A new fireplace can make a wonderful addition to your home and if you are looking for a way to offset your heating costs, a fireplace can help. From custom made to prefab fireplaces, the options are nearly limitless and you can tailor the fireplace to your home to get the look and feel you are looking for.

Preparing for a Fireplace

The first thing you need to consider is whether or not you have a chimney already in the home that can be used for your fireplace. In a home with an existing fireplace, the chimney may be in good shape but cleaning and inspection of the chimney are critical. Hire a professional chimney sweep to clean the entire chimney and inspect it inside and out for damage.

If there are cracked liner tiles in the chimney, it will need repairing before use and in some cases, it is cheaper and easier to replace the chimney completely than to repair the existing one. You need to talk to a mason about the best options for your situation and make a decision based on the information you have.

The Fireplace

A brick fireplace is nice and for homes with a fireplace already in place, and you may be able to have a mason change the bricks or design of the fireplace and use the existing flue and chimney system with the new design. If you do not have a fireplace, the mason will build the fireplace to your specifications and install the chimney and other components for you.

Having a custom fireplace constructed in your home is going to cost a little more money but getting to choose the brick, the tile, and the other parts of the chimney make it all yours and will provide you with a fireplace you can be happy with for many years.

Inserts and Stoves

If your home has a good chimney already in place but the fireplace is not looking so good, you may want to consider installing a fireplace insert into the old fireplace space. Powered by propane or natural gas, the fireplace insert will provide heat and look great doing it. The maintenance is lower with an insert and the designs available give the homeowner a lot of options to choose from.

While not everyone feels a gas insert is a good option, they do offer you function as well as form and if you are using it to help heat your home, they can be quite efficient.

For more information about fireplaces, visit a site like http://www.villagefireplaceandbbq.com.

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