Updating and Upgrading Your Fireplace

No matter which of the four seasons you are enjoying, it just so happens that winter is always right around the corner. There is never a bad time for you to update or upgrade your fireplace.

What can you do to update your fireplace? Many older fireplaces were designed with good intentions, but are incredibly energy-inefficient. When many older homes were built, some important safety features that are standard on new fireplaces today were left out. The following is a short list of ‘updates’ that can be made to greatly improve the efficiency and safety of your fireplace.

1. If you have a wood burning fireplace, update it with a screen mesh curtain to protect your home from sparks and embers. A fireplace screen curtain can be purchased online and installed within a few short minutes.

2. If you have children, consider installing fireplace glass doors. These doors are solidly built and will protect your children and pets from the fire. In addition, simply adding fireplace doors will increase your home’s efficiency by creating a barrier between the conditioned air inside the home and the unconditioned air in the chimney. Many areas (especially California) are requiring homeowners to update their fireplaces with fireplace glass doors before a home can be sold.

3. If you’re still depending on your fireplace throat damper to keep the conditioned air inside your home, don’t wait to install a Top Sealing Chimney Cap Damper to the top of your chimney.
The fireplace throat damper is a metal plate located in the flue; it is designed to be opened during a fire and closed after the fire is completely out. Its purpose is to keep the outside air outside—however, this metal plate has no seal and is notoriously leaky. A simple solution is to install a Top Sealing Damper to your chimney. These dampers use updated technology to create an air-tight seal at the top of your chimney. The product can be purchased online and installed in about an hour by either a professional chimney sweep or the homeowner. A Top Sealing Damper in conjunction with fireplace glass doors will significantly increase your home’s efficiency.

What if your fireplace is already sufficiently updated and energy-efficient? How about an upgrade?

Many people incorrectly believe that the fireplace heats the home. In fact, the fireplace is probably making your home colder and making your furnace work harder, since a fire feeds off of the air in your living space. If you want to harness the power of your fireplace, consider upgrading your fireplace by installing a fireplace heater. These heaters use an electric blower to pull air into the unit, where it is heated and blown back into the room. These units can be purchased online and easily installed by the homeowner. They come in a variety of designs for different applications and typically range in price of about $400 to $600. You should consult an online expert to make sure you purchase the right heater for your fireplace.

A quick fireplace update and an upgrade will keep you ahead of surging energy costs this winter. No matter the season, it is always a good time to tackle the project..

How to Measure for Fireplace Doors

There are a few very good reasons for purchasing a new fireplace door.

1. Your current one is ugly! It's time to replace that 1970's shiny brass door with a more modern finish - maybe a matte bronze or textured black.
   
2. You just moved into a new house and you realize that your beautiful fireplace is a death trap for your toddler.
   
3. You are one of the few homeowners that have realized that instead of a fireplace helping save on energy costs, it's doing the opposite - it's sucking the heated air out of your house and up the chimney.
   

This is just a sampling of reasons why people call us all the time looking to purchase fireplace doors.
Our website gives the user the ability to design and purchase a fireplace door online without any help but I would say 1 in 3 customers still call to talk to one our technical sales people. There is still some uneasiness for some to walk through the process alone. After working with hundreds of customers, I know the reason they are calling - it's the measuring.

Customers know that you have to be exact with your measurements or they are going to receive a door that just doesn't fit - and that's no fun.
We know that measuring is the most important step in choosing a fireplace door so all of our technical sales people are trained on how to walk someone through the process. In fact, we have 3 different types of fireplaces in our building that we use for training our staff. We even run through the training with the customer service staff.

But for those of you who don't want to call us - or are shopping for a fireplace door in the middle of the night, we can still help you out.

We took some time and created two videos that show you how to measure for fireplace doors. This should make it really easy - and of course - if you still have questions give us a call.
The first video is for stock fireplace doors and the second for custom fireplace doors. What's the difference? Stock doors are for common fireplace sizes. These doors accommodate most fireplaces and usually ship quick. If you have a unique size fireplace or if you want some unique features - you will need a custom door. For more information, read through our fireplace door category page on our website and check out fireplacedoorsguide.com blog site. Be sure to check out the Customer Corner photo gallery on the right hand side. It will give you some really good ideas for your project.


Stock Fireplace Doors




Custom Fireplace Doors

Shaker Collection Fireplace Door

Pictured is one of our most popular fireplace glass doors. The Shaker Collection Fireplace Glass Door has clean contemporary lines that will fit into any décor. Cabinet style fireplace doors open fully for easy access. Both the glass and mesh doors are removable for easy installation and cleaning. The Shaker Collection Fireplace Glass Door has a Powdercoat finish and comes in 11 different sizes.

Shaker Collection Features:

* Screen Mesh Door Included!
* Clean 1 3⁄4" frame slim line design
* Double ball locks on doors & screens (securely closed)
* Angle frame – allowing for easy installation
* 5mm thick European tempered glass
* Rigid wrought iron angle & bar fabrication ensures perfect door alignment
* Hidden damper for enhanced appearance
* 100% welded construction on frame & doors
* Cabinet Style doors open full 180º for easy access to fireplace
* Quick removal of screen & glass doors for easy cleaning.
* Baked powdercoat anthracite finish (color of pencil lead)
* Lifetime warranty on all glass and 90 day warranty on frame.