For some homeowners, a fireplace is a must have. Let's look at what your options are when building a new home.
Traditional wood-burning fireplaces are the most common choice when included in new home construction. These require venting through a chimney, and this will limit the location within the home. The most common location being the living/family room, or great room. Another popular option is a see-through fireplace, which will provide warmth and visual appeal in two different rooms in your home, such as great room, and master bedroom on the other side.
Wood-burning fireplaces will also be the most expensive installation choice in a fireplace.
There is nothing like the smell of a wood-burning fire, to make a house a home.
If you are having brickwork or natural stone done on the exterior of your new home, this would be the obvious material to use for your fireplace construction.
Cost-wise for operating expenses, this would be your least expensive option.
But you will have additional maintenance costs, such as chimney cleaning to remove soot and grease.
Second choice in a fireplace would be a gas fireplace.
The reason for this is simple, the inconvenience of keeping stock of logs in the house to burn, and the cleanout required with each use.
This is a much cleaner choice. A gas burning fireplace can give you stunning visual appeal, the look of a real fireplace, with remote control convenience. They give a realistic look of a fire burning, using a series of gas burners located within ceramic logs.
This choice will increase you gas and electric bills, depending on usage.
A third choice would be an electric fireplace. An electric fireplace is free-standing, can be placed anywhere in the home, they plug into the wall, and can be installed after construction is completed. There are many attractive designs available in electric fireplaces these days. They are also equipped with an electric blower, which can provide additional heat for a room.
For operating costs, they would be your most expensive choice, and will run up your electric bill considerably.
Whichever your choice, there's something warm and appealing about coming home on a cold winter evening, and having a fireplace to curl up and relax in front of with friends or family, or even your favorite pet.
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