The art of building a masonry fireplace is alive in Austin TX. We hand build custom fireplaces to burn hotter, draw better, and last for generations.

In today’s world a fireplace is seen by some as unnecessary, but I’m not so sure. The act of lighting and enjoying a fire is a unique need that cannot be met by any other means. A fire not only warms the flesh, but the bones and the soul. .. Souler energy?

Many builders have drifted away from hand built fireplaces. Some metal box options are cheaper. Some kit fireplace company’s have done a good marketing job. Both have their place, but not in your home. Include us in your design process to optimize chimney placement and economically incorporate your masonry fireplace. Too many times we are unable to build a fireplace due to lack of understanding from the builder. A proper fireplace need not be expensive.

A fireplace heats by radiation. No ,we don’t build nuclear powered fireplaces. Heat energy is transmitted through the air directly to objects in the room. The other ways heat is transferred are conduction, direct contact with the heat source, (snuggling) , and convection, air is heated and moves around giving up its energy to objects in the room including you. Most of us have a convection heating system in our home. The radiated fireplace heat is a completely different experience from the average home heating system.

The next thing you need to know is that a fireplace needs to reach as high a temperature as possible. Hotter fires burn more of the fuel in wood and produce less smoke. We build our fireboxes out of full thickness firebrick. As the brick heats up it radiates back into the room and the fire, reaching temperatures unattainable in a metal box, or a lighter kit firebox.

We build our fireboxes in the Rumford style. A true Rumford is a shallow firebox with a narrow back wall, and forward facing side walls to maximize the reflected radiation. Many people prefer our Texas Rumford, which is a bit deeper to accept larger logs.

We offer interior and exterior designs. We like to build deeper boxes outdoors that are less susceptible to the wind. We offer “guts only” where we build the firebox and smoke chamber up the first flue. Many talented stone masons lack the knowledge to build the inner workings of a fireplace. You want yours to be special, so let a specialist build it.