building a house that i designed to have a fireplace.

i know that in the west you can buy a factory built one that you can dress up with stone or brick or whatever to your liking,

but dont know if you can get any here. they are also available with correct chimney / flu/ damper parts.

any specialty shop or mfg in thailand?

thanks.

I’m also vaguely interested in a fireplace / chimney so this will bump it up.

Any experts on this out there?

A friend of mine has a fireplace. It's all rock and concrete and doesn't even have a damper. He told me he wanted a fireplace but mostly for looks so he didn't worry about an insert or anything to make it more efficient. It does look nice and it is smokeless because the chimney draft is really strong. He is able to regulate it a little by how far he opens a window on the other side of the room.

your mate's fireplace could be dangerous...

check out this site

http://www.woodheat.org/

i believe the best way may be to import a factory made from australia or the west, its the metal inside i believe, then you can dress it up with stone wood or whatever mantle you want.

i think you can get the correct inside parts for the chimney too.

its one of those things worth doing right because theres either high risk of fire, smoke, or just getting no heat out of it.

Why would you want a fireplace in Thailand?

Why would you want a fireplace in Thailand?

Obviously you have never been up north during the winter. Some mornings it is cold enough here in Loei that I can see my breath. To me, that's seriously cold. I may put in a fireplace before next winter.

it gets real cold in chiang rai in decemeber and january at night. well cold enough for a fireplace.

If you can get a "pre-fab" fireplace that is the way to go. they are very easy to install, very safe and work well. the can be finished to look like the real thing

its one of those things worth doing right because theres either high risk of fire, smoke, or just getting no heat out of it.

Whenever you burn stuff inside a building there is an increased chance of fire and almost assuredly there will be smoke from time to time.....as to getting heat out of a fireplace, they are notoriously innefficient. In running a fireplace you need to have a strong draft up the chimney to keep smoke out of the room....this draft not only moves the heat up the chimney and out of the house quickly but it also draws cold air into the house unless the chimney has a vent to bring outside air in to it. When the fire goes out it continues to allow warmth to escape up the chimney until the flue is closed...if you close the flue too soon to save the heat you run the risk of smoke...if you leave the draft open to avoid smoke then you loose heat........a completely enclosed firebox where gas inlet and outlet can be controlled is what is needed for efficient heat extraction. But...on the other hand in Thailand you don't really need much heat in that you only need to raise the temperature in a room by about 10 degrees C.

Chownah

Just to revive this topic, does anyone know any qualified craftsmen in Thailand who know how to built a proper fireplace? I'm building a house in the north and would like to install a small corner fireplace, the kind known in the US southwest as a 'kiva'. I have a decent mason who can do the main box, but he doesn't know how to do the flue, etc. I've found some diagrams on the web but would rather have someone who knows what they're doing if there is anyone out there.

if it is heat rather than appearance that yer after consider importing a cast iron wood stove an' put the flue up the chimney...much more efficient than fireplaces. there useta be an outfit called Franklin Stove or sumpin' in the US; do a google an' see what dey got...

If you can get a "pre-fab" fireplace that is the way to go. they are very easy to install, very safe and work well. the can be finished to look like the real thing

I've looked around for a pre fab firepalce without any luck. Has anybody seen one anywhere?