Nice How to Buy a Wide Fireplace Screen

When buying a wide fireplace screen it is important to understand the different  types of screens.  The first screen was a single piece of mesh in a rectangle and was laid up against the hearth.  This was sometime after the transition from dirt floors to wooden floors.  Flying sparks were a wooden house's worst nightmare.  Warmth was good but burning down the house was not good.  A fireplace screen was and is a simple way to increase your fire safety.  Under normal conditions the brick hearth is extended into the room a short distance.  This could be a few inches to over a foot in length.  That few inches of brick will catch a majority of the flying sparks, however it is the one that gets past the brick that has someone calling the fire department.  So a better fireplace hearth screen system is needed and is available. Get a tape measure and a notepad, take a couple of measurements and head to the internet. 

To get the proper measurements for the metal fireplace screen get out the tape measure and get a reading on the inside bottom to top measurement.  Also get the width from side to side. Common fireplace hearth openings are 28-30 inches high and 36 inches wide or 42 inches wide.  Some on occasion will be 32 inches high. After writing them down the next choice is style of mesh fireplace screen. 

Modern fireplace screens come with a simple approach, tall enough and wide enough to effectively block the sparks; straight forward and to the point.  It will not be that easy.  There are a lot of choices.  A single wide flat screen, much like the original design, curved or bowed screens and multi panel screens.  These are the most common and come in three, four and five panel screens.  The three panel screen without any decorating features will be the cheap fireplace screen.  The most enclosed screen is a Spark Guard type screen.  This screen allows for no opening into the room and complete closure of the hearth.  These are not the most attractive but are the safest to use. 

A guide for screen size is simple; get a screen that is 3-5 inches taller than the hearth opening and 8-12 inches wider than the hearth.  This gives you extra protection and screen stability.  Another good idea is to make sure the screen has no more than one inch clearance at the bottom of the screen off of the floor or hearth that it is setting on. 

Use the screen as a first line of safety in fire prevention.  Have a happy and warm home this winter.

James Dahlberg