We put a lot of effort into this blog and into our webstore to help homeowners like you make the right purchase when it comes to fireplace doors. Last night the thought occurred to me – we don’t talk very much about WHY customers should purchase fireplace doors. We have videos and blog posts that explain how to measure and how to purchase but we don’t really talk about why you should be considering fireplace doors in the first place. So for you homeowners that have been wondering what all the fuss is about and what the benefits are of purchasing and installing fireplace doors; this blog entry is for you.
Benefits:
SAFETY
Fireplace Doors create a strong barrier between a hot, dangerous fireplace and your children and pets. This isn’t just the case when the fire is burning. You don’t want your kid putting their hand into hot ashes left over from a fire and you don’t want your cat to think that it has found a new litter box.
Fireplace Doors also protect your home from the sparks and embers that could escape from the fireplace and burn your carpet or wood floor.
As a side note: the tempered glass that is used for the fireplace door is considered to be safety glass. In other words, if it were to break, it would shatter into millions of fragments rather than breaking into a few sharp, jagged pieces. This is much safer since it is more difficult to be cut by the fragments that by large shards of glass.
EFFICIENCY
Fireplace Doors create a thermal barrier between your room's conditioned air and the outside world. Think about this; you spend hundreds of dollars throughout the winter heating your home and then you have a 36” square hole in the middle of your living room where that conditioned air can escape.
Now, most of the fireplaces have a throat damper. This little contraption does help. It is located at the top of the firebox and closes the flue – but…it is made of metal and has no seal (it can’t – the seal would be too close to the fire and burn up). So there are all kinds of gaps and spaces where that air is escaping – OR – the cold wind is blowing down the chimney and into the room.
Something else to consider is the efficiency you gain by burning a fire with the doors closed. This will increase your fireplaces efficiency because you will use less conditioned air to feed the fire and you will still realize the benefit of the radiant heat from the fireplace. If you are going to do this there are some things that you HAVE to know. Read this blog article to find out what they are.
You can also combine a fireplace door with a fireplace heater. This combination will allow you to convert your inefficient fireplace into a mini furnace.
DECORATIVE
Gone are the days of the gold and brass finishes being your only option when it comes to your fireplace door. With the advent of powder coat finishes, a host of modern finish options are available to you. The draft assembly of the door used to be masked by a filigree – but the 1970’s called and asked for it back. Now the draft assembly is hidden so it does not take away from the design of the door. Very creative patterns can be laser cut into sheets of steel to create any type of fireplace door you can imagine. We have a very extensive offering of fireplace doors on our webstore - over 100 designs to choose from. You can browse our selection of fireplace doors here.
I’m sure there are some other good reasons for purchasing fireplace doors. These are the top 3 on my list. Feel free to post any others in the comments below along with any questions.
0 comments:
Post a Comment