Our Fireplace(s) Before
We started (re)construction of our house in September of 2008. There's still! things that need to get done inside including the "finishing" of the fireplaces. We put in 2 42" direct vent fireplaces - one in the family room and one in the front room (living room). That's right....42"-ers. Some folks brag on their plasma screens, I brag on my HUGE fireplaces - they type of which you have to go to Panera to see in person. (Note...I think they might actually be too big/hot for a house our size!) Direct vent fireplaces (for those that don't know) have a piece of glass on the front of them and a 2 chamber flue/pipe that takes hot air out in one chamber and pulls cool air in. It is a pretty slick technology. The downsides of direct vent are (obviously) it is NOT a wood-burning fireplace. So, you don't get the smell or sound of those. On the positive side, it **looks** like a real fireplace (they've gotten pretty good), it is clean (no dirty...