How to Choose the Right Hearth for Your Timber Home

It’s easy to heat up your home’s design with the perfect fireplace. Use this guide to navigate through your options.

Photo: Roger Wade / See more of this home here.

1. Fireplace

A popular hearth option that now comes in affordable factory-built models

PROS: Traditional appeal; can be open on one to four sides

CONS: Typically requires professional installation; full-masonry fireplaces require a reinforced foundation to support their weight

An insulated, closed-door system placed in an existing wood-burning fireplace opening

PROS: Increases the efficiency of older fireplaces; can function as a secondary home heater

CONS: Requires a working chimney; inserts typically must be removed for routine maintenance

A freestanding option that combines ambiance with ease of use

PROS: Wide range of sizes; very efficient heat source

CONS: Takes up space in the room; requires fireproof flooring material underneath

Uses stone mass to absorb the heat from small, hot fires, radiating warmth even after the fires are out

PROS: Among the cleanest and most efficient to operate

CONS: Expensive and heavy; requires a solid foundation

Available as fireplaces, inserts or stoves; provide the warmth of a traditional unit without the need for fuel and cleanup

PROS: Provides the ambiance of a fireplace; programmable heat; can be placed anywhere

CONS: Lower-end units look artificial and lack crackling sound and aroma of an actual fire