Simple Way to Get More Heat from Your Fireplace

For some people, a fireplace might as well be a video of flaming logs. Their primary interest is the welcoming ambiance a fireplace's blaze presents. If, however, you expect your fireplace to provide heat in exchange for your log-carrying, fire-building efforts, (or in the case of gas logs, in exchange for your gas bill), it's time to maximize your fireplace's heat output.

There are various contraptions designed to return more of a wood or gas fireplace's heat into the room and stanch the flow of that precious heat from escaping up the chimney. Many of them involve fans and vents and considerable expense. But one of the most time-honored, hassle-free, and least expensive methods of increasing a fire's heat output is making a comeback: the fireback.

A fireback is a sheet of metal, sized in proportion to the fireplace, that's placed against your back fireplace wall. Firebacks can be set on the hearth's floor and just leaned against the back fireplace wall, but often they are secured by placing them in supporting braces which keep the fireback from sliding. Firebacks come in two main styles: the cast iron fireback and the stainless steel fireback.

The traditional cast iron fireback, popular in earlier times and making a revival now, is a sheet of heavy, black, cast iron. Often they are cast with a design, such as a fleur de lis or eagle, to add a decorative touch to this functional fireplace accessory.

The cast iron firebacks work on the same principle as heating radiators. The metal is heated (by hot water in the case of radiators and by the fire in the case of firebacks), and then that heat is radiated into the room.

Although attractive and functional, the cast-iron firebacks are too heavy for many people to manage easily. Their weight also adds to their shipping costs, and therefore to their total price.

A more modern fireback design, one that is growing in popularity, is made of a sheet of very gently curved, tempered stainless steel. These stainless steel firebacks warm your room in two ways. First, like the cast iron firebacks, they radiate the heat of the fire forward into the room. But they also reflect the heat, as well as the light, of the fire into the room.

Stainless steel firebacks weigh only one-sixth as much as a similarly sized cast iron fireback, so they are easier to manage and less costly to ship. But their main appeal may be their price: They cost only a fraction as much as their cast iron cousins. Whereas a cast iron fireback, depending on size, can cost $250 to $700, the stainless steel versions usually go for $50 to $150.

Both cast iron and stainless steel firebacks dramatically increase the room-warming capacity of your wood or gas fireplace fire. The addition of this simple fireplace accessory to your hearth can mean warmer toes and lower heating bills.

*****Susan Penney appreciates simple ways to make our homes renewing spaces for our families. She invites you to visit http://www.FireplaceMall.com for fireplace accessories to serve your fire-less or your fire-filled fireplace.

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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%2520News/2056078/cid=0ei=MJQ0SfutH4_u6gOZ062QCgusg=AFQjCNFFSI6_JYUULXUzkEMgfUFMuirwyQSecondhand bhome improvement/b stores stock big savings/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fTrading Markets (press release),nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobrNov 30, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The store is Stardust Building Supplies, a nonprofit organization that sells donated bhome improvement/b items at up to 80 percent off retail prices. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.antonnews.com/floralparkdispatch/2008/11/28/news/cid=0ei=MJQ0SfutH4_u6gOZ062QCgusg=AFQjCNGgofWFXTfY9Rlrh3dLDYvf-Z7sPQSenior Citizens Beware of Lame bHome Improvement/b Companies/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFloral Park Dispatch,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrNov 28, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Over the past year, at least three local senior citizens have been taken advantage of by an out-of-town bhome improvement/b contractor for tens of thousands of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/home/sfl-flhg28briefasbnov28,0,2118220.storycid=0ei=MJQ0SfutH4_u6gOZ062QCgusg=AFQjCNH22S4nHhMXUe_KUXa-TZ6w0XewYwbHome improvement/b sometimes best left to pros/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSun-Sentinel.com,nbsp;FLnbsp;-/font nobrNov 28, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Their column has been in syndication for 20 years, and they have written 20 bhome improvement/b books. Each week the Hamiltons will compare the cost of a b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/12/01/20081201foreclosureblock1201.htmlcid=1276070055ei=MJQ0SfutH4_u6gOZ062QCgusg=AFQjCNGfZHu2BsvRjMK2Gfq1sbHCly_SewForeclosures: Hardest hit blocks are in Tolleson/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fArizona Republic,nbsp;AZnbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1On a recent morning, a crew from a bhome/b-bimprovement/b store put down new carpet in a house that had been vandalized after it fell into foreclosure. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Economic-Downturn-Sparks-New-Home/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BA60EF71D-11CC-45D5-A243-571D710137FC%257Dcid=1271847964ei=MJQ0SfutH4_u6gOZ062QCgusg=AFQjCNH_9PQea88fXctW_kM9yWYygRcucwEconomic Downturn Sparks New bHome Improvement/b Trend/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobrNov 18, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1With the harsh reality of uncertain economic times, and the average consumer shouldering $10000 or more in credit card debt, a new trend in bhome improvement/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
home improvement - Google News


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