Orlando Stone Fireplace

In Orlando, stone fireplaces may not seem like the best fit for a home remodeling project, but the truth is that warmer climates make just as much sense for a fireplace as anywhere else in the country. Indeed, some homes with high-functioning stone fireplaces and a few well-placed space heaters may be able to get away with not having any central heating. Even if you do have central heating installed in your Orlando home, your fireplace will reduce the strain placed on your furnace. Plus, fireplace surrounds make for a beautiful, classic decorative accent that justifies the installation, even if you use your fireplace only a handful of times or not at all.

Orlando Brick and Stone Fireplace Design and Cost
One of the great things about residential fireplaces is that there is something available for anyone. If you're on an extremely tight budget, you can look at prefabricated, gas fireplaces that can be bought and installed for only a few hundred dollars. Of course, not only will these fireplaces produce inferior heat, they won't look nearly as good as a custom-built brick or stone fireplace for an Orlando masonry contractor. At an average cost of about $5,000, you'll be able to see where your money went. If you're not a fan of the maintenance and hassle of a wood-burning fireplace, you can still drop-in a gas fireplace, but for a decorative accent, there is no substitute for the craftsmanship of a mason. One other thing you might think about (especially if your home doesn't seem able to accommodate a fireplace inside your home) is an outdoor fireplace. Great for outdoor cooking, bonfire parties, and a landscaping feature, outdoor fireplaces can be every bit as useful without the same design restrictions commonly found in trying to retrofit a fireplace into a pre-existing interior.

Listen to Mayor Buddy Dyer's Fireplace Safety Tips

• Have your chimney or wood stove inspected and cleaned annually by a certified chimney specialist.
  
• Clear the area around the hearth of debris, decorations and flammable materials.
  
• Always use a metal mesh screen with fireplaces. Leave glass doors open while burning a fire.
  
• Keep air inlets on wood stoves open, and never restrict air supply to fireplaces. Otherwise you may cause creosote buildup that could lead to a chimney fire.
  
• Use fire-resistant materials on walls around wood stoves.
  
• Never use flammable liquids to start a fire.
  
• Use only seasoned hardwood. Soft, moist wood accelerates creosote buildup.
  
• Build small fires that burn completely and produce less smoke.
  
• Never burn cardboard boxes, wrapping paper or trash in your fireplace or wood stove.
  
• When building a fire, place logs at the rear of the fireplace on an adequate supporting grate.
  
• Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended. Extinguish the fire before going to bed or leaving the house.
  
• Soak hot ashes in water and place them in a metal container outside your home.

Orlando Stone Fireplace Cleaning
Naturally, many of these safety tips are common sense measures whenever you're dealing with fires, but the word that should jump out at you is creosote. When you use your fireplace, some of the gaseous by-product sticks to the walls of your chimney in the form of creosote. Left to build up over a long enough period of time, this substance can ignite in your chimney, creating the hottest and most destructive of any residential fire. It can literally cause your chimney to explode and take your home with it in the process. Admittedly, if you use your fireplace only a handful of times all year, you can probably get away with only having it cleaned every other year, but at the same time, this vital piece of maintenance isn't something you want to take for granted.

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