Woodburning Insert: DIBS, are you there?

I’m looking for a wood-burning insert for our standard size brownstone fireplace. We have a new terracotta flue but want the greater efficiency/less mess and smoke that comes with an insert. We can’t find anything small enough. Lots of gas-fired repro Victorian numbers but nothing wood-burning. Does anyone have a suggestion? DIBS: Didn’t you have such a thing in your Bed-Stuy house? Searched the Forum to no avail.

NeoGrec

in Chimney and Fireplace 11 years and 8 months ago

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NeoGrec | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Adam: For gas, your costs should be far less than retrofitting a fireplace for wood burning. Try Andre at A&A Chimneys who advertises on this site. He could estimate this for you.

NeoGrec | 11 years and 8 months ago

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The fireplace has already been converted to wood burning. So there’s a new firebox, smoke chamber, terracotta flue — all done very carefully and to code. The issue is that because the room is adjacent to our bedroom, we don’t want to deal with smoke and ashes. Inserts are apparently largely odor free, as well as being far more efficient. The concierge service is an interesting option — thanks, Arkady. Placing a stove just in front of the fireplace and venting it through the chimney is also a possibility. I’ve only resisted that because of the floor space it will occupy VS the neat solution of installing an insert into the existing firebox.

adam_dahill | 11 years and 8 months ago

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What kind of installation costs are you looking at for installing a gas insert into townhouse that has original gas fireplaces. Not looking to add wood burning but want to avoid taking down the plaster and relining chimney. Would a good old fashion chimney sweep do the trick?

bklynpwds | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Try checking out Rumford fireplaces. They may have what you are looking for or be able to help you. They are designed for tall and shallow fireboxes. We installed a gas version in our house and it is great.

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Also, what Bob said. Standard brownstone fireboxes and chimneys weren’t built for wood fires.

BobMarvin | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Was your fireplace made for wood, or gas? If it’s the latter, I con’t think it can be made safe for burning wood, even in an insert, without extensive modification. FWIW I think most 1890s–1910s Brooklyn row houses were built with gas fireplaces, while earlier and later (i.e. teens and ’20s colonial revival) houses had wood burning fireplaces.

Arkady | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Neo – There’s probably some kind of concierge service you can Google that would buy & ship it for you. It isn’t hard to change the fittings – I did it for a gas cooker I brought over here.

argylerd | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Have you considered a woodburning stove placed in the hearth and vented through the chimney?

NeoGrec | 11 years and 8 months ago

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Thanks for the speedy reply, DIBS. Would that we had run a gas line to the fireplace. Life would be simpler now! I’ll explore the custom options. Frustratingly, the Brits (Esse) and Northern Europeans (Morso) have several great models perfectly sized for old fireplaces, but they aren’t imported to the USA.

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 8 months ago

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If you google “custom fireplace enclosures” you will find places that make doors only or complete enclosures in custom sizes. Like this place.. http://www.stollfireplace.com/masonry/OriginalTraditional

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 8 months ago

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No, I had an open hearth gas insert. www.gascoals.net I believe you are talking about the high efficiency glass door units for an actual wood fire. I’ve never used any of those. Vermontcastings.com has a line that seem to be smaller than many others