with power outages: I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. I am hoping to add an extension on to this home, with doors to seal it off from the main home. The plans have the Perfect Wall and Perfect Roof, Lstiburek with the Steve Baczek air tight details listed as part of the building details. A door blower test is also part of the plan. Due to power outages that we have here in the country, a very small air tight wood stove is planned to be on the main floor. The basement is full ICF. The power outages mean that continuing to be self sufficient without having to rely on a generator and look for fuel has been Perfect for peace of mind. The plan would be to have the air intake from the outside because the science in wood burning is that the heat from the stove builds up in the home and pushes against the windows as opposed to looking to suck air in from leaky windows. That is why the intake air will be from the outside. So much to learn, so little time. Long live Our houses.....👍☺🇨🇦

1. Put the fireplace in the core of the house, not an exterior wall. 2. Design in a very tight firebox door. The best designs I've seen have a glass window facing into the primary living space and then a metal door with a tight gasket on the sidewall or back of the fireplace for building the fire. 3. Be intentional about where the supply air comes from, and how much. It should come from outside into the firebox... Using warm interior air to fuel the fire is counterproductive to keeping the house warm. The airflow should be optimized to burn the fire as hot as possible. 4. Capture the heat. If your firebox is hot enough, it will fully burn all the combustion by-products, generating even more heat and leaving an exhaust flow that is just extremely hot water vapor and CO2... Since there isn't any tar by-products to precipitate onto the chimney walls if the exhaust temperature gets too low, your ideal chimney in this case is as labyrinthine as possible while still maintaining enough draw. The exhaust should be only moderately warmer than your interior air by the time it leaves your chimney.

Freek- buy a nice wood stove!

I can't keep up with this stuff, as the activist change their mind so often. Are we presently on Global Cooling, or Global Warming? Or are we on the world is getting cooler because of global warming?

@@5150Lane global warming is always been kind of a bad misnomer, it’s just warming on average, but what it really means is more extreme weather, So hotter hots and colder cold days. @ken_the_bigfoot, those seem like good tips, the easiest way seems to be to draw in air, around the flu, that way it cools down the exhaust gasses, who’s down the the.and heats the incoming air, kind of like an erv does, and we’re not net losing air sucking it in in bad ways. I love the idea of having the fireplace in the heart of the home too always have, seems ideal near the stairwell.

😊

Chicago resident here. That's how our tankless water heater works -- flue within flue. Tight seal, one hole despite a basement location and everything works fabulously well.

Agreed! Facts! Got to heat the flu and surrounding area for proper drawer first! Well said!

I was wanting to build a block fireplace in my doublewide from scratch, this makes me realize height may be a problem with draw, if i made one 14' tall do you think it would draw after it heats up?

@@GoodVibesOnly1914 some do, some don’t. I’ve seen as low as 12’ draw but under 16 is a gamble. Also, vent sizes, barometric pressure, elevation all come into play. Theres so much involved. You could be fine for 10 years and suddenly have a problem. With short runs a prefab fireplace may be a better option. No one can say with 100% certainty you’ll be fine though. If they did they be lying. That said, you will likely be ok with wood if the chimney heats up. Put doors on and that will balance pressures. If there’s a return hvac vent near by it may F everything up completely; that’s another factor to consider.

@bryanp8010 after some more thought, I'm just going to build a damn tv into a cinderblock fireplace and make it simulated lol, support it underneath with jacksposts and beam. Most of the reason for the whole build is to hold a custom sound system anyway. And it will double as my tv anyway. Keep it simple stupid

So, a wood stove.

Explore your options with a reputable dealer. You have options that meet stringent science and some aesthetic options.

Anywhere you want, is where. You have options.

Agreed where do you hang the stockings? I live in metro Atlanta, GA. I love my wood burning fireplace even though it's not as efficient as it could be. I'll continue to make small changes to make it better. I guess it's the ambience more than anything. It's worth the trouble. Besides I love cutting wood it's gives me a reason to feel like a man and use my chainsaw and even ax at times. Even though I recently upgrade to a electrical splitter best $300 I've ever spent. Without the fireplace how Santa Claus get in....?

A fireplace is just like getting a pet cat...you never really need one...but can you imagine life without one?

some off grid cabins use wood for heat but most of us use NG

i was wondering this as well

And....here in Canada in zone 7 with power outages....well.........this is a comment I added for Matt to read and consider...as well as suggested he do a vid to show detail on how to air tight seal as best as possible an air tight stove or insert. Matt, glad you brought up this topic. Cold climate Canada with power outages: I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. I am hoping to add an extension on to this home, with doors to seal it off from the main home. The plans have the Perfect Wall and Perfect Roof, Lstiburek with the Steve Baczek air tight details listed as part of the building details. A door blower test is also part of the plan. Due to power outages that we have here in the country, a very small air tight wood stove is planned to be on the main floor. The basement is full ICF. The power outages mean that continuing to be self sufficient without having to rely on a generator and look for fuel has been Perfect for peace of mind. The plan would be to have the air intake from the outside because the science in wood burning is that the heat from the stove builds up in the home and pushes against the windows as opposed to looking to suck air in from leaky windows. That is why the intake air will be from the outside. So much to learn, so little time. Long live Our houses.....👍☺🇨🇦

Yes, that's exactly what he was saying... everyone should stop using their fireplaces, period! 🙄

LOL....I asked Matt to do a vid that will at least show how to install with as much air tight detail an air tight wood stove or insert. I also added this as another comment: Matt, glad you brought up this topic. Cold climate Canada with power outages: I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. I am hoping to add an extension on to this home, with doors to seal it off from the main home. The plans have the Perfect Wall and Perfect Roof, Lstiburek with the Steve Baczek air tight details listed as part of the building details. A door blower test is also part of the plan. Due to power outages that we have here in the country, a very small air tight wood stove is planned to be on the main floor. The basement is full ICF. The power outages mean that continuing to be self sufficient without having to rely on a generator and look for fuel has been Perfect for peace of mind. The plan would be to have the air intake from the outside because the science in wood burning is that the heat from the stove builds up in the home and pushes against the windows as opposed to looking to suck air in from leaky windows. That is why the intake air will be from the outside. So much to learn, so little time. Long live Our houses.....👍☺🇨🇦

No need to designate Fahrenheit when at -40 degrees! Burr!!!

No need to designate Fahrenheit when at -40 degrees! Burr!!!

You'd think it'd be common knowledge that smoke is unburnt fuel that's allowed to escape due to poor design.

Very interesting idea. Hadn’t thought of that. Seems like a pretty straightforward concept.

Outdoor wood furnaces that send heat indoors are pretty common here in Indiana where I live.

​@@buildshow it is... but not a cheap one if hybrid

Who is going to tend a fire outside in the winter...

@@FJB2020 if you get the right size wood furnace, you can load it once a day or less and the blower controls the output. It’s not burdensome and it’s inexpensive.

It may be inefficient, but it kept us warm at night when the gas furnace failed.😊

Depends on the fireplace. A correctly constructed Rumford fireplace is a very efficient heat source.

Very true point.

Exactly. Let's face it. The fireplace in the last hundred years has mostly been for astetics. With the incompetence of government and utility companies, it's nice to have something that can at least provide some kind of warmth so you don't freeze to death.

I would think an airtight wood stove with a reburn manifold would be a lot better than a giant black hole in your wall made of brick gulping cu yards of air out of your home. It still requires air for combustion but its more metered with smaller orifices.

Especially valid since Texas' winter outage...

If your power goes out that often you have bigger problems than feeling cold weather for a little while.

Can you provide a further definition of what you are calling MASONRY HEATERS? Is that a company or a product - and do you have a link to share?

Thanks Brad that was a good explanation

Dealing with a similar build in British Columbia. Can you share the brands of masonry heaters you looked at?

@@alexburi We were looking at kits from Solid Rock Masonry, and Heat Kit. We would then have a local mason build them so they are certified up to code.

That's a smart way of doing it. I wanted a wood fire range in the house I'm currently designing as a backup cooking and heating system for potential emergencies in case the future has prolonged brownouts or blackouts in store for us. Your idea sounds like a great middle ground.

Yes

I love the smell of burning wood, one of my favorite.

Wood stoves are better from an efficiency and heating perspective than fireplaces.

@@karlrovey Hi Karl, I have an air tight stove in the fireplace and just how it pumps out the heat.🇨🇦👍🔥🔥

I'm rolling my eyes at the guy that never uses the existing fireplace but somehow thinks he'd love an outdoor fireplace lol.

@@Matasky2010 To be fair, he may not use it because it sucks all the warm air outta the house and leaves the rest of the house freezing?

I moved into my house almost 25 years ago and my house had two fireplaces. I closed up one and the other is for a stove. But when I renovate my kitchen the chimney is coming down and the stove will be replaced with an electric one. My builder has already done a few - and I suspect more people will do it over time.

It is called a Rumford fireplace. Google will lead the way.

What I wrote to Matt in comments: Matt, glad you brought up this topic. Cold climate Canada with power outages: I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. I am hoping to add an extension on to this home, with doors to seal it off from the main home. The plans have the Perfect Wall and Perfect Roof, Lstiburek with the Steve Baczek air tight details listed as part of the building details. A door blower test is also part of the plan. Due to power outages that we have here in the country, a very small air tight wood stove is planned to be on the main floor. The basement is full ICF. The power outages mean that continuing to be self sufficient without having to rely on a generator and look for fuel has been Perfect for peace of mind. The plan would be to have the air intake from the outside because the science in wood burning is that the heat from the stove builds up in the home and pushes against the windows as opposed to looking to suck air in from leaky windows. That is why the intake air will be from the outside. So much to learn, so little time. Long live Our houses.....👍☺🇨🇦

Good plan. Sounds like you have lived in Canada, a few years, & outside a big city.

I think a woodstove for a back up is a terrific idea. However, I’d like to see a woodstove with sealed combustion and good fresh air supply to the outside that doesn’t leak. I’m pretty sure there’s some European models and probably domestic ones that fit the criteria.

@@buildshow thanks! I'll look into them when it's time for a new stove 😀

@@buildshow Maybe do a vid on air tight wood stoves or inserts because here in zone 7 Canada we need our air tight stoves when regular power goes out.... Matt, glad you brought up this topic. Cold climate Canada with power outages: I live in zone 7, ☺🇨🇦 Atlantic Canada and selectively log on our 8 acres of forest. We only keep the two storey 4 bedroom home heated with burning wood in the air tight insert. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. The family home is connected to the oil furnace system with base heaters....only when we travel in the winter for a few weeks twice a year on back country mountain remote hut trips do we switch on the furnace to maintain the house at 5C to prevent the pipes from freezing....we get home and shut the furnace option off and keep burning wood that we gathered, hauled and split to stack in the large carport. The family home is not modern, built in 1983, so no ERV or HVAC. We have two dehumidifiers in the basement for those 3 weeks of humidity that pop up. Other than that we feel quite comfortable and just L O V E the heat from the air tight fire insert to keep us warm all winter long. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. Our electricity bill over the past two winter months was $111.00 and $106.00 CDN dollars folks....so a lot cheaper in USA cost when you do the currency conversion. I did some air tight sealing work working with Efficiency Prince Edward Island and a door blower test before and after to get the rebate if significant improvement. I am hoping to add an extension on to this home, with doors to seal it off from the main home. The plans have the Perfect Wall and Perfect Roof, Lstiburek with the Steve Baczek air tight details listed as part of the building details. A door blower test is also part of the plan. Due to power outages that we have here in the country, a very small air tight wood stove is planned to be on the main floor. The basement is full ICF. The power outages mean that continuing to be self sufficient without having to rely on a generator and look for fuel has been Perfect for peace of mind. The plan would be to have the air intake from the outside because the science in wood burning is that the heat from the stove builds up in the home and pushes against the windows as opposed to looking to suck air in from leaky windows. That is why the intake air will be from the outside. So much to learn, so little time. Long live Our houses.....👍☺🇨🇦

Same here… even with my actual epa certified stove with a sealed air intake coming it the back, when it’s windy you can feel cold air leaking out every corner.

It cant be replicated though, nothing quite like a proper wood fire at Christmas.

I couldn’t agree more! They’re way more efficient!

I’m not sure that we necessarily disagree. I just want you to install a fireplace that has really good sealed combustion, not one of these cheap metal boxes that leaks now and forever. Consider a woodstove with a good fresh air input and sealed combustion. Probably some European and domestic models Meet that criteria

Yes fireplaces are worth the issues, a fire burning inside on a cold winter night is awesome and you don't have to sit out in the cold to enjoy it.

​@@buildshow ​ I guess I should have been more specific. I know there are shoddy metal boxes and do not plan on going the cheap route. I will be having a wood stove in the master bedroom as well as a big fireplace in the main living room. I understand the downfalls and will gladly take them for the positives that a wood-burning fireplace gives. I'm not as concerned about having a tight house as you are. I'm happy with good enough.

Awesome! Wood burning stoves are the best!

Much appreciated!

See-through fireplaces almost always smoke. In order to not smoke, you will have to put in an extremely large flue. They can be done, but one must be very concerned about draw. I would also recommend smaller fireplace openings. 36" or less. A chimney-top damper should be considered.

@@hardpathpoet2859 How do you feel about Fireplace Xtrordinair's behind-glass wood burning models? I believe they have fan blowers to suck in fresh air and expel warm air into the living space. What size would you suggest? Is 36" best or could I go to 44" size?

@Christopher Calder I am not experienced with that product, but there are many good fireplace inserts. They all have their concerns, though. If it has metal in contact with masonry, rusting is a long-term concern, and they can be difficult to remove or replace. By that, I mean when masonry is laid against metal, it's less of a concern when the masonry is laid, in preparation for installation. Glass doors work for their intended purpose, but heat-resistant panes can be hard to find when they need to be replaced. The firebox size is really just about how big of a fire you want to have. That's an aesthetic choice. 36" is best for most rooms. 44" might look a bit weird unless the room is large.

@@hardpathpoet2859 The room is 22' 6" by 35'.

@@BanBiofuels Well. A big fucking fireplace would be awesome in that room. Something with a raised hearth and a nice big hearth stone.

We love ours. I installed it about twenty years ago and even though we have zonal electric we use the fireplace for 95% of our heating. The electric units get run occasionally just to burn off the dust, or on extremely cold mornings to warm the house up more quickly. I have a friend who built a super insulated home of almost 4000 SQ ft. He put a small DV gas fireplace just like ours on each of the two floors of his house. He basically uses one of the two to heat the entire house in most weather.

Thank you. Someone here gets it and knows not to lump all things that bun wood into one class called “fireplaces” Rumfords burn wood old school and defiantly will heat a room.

thank you for posting this! Trying to plan for our new house build and I'm torn on what to do about the fireplace. Do I use a large traditional wood burner with glass window? But I still love a nice open fireplace? Tons of options.

I would enjoy a video on this. I want to see how they dealt with the soot and klinkers that settle out, and the access points for cleaning. That would inspire confidence for me to build one of my own. I've spent more time than I wanted cleaning slow moving areas of conventional chimney systems.

For the price of a fireplace you can buy a whole house generator with the benefit of cooling in summer and/or freezer and refrigerator running.

@@Alphasig336 Hello there. 🇨🇦 A possible option. The family home here is set up with an oil furnace, which we do NOT use and only burn wood as we continue to manage the surrounding forest by selectively logging. The white spruce trees we manage and then burn once dry, allow patches of forest to be available for replacement of hardwoods. We are changing this full white spruce forest into an Acadian forest. This means hardwoods and shrubs for wildlife natural food needs to be regularly planted. It is a slow process. So it is a good thing here for us to burn wood....it helps us manage our forest and use our own trees, it sets things up for a healthier forest with a variety of tree species and food source shrubs, and we feel really good helping our planet in the very small way that we are doing. From our experience any generator we had sat for a long while before being needed with temporary fortune of it working unless you maintained it throughout the year. You still depend on acquiring a fuel source and depend on the service to get it here in the country. The latest hurricane shut down gas stations for weeks so fuel ran out on some of the generators. Not a 100 percent reliable option for country living. Our fuel source is right outside our home and not dependent on services to get it here or that we will run out after weeks of no electricity. Even when we eventually switch to geothermal energy and get rid of the oil tank system, once the power goes out, almost yearly at some point, the geothermal system shuts down...so here in Cool Canada, having an air tight insert helps us to almost live off grid with the sprinkle of usage of electricity while the power is operational. A variety of ways to live with individual needs and to each her own. Appreciate your input.