home sectionhome sectionStainless steel tiles provide a contemporary and polished look for any fireplace surround. Because this area is not subjected to moisture, the tiles can be installed right on the existing drywall, rather than on a backerboard, making the installation both faster and easier. While there are many different kinds of stainless steel tiles, most install in a similar fashion.
Finishing a steak on the stove is something that you do with the help of your favorite cast iron pan. Finish a steak on the stove with help from an experienced chef in this free video clip.
Getting high ponytails is a great way to smooth out the texture of your hair. Get high ponytails without using heat with help from a New York City hair and makeup stylist in this free video clip.
Fireplaces rank among the most desirable features in a home, according to This Old House. While there's no question that fireplaces add charm and romance to the home, traditional fireplaces actually do surprisingly little to heat the home. Fireplace inserts combine the beauty of a wood fire with the efficiency of a modern wood stove, allowing them to serve as an effective heating system for a single room or even the entire home.
Freestanding wood stoves add warmth, ambiance and style to any room of the house. If you're planning on adding a wood stove to an existing room, you also need to construct a raised hearth to protect the flooring beneath the stove from heat. Your new hearth can be tiled in a number of different materials, from ceramic to stone, but make sure you build it with heat safety in mind, as well as looks.
Modern wood burning stoves rely on their door gaskets to make an airtight seal. Stove door ropes wear and change shape over time and with frequent use. Air leaking into an airtight wood stove allows fires to burn hotter and quicker, reducing combustion efficiency. Heat-resistant adhesives secure the door rope to the channel in the door. This adhesive also fails over time and with repeated use. Removing and installing a new door rope keeps an airtight wood stove safe and operating correctly.
When caulking a wood stove pipe you always want to make sure that you get the appropriate type of caulk for the job. Caulk for a wood stove pipe with help from a Foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video clip.
Unpredictable energy prices have inspired many homeowners to seek more affordable alternatives for home heating. While wood heating costs less than many other traditional heating fuels, the question of whether it's worth it to invest in a wood furnace isn't always clear-cut. Before you invest in a wood furnace, weigh the potential cost savings of wood heating against the impact your choice could have on both your family's comfort and the environment.
Commercial wood-burning ovens are most often found in Italian restaurants, but other types of establishments can benefit from using them to cook bread, pizza and other foods. A wood-burning oven can cook faster than other devices due to the temperature it can reach, and it can also add a smoky flavor. Commercial wood-burning ovens should be installed following the manufacturer's instructions for each specific oven, but several specific steps must be followed for all wood-burning ovens to be installed properly.
Fireplaces in older homes are usually smaller than modern ones, especially in Victorian homes. Opening a fireplace is a simple task, but it is important to keep the foundation intact to prevent it from falling down. A new, broader mantel can also help the fireplace look and feel larger after a few bricks are removed. Always contact a contractor before starting renovation work to assess the foundation of the fireplace and the home.
An outdoor fireplace provides a cozy place to sit on an autumn evening, giving your backyard a welcoming glow. A combination of concrete blocks and firebricks makes for a safe, sturdy fireplace. Any competent DIY enthusiast should be able to construct a brick and block fireplace with the right equipment and a little patience.
Pellet stoves can help provide primary or secondary heating to a home or other interior structure. Burning compressed sawdust pellets instead of standard wood can make a cleaner and more efficient burn. Breckwell pellet stoves come in several different styles and models, but they all have the same pellet hopper that holds the fuel for the stove. A mechanical auger feeds the pellets from the hopper down to the burnpot where they burn to provide heat. Use the stove controls to fill a burnpot on a Breckwell pellet stove.
Nonstick pans provide a cooking utensil that resists wear and tear. Nonstick cooking surfaces reduce sticking during cooking, often eliminating the need for scrubbing and scraping at cooked-on food debris. Although food seems to slide right off the surface when these pans are new, they occasionally lose their non-stick finish and require rejuvenating. Known as “seasoning," rejuvenating a nonstick pan can provide many weeks or months of additional use.
Rusting and pitting are typical maintenance problems for metal chimney caps, even those that are stainless. Galvanized metal caps are bound to exhibit rusting after a few years, while stainless caps last somewhat longer, but will rust eventually. This problem must be addressed quickly to prevent the spread of rust stains to your home. A severely pitted chimney cap could be hazardous and may allow water to seep into the chimney. If this is the case, you should replace the chimney cap. If the problem isn't a serious one, cleaning and painting over the rust with chimney paint prevents further…
Airstone is a type of lightweight concrete that looks similar in appearance to concrete and has a weight of about 20 percent of normal concrete. It's used indoors and outdoors as a durable masonry material. In addition to being used for indoor and outdoor fireplaces, Airstone can also be used to build grill and outdoor stove surrounds. A porcelain-coated stove top requires the same type of cleaning whether indoors or outdoors. With proper care and cleaning methods, you can make your porcelain surface last as long as the Airstone structure.
When you are not using your fireplace, it is the damper that keeps the outside air from entering your home. When the damper is not opening or closing properly, it can end up costing you money, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. If the damper is not moving smoothly, it may require some basic maintenance that includes fixing the handle.
Dampers are an important addition to a fireplace. They prevent the loss of cold air through the chimney when it is not in use and they can control how much heat goes into the home. If you have removed a chimney damper, it's important to reinstall it to save heating costs. Reinstalling the damper is easier than getting a new damper because it already fits the chimney.
Unlike box stoves or old-fashioned Franklin stoves, airtight wood stoves are designed to let in the proper amount of oxygen necessary to start a fire and maintain it at a steady, efficient burn. Installing an airtight stove, however, is governed by the same basic safety principles that govern the installation of any type of wood burning unit. All stoves, whether airtight or not, can reach dangerously high temperatures. Paying close attention to location, clearances and venting assures a safe installation that poses few, if any, safety hazards.
Terracotta is a type of clay used commonly with chimneys as flue liners and crowns. A chimney crown sits on top of the chimney and forms a decorative element that rises from the flue liner and helps carry smoke and other exhaust into the air. Luckily for homeowners with terracotta chimney crowns, the material constitutes one of the easiest types of clay to repair. There are two methods for repairing terracotta chimney crowns: gluing and wiring.
Earth Stoves are free-standing, airtight metal combustion units for home heating. With regular maintenance and component replacement, an Earth Stove can provide many years of reliable service. Keep safety in mind when performing any repairs on the unit. Because a wood stove can hold heat for a long period of time, discontinue use of the stove for a few days before attempting any repairs to avoid the risk of burns.
Lennox manufactures and sells a variety of indoor and outdoor fireplaces as well as fireplace inserts. The Lennox Colonial fireplace model is wood-burning and features an interior brick inlay reminiscent of traditional masonry designs. Install the fireplace in a prepared framing using the tools that came with your Lennox Colonial fireplace and a nail gun.
Wood stoves offer alternatives to gas- and oil-based home heating by burning wood logs or pellets in a metal enclosure. The wood stove radiates heat that it produces by combining wood fuel and oxygen from the air to cause combustion. Besides their intake vents and chimney flues to vent away smoke and gases, wood stoves should be airtight for maximum efficiency. If your wood stove has gaps or air leaks, you can fix them in one of several ways. Rust and severe damage may require a replacement stove or professional repair.
Wood furnaces often serve to heat homes in regions where firewood is plentiful and inexpensive, such as in rural areas and on farms. Wood furnaces may be a home's primary heat source, or they may supplement another furnace. Some wood "furnaces" are actually fireplace inserts that use blowers to distribute heat but are not connected to ductwork in a house. True wood furnaces are installed outside the house, vented through chimneys and connected to ducts that distribute heat throughout the house. Dual systems sometimes share interior ducts, but ducting for wood furnaces involves special considerations.
Fireplace inserts are wood, gas or pellet stoves that are designed to fit into an existing wood fireplace’s firebox. Fireplace inserts use the existing flue to vent combustion by-products. Inserts are generally more heat efficient than traditional fireplaces, but can require more maintenance so toxic creosote does not accumulate in the chimney. Prior to installing a fireplace insert, the vents or air inlets for your current fireplace should meet the product’s specifications.
Homeowners who want to install their own gas fireplace insert have two venting options. A sealed direct-vent fireplace uses coaxial pipe through a wall to draw in outside combustion air and vent its exhaust products to the outside. The other option is a naturally vented fireplace that draws its combustion air from the room and sends its exhaust products up a chimney made of Type B double-walled steel stovepipe.
Properly installing the smoke stack for your stove reduces the risk of accidental fire. Smoke stacks for indoor wood stoves are built using a single wall chimney pipe. This pipe connects the stove with the chimney, which is typically a brick or masonry structure built on the outside of the home or a triple wall stovepipe that penetrates the ceiling and roof above the stove.
Prefabricated staircases come complete from the manufacturer. Purchasing a prefabricated staircase saves you money on carpentry costs, and installation takes less time than installing a handmade staircase. Installing a prefabricated wooden staircase involves only a handful of relatively simple steps and requires a basic set of tools. Keep in mind, however, that you must set up a landing for the top of the staircase before beginning the installation process.
Plugging leaks with wood flour is a trick used in boilers, air conditioner units and other machines that have a cooling system. For home use, the wood flour trick works on air conditioning systems with condensers. The wood chips are finely ground flour that will get sucked into a hole and plug it as the wood swells. This is a temporary fix; it will either need repair or need to be repeated. However, it works in a pinch and can keep the machine running.
Direct vent gas fireplaces are often used to break up a long wall or in a corner to create a focal point. Unlike wood fireplaces, gas fireplaces can be installed with prefabricated surrounds or custom surrounds made using materials such as hardwood, tile, stone or brick. Gas fireplaces that vent directly through a wall take the beauty of old-fashioned fireplaces and add convenience and safety to the mix. Shipped mostly constructed, a gas fireplace unit provides a project many do-it-yourselfers will find rewarding and not terribly challenging.
An old wood fireplace may evoke nostalgic memories of warm, cozy evenings before the fire, but a chimney is notoriously inefficient and difficult to maintain. Many homeowners are turning to gas insert fireplaces for their efficient operation and ease of installation and maintenance. Unlike a typical wood fireplace, a gas insert uses natural gas and vents water and trace amounts of carbon monoxide. These byproducts are exhausted through two aluminum tubes inserted into the chimney flue.
Masonry fireplaces add charm and warmth to any room, unless they lack properly functioning dampers. Many old masonry fireplaces were designed without dampers, and even those with dampers experience failures as they age. Replacing a throat damper requires the installer to remove a large portion of the fireplace -- and is not recommended as a do-it-yourself project. A newer style of damper has been developed, however, that fits on top of the chimney. Installing one of these top-sealing dampers is a simple weekend project for most homeowners.
Converting a wood-burning fireplace to a gas fireplace can be a cleaner, more efficient way of heating a room or providing ambiance. Gas fireplace inserts allow you to do just that. Installing a gas log set is the final part of the installation process for a gas insert. Gas log sets are artificial wood pieces designed to withstand years of hot temperatures without burning. Gas logs are installed on top of the burner element inside the gas insert.
The Canadian Standards Association tests and certifies products based on national and international performance and safety standards. The CSA certifies products sold in the United States and Canada. Some Kresno wood-burning stoves available for sale are more than 20 years old, and they’re too old to meet current standards set by the CSA and government agencies.
Fireplaces are not only a source of heat inside a home, but they often provide the focal point of a room's decor. After moving into a home with a wood-burning fireplace, the homeowner may want to upgrade to a different type of fuel source. A gas insert is considered a clean and efficient alternative to a wood-burning fireplace. Available in fireplace specialty shops and home improvement stores, these inserts can use either natural gas or propane. Different models provide different ways to vent the gas-fueled insert, and you can choose an insert that includes a gas log or select one…
Repairing the mortar work in the joints of your chimney is a relatively simple task that will protect the integrity of older chimneys built without a flue liner. Repointing a chimney's flue pipe replaces missing or damaged mortar in the joints between the bricks. The limited space inside the chimney and dark working conditions complicate this task.
Wood stoves provide heat and an aesthetic feature in many homes. Wood stove models vary widely, and some burn so cleanly that they do not require a vent stack. The typical wood stove is an upright metal box with a door. The box stands on legs and has a chimney pipe to carry away the smoke. To protect the home as well as magnify the heat reflected into the room, the wood stove is often surrounded by stone or tile. This prevents a stray hot ember from touching a combustible surface, and the stone will retain and release heat into…
A fireplace damper opens and closes to allow or block airflow from the fireplace flue. When you are using your fireplace, you must have the damper open or the room will fill up with smoke. When the fireplace is not in use, you should close the damper to prevent wildlife, or debris, from entering your home through the fireplace. To install the Vestal damper, your fireplace must already have a damper in place that you can remove. Measure the current fireplace damper before purchasing the Vestal damper to ensure the proper fit. Installing a Vestal fireplace damper will only take…
Installing a fireplace damper that you can open and close with a center pull is a project that almost any homeowner can do. The damper allows smoke to flow up the smoke chamber when you are burning a fire in the fireplace. Once the fire is completely out, shutting the damper keeps cold air drafts from entering your home via the flue. It also prevents heated air inside the home from escaping, thus preventing higher utility bills.
People in warmer climates who installed free-standing gas fire logs in their former wood-burning masonry fireplace may want to replace the gas logs with electric ones that create the appearance of a glowing fire any time. Free-standing electric fire log sets create the illusion of glowing, flickering embers and flames in a bed of logs. Some electric log sets have remote controls, noisemakers to recreate the popping sound of a low fire and electric space heaters that operate separately from the fire.
Down draft stoves are widely used among campers because they generate a lot of heat from a small amount of fuel that they burn completely with little or no smoke. The flame on top produces a zone that incinerates fuel through pyrolysis, a burning process that uses high heat with a minimum of oxygen. Gas produced from burning wood enters holes at the top of the stove and exits through holes at the bottom.
The catalytic combustor helps an airtight stove give off the desired amount of heat while operating at a lower temperature, and prevents excessive amounts of smoke. The catalytic combustor recycles the smoke, re-burns it along with the wood, and then allows it to pass cleaner smoke through the chimney. Replace the combustor if there is much more smoke leaving the stove than usual, the stove is not heating efficiently or is taking a long time to warm up. Turn off the stove and let it cool down before you inspect the combustor. Inspect the catalytic combustor regularly for cracks or…
Creating an outdoor seating area warmed by a cast iron stove does not require the extensive installation and venting of an indoor heating stove. Outdoor cast iron stoves are freestanding units that require a hearth pad underneath to prevent a fire from stray sparks under the stove. The hearth pad consists of a weatherproof and heatproof board larger than the cast iron stove.
Normally throat-mounted fireplace dampers are installed during construction of the chimney. However, some chimneys use a damper on the top instead of the throat. Round dampers have rectangular frames with a round damper in the middle. You should wear a dust mask, eye protection and leather work gloves when installing a throat-mounted round fireplace damper. Although many styles are available, the general installation process is the same. The main difference is that some dampers come with brackets attached, while others have the brackets separate from the unit.
The Dell-Point Europa stove uses wood pellets, shelled corn or hulled wheat as fuel. While Dell-Point pellet stoves are no longer manufactured, the stoves can be found for purchase online and in many retail stores. Understanding some of the operational specifications of the pellet stove is important prior to installation and operation to reduce fire and safety risks.
An inset stove fits directly into the opening in your home’s fireplace. The stove draws in cold air from your home through the bottom, then replaces it with warm air. The installation only takes a few minutes and doesn't require the use of any tools.
Wood stoves are a classic and effective way to heat your home. They burn a renewable material, contribute to self-sufficiency, and produce a quality heat which many people find more pleasant than other heat sources. In order for a wood stove to function as well as it can, it is important for it to have a damper. Dampers help the stoves not burn too quickly, and keep coals alive through the night to relight them in the morning. A damper is relatively easy to construct and install.
Burning wood in your home is only an effective heating option if you can capture and retain a large portion of the heat produced. Wood stove pipe heat savers, also known as heat exchangers, are devices that prevent heat from exiting your home through the wood stove's flue. You can build a high-efficiency downdraft heat saver from metal drums to improve your stove's efficiency. Hot air and smoke will rise through a stove pipe, then draft downward through a channel between the drums where it will radiate heat into your home before exiting through a flue.
Removing a fireplace from your home can get rid of an unused fixture and provide a new, clean wall for decorating. It will also eliminate drafts from an open chimney. However, removing a fireplace is a labor-intensive task, especially if the fireplace is surrounded by masonry, such as bricks. You'll need time and patience, as well as the right tools, to remove the entire fireplace and leave the wall opening ready for sealing and repainting.
Gas fireplaces often have several knobs, switches or buttons that operate different parts of the appliance. Typically these are labeled so you know what they operate. For example, the pilot control knob and the thermostat control have "pilot" and "thermostat" clearly marked on them. On some gas fireplaces, you may have a yellow knob or switch attached to the gas pipe feeding your fireplace. On most gas fireplaces, this yellow knob controls the supply gas shut-off valve.
An economically efficient way to heat the home is to burn wood in the fireplace or wood stove. The grate holds the wood up above the bottom of the wood stove to allow the ashes from the burnt wood to sift down and not hinder further burning. An iron grate is the most cost-effective and safe type of grate to put under burning wood because it will not warp under the heat like steel will.
