Fireplace Village on Facebook

February 9, 2010

All About Fireplace and Wood Stove Safety Products

wood_stove_accessories (2)

When dealing with the danger of flames in your fireplace or wood stove, you need to have quality safety products nearby. Be sure that you are equipped to handle the fire with these items.

Hearth Rugs
Generally inexpensive, these rugs sit in front of your fireplace and wood stove to protect the flooring from sparks and ash. They are often made of synthetic fibers and need to pass rigid flammability tests. Alternatively you can install tiles of non-flammable materials around the fireplace or wood stove – such as stone or ceramic.

Hearth Gloves
Fully insulated for protection, these gloves, sometimes referred to as fireplace gloves, are a must when handling wood and tools for use in the flames. Often the exterior is leather, while the inner glove can be felt or something equally comfortable. The fingers should be reinforced for strength.

Hearth Gates and Fireplace Screens
Fireplace screens are decorative, but they do protect the flooring and surrounding area. For more extensive and stable protection, install hearth gates. These act like a solid fence, are often higher than a screen with a gate for entrance, generally child proof. Made of steel or iron with interlocking sections, hearth gates can be purchased and designed to fit almost any size of fireplace. Perfect when infants and toddlers are around, hearth safety gates give homeowners security while still allowing access.

Thermometers
Useful for maintaining good working order in your fireplace or wood stove, thermometers are also a safety feature. They warn you when the flames have become too hot or too cold, as both situations are unsafe for your home.

Log Racks
A rack specified for log storage can help to contain any tumbling logs. Keeping your fuel stacked tightly and out of the way also deters climbing on and playing in the wood.

Ash Buckets and Tools
These are not only handy but help encourage you to keep the hearth empty of dangerous ash buildup. With a flat shovel and a brush, homeowners can quickly and easily clear ash from the fireplace and into the bucket for disposal.

Glass Cleaners
Specially formulated for the particle buildup from fires, these cleaners will keep the glass door or windows clear. This will allow you to properly see the shape and size of the fire inside. It will also help you to enjoy view of the fire better.

Fireplace and Wood Stove Safety
It is imperative that you have these safety features close at hand when dealing with fire. They will limit dangers and potential damage as well as allow you to enjoy the warmth and beauty of a well built fire with less worry.

Filed under: Fireplace Rugs,Fireplace and Wood Burning Stove Accessories,Hearth Rugs,fireplace child safety gates,fireplace gloves,fireplace screens,wood stove cleaner,wood stove gloves,wood stove thermometer,wood stove tools — Tags: , , , , , — Mike @ 1:26 pm
    

February 2, 2010

Wood Stove Accessories – Combining Design and Function

wood_stove_accessories

Wood stoves are almost always cast iron black boxes and until recently wood stove accessories focused only on function. The tools weren’t particularly lovely but the design was clearly purpose driven. The stove pipe is another matter. There is nothing attractive about a black pipe rising from the stove and into the ceiling. It doesn’t matter what angle you view it from – that’s one ugly pipe.

Wood stoves are a big item and big marketplace in states where months of extremely cold weather drive heating bills into the stratosphere. If the black pipe from the wood stove is an eyesore for you there are wood stove accessories that can help make that pipe less utilitarian.

Wood stove pipe shams clip around the pipe itself. An open design of leaf forms and other botanicals climb up the pipe adding an architectural element to the form. Sold in six, nine and twelve foot lengths, the pipe shams also have elbow pieces available for those pipes that take a turn on their way to the ceiling.

Other wood stove accessories are used when the stove is installed. Floor and wall protection are provided by “shields” that protect walls and floor from the high heat produced by burning wood. Made of mineral fiber core with heavy gauge steel over the top surface and edge these stove shields can be found designed to look like stone or masonry hearths.

Wood stove users often add a trivet and teapot to the top of the stove. The intricate trivets are made with porcelain enamel over metal and often resemble trivets used by our great grandmothers to protect counter and tables from hot kettles.

Teapots made for wood stoves are always referred to as kettles. They are made of cast iron and may have a traditional flat black finish or be enameled inside and out to prevent corrosion and rust.

Leaning on a wall near the stove you may find a small, square edged shovel. A more decorative wood stove accessory that is also practical is a set composed of a covered ash container with a matching small shovel. These are often made in antique or shiny brass, antique copper or pewter finishes as well as the traditional matte black.

The same finishes are found on log holders where refill wood is kept near the wood stove. These are sturdy and useful but also can be purchased in a wide variety of highly decorative designs.

When you visit a home with a wood stove it is likely the stove will be surrounded by a variety of wood stove accessories that provide a design element yet also serve a practical function. If visiting on a bitterly cold day you can experience the comforting warmth provided by these simple stoves.

Filed under: Fireplace and Wood Burning Stove Accessories,Wood Burning Stoves,Wood Stove Accessories,wood stove tools — Tags: , , , — Mike @ 9:28 am
    

February 1, 2010

Finding the Right Fireplace Tool Set – Be Prepared For a Roaring Fire This Winter

fireplace_tool_sets

If your new home has a fireplace, finding the right fireplace tool set will ensure countless winter evenings spent comfortably and safely in front of a roaring fire. Buying fireplace tools may seem like a simple task until you realize the wide variation in styles, finishes and quality offered by various manufacturers.

A standard fireplace tool set includes a shovel, a poker, large tongs and a stiff bristled broom. You can purchase the tools separately but in sets your also receive a stand that stores the tools when not in use. Most stands allow the tools to hang which keeps them out of the way and provides a neater appearance than loose tools leaning against the hearth.

The poker is the most used tool for wood burning fireplaces. It has a small reverse hook a few inches from the bottom end to allow burning logs to be push or pulled into better position in the fire. Large tongs can be unwieldy but are designed to firmly lift a burning log and move it to another location in the fire. Better tongs have three points of contact rather than two and provide better balance and grip when moving burning logs in the fireplace.

The most helpful fireplace tool is the shovel. Wood fireplaces need frequent cleaning unless designed with an ash pit where ash can be removed from outside the home. Although vacuuming may seem to be an easy way to remove ash it doesn’t work except on vacuums designed to be used in such a way. The fine ash escapes the filters of traditional vacuums and can be blown as a dust throughout the room rather than being trapped in the vacuum bag. Ash vacuums are now available that work well with warm and cool ash.

The shovel is used to remove the largest portions of the ash along with charred pieces of wood left in the fire pit. Once the majority of the ash has been shoveled into a bag or bucket, the broom is used to gather the ashes left by sweeping it onto the shovel for disposal.

For frequent fireplace use, a large shovel is a wise choice when finding the right fireplace tool set. You might also consider adding an ash bucket with a lid to hold ash until disposal. Metal ash buckets with lids are the safest choice.

Fireplace tool sets can be found for as little as $19.95 and run well over $100 for high quality sets. The quality is in the size (length) of the tools, the weight (strength) of the metal tools are made of, the comfort and strength of the handles attached to the tools and the metal finish applied.

Most fireplace sets sold today are machine made but you can also find handmade wrought iron tools that are highly decorative. Most tools are constructed of steel yet finishes applied may include leaf and scroll designs and have hand grips and tool stands that feature brass or copper accents. Finding the best fireplace tool set is a fun challenge because the variety of style, size and pricing offers something for every taste and budget.

Filed under: Fireplace Accessories,Fireplace Tool Sets,Fireplace and Wood Burning Stove Accessories,Wood Stove Accessories,ash vacuums,fireplace tools,wood stove tools — Tags: , , , , , — Mike @ 3:26 pm
    

January 28, 2010

Fireplace Tools

fireplace_tools

No wood burning fireplace is complete without a good quality fireplace tool set. A traditional fireplace tool set includes 5 pieces, a broom, a shovel, tongs, a poker and a stand. There are many styles and variations of tool sets to fit any décor.

For smaller spaces, such as apartments and condos, multi-use tool sets are available. Many companies are now making kindling holders with attached tool sets. These provide a compact solution to a lack of storage space for logs.

While many fireplace tool sets do not come with a bellow, they are a must have for any wood burning fireplace. A bellow is a great way to breath new life into a hard to start, or dying fire.

Fireplace Village is the largest fireplace accessories dealer in New Hampshire and New England. Buy fireplace tools at one of our New Hampshire locations or shop fireplace and wood stove accessories online.

Filed under: Fireplace Tool Sets,Fireplace and Wood Burning Stove Accessories,fireplace tools,wood stove tools — Tags: , , , , , — Mike @ 2:57 pm