Lighting it up

As seen in The Miami Herald, December 26, 2009

Designer: Eloise Kubli, ASID

Text: Jana Soeldner Danger

Photography: Various

Publication: The Miami Herald,

  Special to South Florida Home

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INDOORS: ELECTRIC, WOOD, OR GAS?
A gas fireplace can look almost the same as one that burns wood, and it may not require a chimney. The installer runs a gas line from outside into the house, puts in a prefabricated firebox, and builds a facing around it with wood or stone.

A wood-burning fireplace built into the home or on the lanai can cost between $3,500 to $8,000. It requires cutting a hole into the roof for a chimney so smoke can escape.

Chimney flues that consist of four-foot-long sections of pipe snap together. To properly vent the smoke, the chimney must rise 12 to 13 feet from the bottom of the fireplace. Since the roofs of most homes are at least eight feet high, the chimney needs to go only four or five feet above the roof. The flue pipe is sealed with flashing to keep out moisture, and the installer then replaces the roof shingles or tiles. A homeowner who installs an indoor wood-burning fireplace may be wise to run a line for gas at the same time.

For the face of the fireplace, top choices are stone or brick, or even tile. “It should work with the architecture of the home,” Kubli says. continued…

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Eloise Kubli is a Professional Member of the American Society of Interior Designers. Arthur Kubli is a General Contractor licensed in Florida and numerous other states. Both Kublis have received numerous industry awards for their work. Established in 1983, Collective Construction & Design, Inc. is proud to be certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council as a Women's Business Enterprise.