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February 24, 2010
Keep your firewood neatly stacked and organized with inexpensive log racks. Available to suit any décor and style of fireplace, a log rack provides a safe home for your fuel supply. You can purchase inexpensive log racks for use outside and inside your home close to the hearth.
Wood burning fires can be messy without the proper tools and setup. Be sure to make it easy on yourself with a log rack. Often made of metal, they will stand the rough texture of wood and handle the abuse and weight of frequent use.
Scrolls or geometric shapes, there are hundreds of designs available. Some come with a leather pouch or basket to hold the chips and chunks from your wood. Choose a size and style that suits your hearth.
Maintain proper firewood storage with the use of inexpensive log racks. Your hearth will look and run better for it.
February 3, 2010
You have the fireplace you’ve always dreamed of – a hearth where your family gathers for relaxation and warmth. Now all you need is quality and attractive fireplace accessories to complete the picture. Search out these functional accents with the overall scene in mind.
If you own a wood burning stove, your fireplace will not function safely and efficiently without some well chosen fireplace accessories. A fireplace screen is essential to protect your flooring from sparks and ash and to fence off the opening from wandering children and pets. Be sure to choose something large enough and sturdy enough for your family’s needs. Look for a screen that suits the style of décor in your room – from fancy to simple, any style is available.
You will also need a place to store logs and kindling. Often a bin is sufficient, but make sure it is sturdy with a wide bottom to prevent tipping and mess. Look for one with a handle for easy transporting. A shelf or log holder can also be used and is usually more elaborate and decorative. Some have a suede or leather bottom hanging on an iron or brass frame, holding the logs easily and providing some style on the hearth. Make sure that the log holder is large enough for a few lightings but not so large that the wood will sit inside too long.
Look for some tools to use for cleaning and maintenance. A brush for the hearth is essential, with a comfortable, long handle and bristles that can pick up a fair amount of ash. Also a flat shovel is useful for scooping up ash and a lidded bucket or bin will be necessary for carrying it away. Use your bin to transport the fireplace ash into your garden as compost. Bellows are another tool that should be kept handy when burning wood.
Many fireplace accessories are made for safety and maintenance, but can still add style and a finished look. Try to purchase each piece with the whole picture in mind – some accessories even come in matching or coordinating sets. Things like fan kits and damper pulls may come with your fireplace and can be used to coordinate other pieces.
Gas fireplaces often have less accessories due to their burning technology. Still, mantels, hearth rugs and even decorative screens can be found around gas fireplaces, lending a certain atmosphere to the setting. Consider the overall look you want to convey and find fireplace accessories that suit that look. You will be much more content enjoying your fire with all of the functional accents in place around it.
February 1, 2010
If you love a blazing fire on a cold winter night proper storage for firewood is not something to ignore. Wood should be allowed to season for at least six month before burning it. If you buy firewood, look for wood that appears to be weathered and may often have shrinkage cracks on the ends. Weathered wood is lighter in weight and lacks the noticeable “fresh cut” smell of wood that has not been properly aged.
If you buy firewood well in advance of the months it will be used you will avoid the spitting and hissing as moisture is driven out of unseasoned wood by the fire. By purchasing more wood than needed for this winter you can have highly seasoned wood to use as fire starter and kindling next year and that well aged wood will produce more heat.
Firewood is usually purchased by the cord which indicates a neat stack of wood measuring 4 feet high by 8 feet wide. Of course you can always cut your own wood but cutting down trees and splitting logs is definitely the hard way to fill the fireplace.
Firewood must be properly stored if you want to assure good quality, burnable logs when winter comes. To keep out insects the wood should be stored off the ground. If you want real excitement try burning logs that have been in contact with the ground for a few months. You may find yourself battling dozens of black beetles pouring out of the wood to escape the flames.
There are steel racks available commercially that will hold a cord of firewood. However, you can make your own wood rack by digging four postholes, inserting upright 8 foot landscape timbers and adding quick setting concrete for stability. Place the post holes so there will be two timbers at each end to form the corners and one timber length between the two set of uprights. Secure two more timbers horizontally to the uprights to form a shelf. Stack the wood on the rack in a way that allows sunlight and air circulation. A loose tarp will let the wood to continue to age while keeping rain from soaking it.
It is tempting to place a firewood rack near the house but that can also be attractive to insects (think termites). It is much better to have a wood box or smaller rack on your porch or patio where you can keep enough logs for a couple fires and restock that smaller wood storage bin from the larger rack located away from your home.
When the snow is flying it will be a simple matter to step out to the patio and bring in an armload of firewood. During warmer hours of the day you can replenish the “ready” supply from your large rack. Proper firewood storage provides a ready source of kindling and logs for the fireplace or wood stove.
January 15, 2010
Wood stoves are the most popular and generally efficient way to heat a home using wood. A wood stove can be located anywhere in the home where there is access to a chimney, but should be located centrally in an area that gets a lot of use. There are many great accessories that increase the ease of use, and update the look of wood stoves.
The most effective accessory is the self-powered stove fan which uses heat from your stove to turn itself on, and circulate warm air around the room. As the stove gets hotter, stove fans increases speed, circulating the most air possible. Because the fan uses no electricity it is truly the most efficient way to heat a home, and will also ensure that in the event of a power outage, the home will still be heated. There are also electric options which come with an option to manually control the speed of the fan, and therefore the heat in the room.
Other wood stove accessories that provide ease of use include firewood carriers, which allow ease of transportation between the outdoors and inside to the firewood rack or wood holder. Firewood carriers come in an array of material, including canvas and leather. Many firewood racks come with fireplace tool holders attached. For tight spaces these racks provide a compact way to store firewood, tools and even newspapers.
Cleaning out a woodstove can be a messy job, but with a warm ash vacuum, cleanup is a breeze. Many models have two filters, insuring that no ash or dust escapes into the air. Unlike regular vacuums, warm ash vacuums use a metal container to collect the ash, as opposed to a vacuum bag, which ensures no chance of flare up. This also cuts down on having to purchase replacement vacuum bags.
If small children or animals are present, it is best to surround your wood stove with a protective screen. These screens come with optional wall mounts for a more permanent option. Wood stove screens are also a great way to update the look of a wood stove, as many come with decorative designs on the top or front of the screen. Many screens come with front opening doors, allowing for access to the stove without having to dismantle the whole screen.
Fireplace Village is proud to offer an array of wood stoves and wood stove accessories. Purchase wood stove accessories online or come into any one of our great New Hampshire wood stove shop locations to see more.
December 15, 2009
Looking for a new wood holder? Our favorite wood holder is the Country Wood Holder and Tool Set from Minute Man International Hearth Tools. This is a combination wood holder, kindling and newspaper storage shelf and fireplace and wood stove tools. This cast iron wood holder has a graphite powdercoat finish and includes a large wood basket, a steel lower shelf for newpaper and kindling and a broom, ash shovel and wood tongs. This wood holder and tool set is the perfect addition for fireplaces, outdoor fireplaces, wood stoves or fireplace inserts. It also makes a great functional gift for anyone looking for the perfect wood stove or fireplace insert accessories. Dimensions: 23″W x 30″H x 11 1/2″D, Tool Set 25″L.
Fireplace Village sells a large selection of fireplace accessories and fireplace tools. We are the largest retailer and dealer of fireplace tools and accessories in NH and New England. Stop by one of our fireplace and stove shops today.
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