The Publishers League

The purpose of fireplace doors is to stop warmed air from escaping the enclosure of the fire as well as to act as a safety barrier. The average fireplace leaks a considerable amount of air up the chimney, even when the flue is closed. Installing a door can reduce leakage of air. Fireplace door insulation creates a tight fit and eliminates a considerable amount of hot air leakage that exists in a typical fireplace.

Fireplace doors are an alternative to fireplace screens. Screens are simply a barrier usually a wire cage that does not necessarily cover the fireplace box entirely, whereas doors completely block the fireplace opening keeping hot air trapped inside and insuring an extra degree in safety by preventing hot and potentially hazardous embers from escaping.

While fireplaces were once used much more than they are today, fireplaces are still used and are still very popular. Many people these days a fireplace as a decorative feature in a room, modern fireplace doors serve a practical purpose and with many stylish door types to choose from they play a decorative role in addition to or exclusively the practical elements just mentioned.

Types of Fireplaces

There are essentially two types of fireplace that are widely used. Metal prefabricated and masonry. Masonry style fireplaces feature a brick fire pit or firebox (the area where the wood is placed) and motor inside a chimney, whereas metal pre-fab fireplaces feature a metal box and chimney. Prefabricated fireplaces are also known as “zero clearance fireplace”. For zero clearance fireplaces you require zero clearance fireplace doors as opposed to masonry fireplace doors.

Door Types

Typically firebox doors are either one or two doors. Doors can be built from a variety of different materials and are designed in a wide variety of different styles. Optionally may fireplaces also feature draft control which lets air enter the chamber even when the doors are tightly closed. This allows air to fuel the fire and to generate more heat and gives you greater control over the flame. Fireplaces with draft control is a popular add-on to a modern fireplace, however this option requires that the air-flow be highly regulated and for the best results. If this is the case then a door with a fireplace door seal is necessary and will ensure that you have airtight fireplace doors.

Styles

Fireplace doors tend to come in two basic styles. Cabinet traditional style doors. Traditional doors open and shut by sliding back and forth on tracks, a bit like an accordion. Cabinet doors open and shut like a standard cabinet.

The position of the fireplace represents the style of door that is appropriate in many cases. Fireplaces that are in the corner of a room rather than in the middle of a wall, might require corner fireplace doors that is different as the position of the fireplace can make a difference in terms of presentation. Doors come in different shapes and sizes and there are many fancier looking models to choose from as for example arched fireplace doors that feature a curving arch shape on top.

Materials

Fireplace doors are made from a wide variety of materials, generally the two most popular are glass and metal. While doors are classed into these two categories, in truth most doors are a combination of wood and metal, with “metal” doors simply having more metal in their design. Most doors allow you to see the flame as the visual effects of the fire and there are as many masonry fireplace glass doors to choose from as there are prefabricated fireplace glass doors.

Some common material-based door options include:

• Fireplace glass doors
• Steel fireplace doors
• Wrought iron fireplace doors
• Brass fireplace doors
• Wood fireplace doors
• Ceramic glass fireplace doors
• Cast iron fireplace doors

DIY Fireplace Doors

Quite often when you purchase a fireplace you get the complete fireplace screens with doors in one complete package and there is no need to worry about the doors separately. You might buy doors individually if you have an existing fireplace without doors. You can purchase replacement fireplace doors if you simply need to play your existing doors that have worn out or you simply wish to upgrade. You may also have built a new fireplace from scratch and not from a DIY kit that you wish to attach some doors to.

Wood Burning Vs Gas Vs Electricity

When choosing a fireplace, a major decision you will need to decide is what type of fuel it will burn. The traditional masonry fireplace is designed to burn firewood, however more modern options can run on electricity and gas. Electricity and gas fireplace doors don’t always look majorly different from those of a wood burning fire. A non-wood burning fire can serve the purpose of a visual feature in an otherwise drab and boring room, but the way they operate is of course radically different and you will need to weigh up the costs and practicality of deciding between a fuel burning and electricity or gas run fireplace.

Fireplace Companies

There are many companies that produce high quality doors and other fireplace accessories. Some of the leading brands include:

• Stoll
• Majestic
• Pleasant Hearth
• Heatilator
• Portland Willamette
• FMI
• Temco
• Thermo Rite
• Marco
• Design Specialties
• Hearthcraft
• Superior

Safety Concerns

If you have decided to install a log burning fire, then an unfortunate “con” of this type of heating is that there is more danger of mishap if an accident should happen as unlikely as this might be. The risk involved rises if you have young children playing around the fireplace area and if this is the case then purchasing a fireplace door guard that locks the door and prevents accidental opening by an infant might be a smart decision.

Installation

Installing fireplace doors can be tricky in some cases, especially if you are not used to installation and handiwork. You should be aware that many doors require additional materials that aren’t typically provided. Usually installing a fireplace doors is not a trivial project to undertake, so and good planning and preparation is required as well as paying close attention to the manufacturers instructions.

In generally, metal prefabricated fireplaces have a specific door that accompanies every model and limits your choice of doors you can install. To find out which doors are compatible, there is a metal tag that accompanies the fireplace and gives you a model number which can be used to determine which doors match your installation. Masonry style fireplaces feature two styles of doors, “inside fit” where doors fit inside the opening of the fireplace and “overlap fit” where the doors extend beyond the opening are the two types of wood burning fireplace doors available for these types of fireplaces. As you can imagine, “overlap fit” style of doors offer you a lot more size options as they do not need to fit as precisely as “inside fit doors”. Inside fit doors are usually best left to a contractor unless you really know what you’re doing.

Do not forget other details like fireplace door handles which in some installations can be interchanged presenting you with additional ways to enhance the look of your room.

Should you go alone, the basic process is to match a door of the right size with the firebox opening. Most doors are pre-assembled and attaching the prefabricated fireplace door is the last step in the process. Fireboxes with squared-off brick surfaces are usually much easier than rough-textured surfaces like stone. When drilling holes you should be particularly careful around the brickwork, but if you’re simply replacing the door then the job is much safer as the existing holes can be used.

Finding Discount Fireplace Doors

It is possible to find cheap fireplace doors by shopping around in the usual places like scanning the local classifieds section of your newspapers, shopping around locally, word of mouth, etc.. These days however, some of the cheapest deals are on the internet. Many websites now carry a wide variety of pre-made fireplace door options to choose from at standard sizes and most have attractive shipping options. If you want custom fireplace doors, your best bet may be to find a local professional who will generally charge a bit more than for a standard option.