Until recent years, a major handicap in building outdoor stone fireplace was the difficulty of locating essential metal parts, such as grilles, doors, grates, and the like. Now, metal fireplace units and a wide variety of parts are manufactured by The Majestic Company, Inc., of Huntington, Indiana. Your Lumber, Building Material, or Masonry Supply Dealer will be happy to assist you in your needs for Majestic Barbecue Equip­ment. Don't take substitutes.

With these metal units, anyone can create an attractive fireplace by using a complete unit as a building form and setting up masonry around it. in any desired design.

First essential for a good fireplace is a strong, solid foundation. In warm climates, where frost is not a factor, your fireplace can be set on a firm bed of tamped ground, cinders, or gravel. In cold climates, where deep frost occurs, building outdoor stone fireplace should be done on either a floating slab of reinforced concrete, or on a solid foundation of concrete or of brick or stones set in mortar and extending 4" or 5" or more below the frost line. You can learn the details on building a floating slab on page 90 of this booklet. For a below-frost-line foundation, see a local authority such as your building supply dealer.

Be sure to provide proper allowances for the metal parts of your fire­place to expand and contract as the result of heating and cooling. When using a Majestic Fireplace unit, this can be done by placing sheets of corrugated paper between the sides of the unit and the masonry. When the first fire is built, this corrugated paper will burn away, leaving space for expansion.

A chimney is not always necessary. If you plan to burn only charcoal in the fireplace, the three masonry walls around the metal unit are all that is required. However, if either wood or coal is the fuel to be used, the fireplace should have a chimney. It is also wise to provide the chim­ney with a cap to keep out water and possibly a screen to check flying sparks from wood fires.

When building outdoor stone fireplace, it is wise to provide a means of adjusting the depth of the firegrate beneath the grill, since a charcoal fire should be placed much closer to the grill than a wood fire. In the Majestic metal units, this adjustment for charcoal or wood is provided.

Pick a spot as near your house as possible. Sometimes it is better to take a lesser but closer location, rather than make long walks back and forth from house to Cook-Nook. As a general rule, the nearer to the house, the more often your fireplace will be used.

If a grassy lawn, flower garden, or other open site is your choice, the Cook-Nook can be partially seclud­ed with skillful garden planting. The fireplace should face the prevailing wind, and only a low chim­ney tor no chimney at all) is needed.

Trees and heavy shrubbery that af­ford privacy, wind protection and shade are welcome features of an outdoor Cook-Nook. Here, a tall chimney that blends with the background of lofty trees and carries the smoke high overhead is desirable.

The wall of your house or garage, or a garden fence, may furnish real privacy and good wind protection. As a rule, such locations call for a well-constructed chimney extending higher than the adjoining structure in order to avoid downdrafts.

Many Other Designs Available

The above designs arc typical of a wide selection of many types of Outdoor Fireplace designs, for which complete, detailed plans may be obtained at nominal cost from Hager Design Studio, Box 33. 3712 Halsted Road, Rockford. III. Write the studio direct, not the Majestic Co., Inc., for details and prices.

If you're like me and find it easier to read a book in your hand rather than spending hours staring at a screen, you may wish to download this ebook. You can save the book to your computer, print it at your own convenience and read whenever and wherever you like. Download Your Copy of "How to Build a Better Fireplace"

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