How To Select The Right Fireplace Screens For Your Home

A roaring fire in a fireplace is one of the best and most romantic ways to warm up on a cold day. But a fireplace is dangerous as well as beautiful. As long as you have the right tools and accessories you can reduce the risk to your furniture and flooring and make it easier to get and keep the fire burning well.

A fireplace screen is made up of a metal frame that holds metal mesh or screening. You may notice that a screen is normally only used with wood burning fireplaces. Other types of fireplaces, such as pellet stoves or natural gas fireplaces use fire doors or other screening methods. They do not depend as heavily on a fireplace screen to keep embers and sparks in where they will not cause any damage.

Fireplace screens need to be stable and made of metal that is fairly thick and hard. You want to make sure that there is no chance that the screen will fall over if it is accidentally bumped or moved so that you can get at the fire inside the fireplace. You also want to make sure that a very hot fire will not melt or warp the frame of the screen since this can make it unusable. It should not be lined with a solid liner since this can keep necessary air flow from reaching the fire and allowing it to burn properly.

If you like a traditional look, you should go for a screen that has three or more panels. There are single panel fireplace screens, but they are often more contemporary in their styling. With a three panel fireplace screen, there will be a wider front panel that extends along the front of the fireplace and two side panels that provide the screen with stability and allow it to stand upright.

If a screen has more than three panels, it is often because the front panel has been divided up into multiple smaller panels. The individual panels may be ornamented with metal scroll work, flowers or other decorative elements. Different decorations will give different looks. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a fireplace door and a fireplace screen. A screen is generally movable and designed to be set in front of the fireplace whereas a door is often a more permanent installation.

You also need to make sure that you can access the fireplace easily with the screen that you have chosen. Keep in mind that they should be easily movable. You may want to pick a fireplace screen that has mesh that can be drawn aside. You may not want to have to move the screen in order to access the fireplace since the metal can get quite warm the longer it is near the heat of the fire.

Finding a fireplace screen is not difficult. They are sold in stores and on websites. You can find them in home improvement shops, furniture stores and fireplace supply stores as well. It may be easy to find them but picking the right one can be a hard decision to make. By thinking about your needs and how you use your fireplace, it should not be hard to make the choice that is right for you.

Jeff Bridges has always enjoyed the warmth received in front of the fire he currently runs a website where he sells fireplace screens. There they promote many differently styles, colors, and designs of fireplace screens.

Originally posted 2010-01-21 06:37:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter