Can you add a fireplace to any open outside wall on a house?
Quite simply: yes. “You can add a fireplace to any house on any wall, but while most fireplaces are on exterior walls, that’s not necessarily ideal,” explains Jim Buckley, owner of Buckley Rumford Fireplaces in Port Townsend, Washington, which builds Rumford-style fireplaces, which are taller and shallower than wide rectangular fireplaces, for better heating efficiency. A better option: One placed in the middle of the house where “you get bigger bang for the buck, because the flue stays warm, and you don’t lose as much heat,” explains Buckley. As for the fear that it’s dangerous to add one to an old house, Buckley, who has done fireplace restorations to 200-year-old houses says phooey to that. “It’s an old wives’ tale,” he says. “It’s true that 100-year-old wood has a lower kindling temperature to that of new wood, but if you build it to code, it’s safe.” The cost: a stock produced fireplace can cost as little as $3,000 to $4,000 and up. But the labor is expensive: a mason runs about $1,200 a day. But here’s the good news: According to research, a fireplace will give you a great return on your investment. In fact, Remodeling Online says you are more likely to recoup the cost of adding a fireplace at resale than you will with other renovations. (Check out remodeling.hw.net for the “Cost vs. Value” charts to see which home remodeling projects recoup the most on your money). And thanks to the current emphasis on energy efficiency, and a long-standing desire for family time by the fire, buyers report wanting them, and Realtors push them.
-- Amy Spencer