The Right Way To Build A Fireplace Fire

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"Traditionally," says J.M. Dulin, of Libertyville, Illinois, "a fireplace fire is built by stacking three or more logs on the unit's grate with their sides facing 'out'. A flame is then allowed to burn between those logs and the back wall of the fireplace ... which is pretty darned energy inefficient, simply because the pieces of wood tend to block the blaze and prevent its warmth from reaching the room that the fire is supposed to heat."

Is there a better way? Yep. And J.M. invented it. "It won't cost you a nickel to increase the efficiency of your fireplace as much as 100% by using my method, either," Mr. Dulin says. "All you have to do is stack your fuel a little differently."

Start by placing some kindling in the center of your fireplace's grate as shown in the first photo with this article. Then lay one split-out section of log across each end of the stack of kindling as shown in the second picture. Note that these pieces of wood are placed with their rear ends closer together than their front ends. Note, too, that the sections of log actually touch the back wall of the fireplace and that the chunks of fuel should not extend more than an inch or so beyond the front of the grate (if they stick out too far, they can "throw" smoke into the room as the fire burns).

Now lay one or two pieces of wood across the two side logs. Push these last chunks of fuel all the way back so the rearmost piece of wood is shoved right up against the rear wall of the fireplace and the other log (if there is one) is crowded against the first.

"You've just created a `firebox' that's entirely open across its front," says J.M. Dulin. "This allows a great deal of energy to radiate directly into your room as that firebox burns, since there're no large pieces of wood between you and the blaze to block the heat. Besides that, the flame can draw fresh air up through the bottom of the grate quite freely because that grate isn't covered by tightly packed logs. This creates a good draft that makes your fire burn more efficiently."