*Drawings are for conceptual purposes only. Consult with competent masonry heater, chimney and building professionals before construction.*

Central

If you are planning new construction, renovating or adding on to your home, placing the masonry heater in a "central location" will provide the most benefit. Knowing this in advance may provide new found opportunities for your fireplace/oven project.

It is good to know up front that fireplaces can be "see through"  or "single sided" and an "oven option" can be located on the front, back, or side. Also, the chimney location shown for base vent fireplaces can be moved away from or along the back and sides of the fireplace to fit the design. Decorative or heated benches can also be planned for. These benefits apply to "stepped in" and "outside wall" masonry heaters as well.

Each project is unique, so moving, turning and combining different features shown is encouraged. Interior walls stepped away from the heater are preferred, however interior walls can also be protected with heat shields as shown in the "outside wall" plan. Two green arrows means you have a choice for oven location and two red arrows means "see through". Cooktops have been left out but can be considered and are typically free standing or used in combination with the ovens and fireplaces. Scroll down this page to see the "stepped in" and "outside wall" layouts.

Click here,FloorPlanPDF, to download a full color PDF file of the drawings shown on this page.

Stepped Away From Wall

Outside Wall

Masonry Heater and Hearth Design

You can begin dreaming about the many possibilities to consider and the warm and cozy evenings you will be spending this winter next to your fireplace, or the savory dishes coming out of your oven, but sooner or later you have to ask yourself some questions about how to integrate the masonry heater into your home, so lets start with what type of project you are considering. More than likely it will fall into one of the following categories

• new construction
  • centrally located fireplace/oven
  • stepped in fireplace/oven
  • outside wall fireplace/oven

• existing renovation or addition (location varies)
  • replace existing open hearth wood or gas fireplace
  • replace existing wood or gas stove
  • want to utilize existing chimney
  • addition - where is the best location?
  • remodel - where is the best location?

Support Structure - (Under Construction)

Flue System Components - (Under Construction)

Installation of all of the Above - (Under Construction)

This guide will focus on the technical and aesthetic principles for the design and construction of masonry heaters and ovens. The term fireplace will be used freely to reference a masonry heater or masonry heater with an oven. To begin with we must consider the following when integrating a masonry heater into a home or commercial space:

• masonry heater and hearth design
• support structure
• flue system components
• installation of all of the above

This guide will take you through each of the above and give you the information you need to plan a successful project. For persons in the building trades, some of this may already be part of your knowledge base, however, you may find the diagrams and technical information presented a good reference for future projects