Wooden fire guard - don't laugh!

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gidon

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We need to stop our 9 month old from crawling into the white hot wood burner! Now it's not so daft - this is a wood burner not an open fire. It has a slate hearth 85cm x 35cm in front of it - I was thinking of making a slatted hinged (to fold away) fire guard to just surround this fireplace.
Is this a daft idea? Is it any more daft than having a wooden fire surround or a wooden mantle piece above the fire?
If it's ok to do any ideas how it could be attached to the wall (for easy attaching and detaching) - and as invisibly as possible. And any ideas on the suitability of Ash for the task (I have a stack of it at the moment)? Any suggested finish to give it more resistance.
Any advice (however harsh) appreciated.
Cheers
Gidon
 
Definately not recommended, when my siblings were young we had a wire mesh one that attched to the wall each side of the fire place.
 
Gidon,
I second Waka. Go for a proper and very well fixed or fixable, wire mesh screen. Apart from anything else it will permit the transmission of heat better than something that blocks up the area more.
 
Not wishing to put the cat amongst pigeons - but its not that unsual to find firedogs around hearths and woodburners that are upholstered in cloth or leather.

I agree with the sentiment of 'well fixed' but wood should not be excluded for this (otherwide all cots would be steel!) although I can also see that it would reduce the heat output.

Cheers

Tim
 
Also bear in mind that it will not be long before your 9 month old becomes quite adept at launching toys across the room. The wire guards have tops on them too (usually...) and would therefore prevent Teddy Bear going all Pyro.
 
Thanks all! Think I will look at alternatives then (fancy getting a response from a firefighter - I feel well and truly told now)!
Tim - maybe it was some sort of fire retardant cloth?
Cheers
Gidon
 
Gidon
There's always chocolate, of course! Makes excellent fireguards, I'm told.
Or did I hear that wrong?

SF
 
Hi Gidon, After reading this thread, I felt compelled to post a picture of our fireplace - you are not the only nutter to have had this idea :D

In fairness, we have central heating, and our fireplace has not been used since my ‘creation’ - I wouldn’t fancy putting it on with my ‘guard’ in place either.
I worked to a five point criteria;

1) Is it aesthetically pleasing and sympathetic to its surroundings? – Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – it actually becomes more beautiful at night, especially when the lights are off.

2) Did it solve the problem of my youngest daughter eating lumps of coal? – YES

3) – Is it secure? – Numerous randomly placed 3 inch screws hold it in place (I will deal with the subsequent damage to the surround when the times comes – I’ve got loads of filler in the garage)

4) Is it a timeless piece of craftsmanship? – Mmmm, Well I started with 5 off-cut planks of pine I found, then they were jointed, cut, sanded and edge routed followed by a few coats of whichever stain I could find to try and get it as close as possible to the surround - not bad in my view - especially after a few beers on a Sunday! :twisted: I may well pass it on to any future Grandchildren I may have – Look out for it in Antiques Roadshow (the 2094 series)

5) Did it mean I could cross another job of my list, thus pleasing my better half? – YES!! 8)

Cheers all, :eek:ccasion5:

Nick
Jet
(Master craftsman of wooden fireplace guards :oops: )
fireplace.jpg
 
Nick - very nice! I don't feel quite so bad. But we do have this on and need something to protect it then also.
SF - chocolate? No - we're trying to keep him off that until he's a least 5 ;).
Cheers
Gidon
 
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