381-8 Old Riverhead Road

Westhampton Beach, NY

Tel. 631-998-0780

Hours: Tues. - Thur. 9am to 3pm / Fri. 9am to 12pm (or by appt.) / Sat. - Mon. Closed

Our Company Blog

Fireplace Safety Tips

Even when you use your fireplace less in the warmer weather, there are still things to remember. In fact, using your fireplace less may make you more lax when it comes to fireplace safety. Your fireplace is still the focal point of your living space, and you still may choose to use it for ambiance and supplemental heat during the spring. Fire safety should always be the #1 priority when you have a fireplace in your home.

When the Fire is Out

When there isn’t a fire burning in the fireplace, it’s important to remember it is still dangerous. If there are children or guests with children in the home, they should use caution while playing near the hearth, even when there is no fire lit.

-Treat the fireplace as if there is a fire burning in it.
-Keep the fireplace screen up and properly installed.
-Close doors securely and check the hinges and latches regularly.
-Keep the damper closed when a fire is not burning to prevent animal intrusion that may cause damage and obstruction.

When the Fire is Burning

When you’re ready to light a fire in your spring fireplace, it can be tricky. The air becomes more warm and humid during spring, making it more difficult to light a fire. Only burn properly seasoned firewood in your fireplace.

When Burning Fires Outside

Spring is a popular time to open your outdoor fire pit for the season. Depending on the style of fire pit you might have in your outdoor space, you may not be worried about fire safety. However, when a fire is burning, fire safety should be a concern!

-Never leave a fire unattended.
-Keep children away from the fire.
-Only burn wood and kindling in your fire. Leaves, pine cones/needles, and paper can float away and cause a fire elsewhere.
-Fill a bucket of water and keep it nearby in case of emergency.
-Use proper, long-handled tools to stir the fire.
-Use long-handled spears for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs to avoid burns.
-Roast marshmallows over embers instead of flames in order to avoid a torch-like fire.
-When putting your fire out, spread out the embers and sprinkle water to avoid hot embers spraying when you dump a large amount of water.

It is always important to know your fire appliance. If you use your appliance improperly, it may be unsafe and you don’t realize it. Read your owner’s manual if you never have and make sure you know how it’s designed to work. You may need to cover your fire pit or do something special to prevent damage that can make it malfunction before you use it again.

When you buy your outdoor products from Beach Stove and Fireplace you will receive your manual and the expert advice of our technicians. Are you thinking about a fire pit and don’t know where to start? Start at Beach Stove and Fireplace! Call 631-998-0780 or come by our showroom!

By Julie Dismore on April 23rd, 2018 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Comments Off on Fireplace Safety Tips

Throw it Away! Don’t Burn Your Wrapping Paper

Christmas is only days away, and with it comes family, fun, and festivities. In many homes across America, Christmas also means a fire in the hearth. Gift-giving and merriment are made even better with a crackling fire in the fireplace, and we agree. It’s our goal at Beach Stove and Fireplace to not only make sure your fire is crackling and warm, but also safe. As licensed, certified, and insured chimney sweeps, we offer professional services to keep your chimney safe. Having a professional install, service, repair, and inspect your fire appliances is the best way to stay safe. It’s our job to take care of the chimney. It’s important that homeowners do their part by remembering fireplace safety on the big day. Don’t let a disaster ruin your Christmas.

The Problem with Wrapping Paper

The least popular task after a big get-together is definitely clean-up. If you’re sitting around a fire for your gift exchange, it seems like no big deal to toss the wrapping paper right into the fireplace. Don’t do it. Wrapping paper is made of chemical compounds that color the paper. These compounds commonly contain high levels of toxic metal. When burned, the chemicals react with the paper, causing hazardous gases to be released. It’s best to burn only appropriate fuel in your fireplace and to practice safe habits all winter long. 

  • Only burn firewood in your fireplace.

Light items like pine needles (Christmas tree pieces), leaves, and paper can rise up the flue while aflame. This can lead to flue fires as well as roof and yard fires when flames escape the chimney. The only thing that should go into your fireplace is seasoned firewood. If you have a gas fireplace, you should never burn items in your fireplace. Gas fireplaces are designed to only burn gas. Some gas fireplaces don’t even require a chimney, so burning paper will release smoke and particle pollution directly into your house.

During the merriment of Christmas morning, wrapping paper can get too close to the fireplace and light unintentionally. Be safe by keeping your glass doors or screen closed. Not only will it keep unwanted items out of the fire, but it will prevent children from being burned, and guests from adjusting your fire.

Other Ways to Stay Safe this Christmas

Make sure that your family has a happy and healthy holiday season by having a safe fire.

  • Install carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms throughout your home and check batteries regularly.
  • Discuss fireplace safety with guests and children. Never leave a fire unattended or leave children unattended with a fire.
  • Plan a fire escape with two ways out of your house, and practice it with your family.
  • Use appropriate fireplace tools and accessories designed to assist with fireplace tasks. You should choose a fire poker and shovel with long handles to avoid burns. Avoid leaning over a fire, and keep loose clothing and hair away from open flames.

Your fireplace will be the star of the show in the coming weeks. Don’t hesitate to light your fireplace throughout the festivities. Prevent property loss, injury, and even death by practicing fire safety this season.

By Julie Dismore on December 21st, 2017 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Throw it Away! Don’t Burn Your Wrapping Paper

Custom Glass Fireplace Doors

When you are decorating for the holidays or cleaning the house to make room for guests this season, it’s the perfect time to make changes to your fireplace. If you’re tired of the drab look of your old masonry fireplace, or want to upgrade your old insert, you don’t have to buy a whole new system. Custom glass doors can be just the thing your fireplace is missing. Not only do glass doors offer a fireplace face-lift, but also have great benefits that will save you time and money!

Save Energy with Custom Glass Doors

Conditioned air and heated air is lost up the chimney year-round, costing homeowners hundreds of dollars each year in wasted utilities. Glass doors close tightly, preventing drafts that affect the home’s temperature. They also raise efficiency of the fireplace by twice, meaning less wood has to be burned to reach a desired temperature.

Upgrade Your Fireplace with Custom Glass Doors

One of the biggest complaints we see at Beach Stove and Fireplace are homeowners unhappy with unsightly louvers. That’s why we install custom glass doors that cover them, so you don’t have to see them. You can choose glass doors that complement your décor and personality and completely transform your old insert or fireplace at the same time.

Control Heat and Fire with Custom Glass Doors

If you don’t have a gas fireplace, you don’t have the convenience of temperature control or an easy on/off switch. When you have custom glass doors, though, you can control your fire by closing the doors and keeping the sparks, smoke, and heat inside. This is also a great way to decrease the heat quickly when your house is full and temps are rising. Glass doors still allow ambient heat into the room, however, so you can still benefit from your fire.

Keep Children and Pets Safe with Custom Glass Doors

When the fire is out, close your glass doors so that small animals don’t get into your fireplace. Use the doors to prevent children from getting too near or falling into the fire. Glass will still get hot, but doors will prevent falls into the fire, preventing severe burns and life-threatening injuries. Screens can get hot and become difficult to open and close. Glass doors are easier to open and close, with handles that don’t burn your hands, and will not fall over the way that screens and gates can.

Finally, glass fireplace doors will hide your mess. If your fire has been burning for a few days and you don’t want to smell the odors from your unlit fireplace, dispose of the unburned wood, or clean out the ash just yet, you can close the doors and no one will know! This is especially nice before you have visitors.

Learn more about your chimney system by asking the professionals. Beach Stove and Fireplace experts are standing by to provide services from installations to routine maintenance. We want all of our customers and neighbors to have a safe, warm, and happy holiday season. Call and see how we can help you this winter.

By Julie Dismore on November 23rd, 2017 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Comments Off on Custom Glass Fireplace Doors

All About Firewood

There are some great benefits to choosing wood heat ranging from ambiance to fuel availability and cost. Whether you have a fireplace, a furnace, or a pellet stove, it’s important to choose proper fuel. The wood you choose for your wood-burning fire will affect your heat output, efficiency, comfort, and more. It’s vital to choose good, aged, dry firewood.

All About Firewood Image - Westhampton Beach NY - Beach Stove and FireplaceSafety First

While you enjoy your crackling fire on a brisk winter’s night, it may be easy to forget about the chimney and it’s vital role in fire safety. Your chimney works to release byproducts and toxins from the home. By choosing proper firewood, you decrease the amount of pollution released into the home, and even the air around your home. You also decrease creosote buildup  in the chimney, thereby decreasing fire risk.

Buying Firewood

If you are unable to cut and split your own firewood, it is important to choose your wood source wisely. You can often tell the quality of wood by sight, but you cannot always tell if it’s properly seasoned. Seasoned wood will be lighter, will turn gray, and will often begin splitting and cracking. Be sure you are able to see the wood product before you make your purchase. It’s best to do some research, get reviews from other homeowners, and plan ahead. Most individuals and companies sell wood year round, but may increase prices during wood-burning season. Save money by buying your wood during the off-season.

Storing Firewood

You may prefer to store firewood in a shed or in a stack outside. Both methods are fine for storage as long as the wood is left to dry for at least six months. When storing outside you can utilize the bark by using it as a moisture barrier. If you live in a wet climate that gets a lot of moisture, store the wood bark-side up in order to allow the rain to run off. If you live in a climate that gets a lot of snow or ground moisture you can also store the wood bark-side down. The firewood will dry best if it’s stored after splitting, so cutting logs and stacking them for storage will not guarantee properly seasoned firewood.

Quality Firewood

Just as trees differ in size, height, and strength, so does wood. Some woods, like pine, fur, spruce, and redwood are considered soft woods. Soft woods burn faster so you may find yourself filling the stove more often or purchasing more often. Oak, birch, and beech trees are considered hard woods. This wood takes longer to dry, but also takes longer to burn, offering a steady temperature, and cleaner burn. This means that the wood is burned completely with less byproduct.

By finding, storing, and burning wood properly you can lengthen the life of your fireplace, increase efficiency and heat output, as well as decrease the risk of fire.

You can take control of your family’s safety and comfort by choosing the right wood for your wood-burning fire, just as you’d choose the right fuel for your car. Hiring a professional to maintain your car is important, and so is hiring a professional to maintain your fireplace and chimney. Call Beach Stove and Fireplace to schedule your chimney maintenance today.

By Julie Dismore on September 9th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Comments Off on All About Firewood

Fire Safety for Fireplace Owners

A fireplace can add impressive beauty and comfort to a home, particularly during the chilly winter months. Few can resist the allure of the crackling flames and soothing warmth, which makes fireplaces such popular additions to home. However, they come with their own set of risks, just like all other household appliances. Keeping safety in mind this season can help ensure a warm, happy winter for everyone.

First of all, fireplaces are built to contain live flames that can burn upward of hundreds of degrees depending on the type of fuel being burned. In just a moment of contact with flames, skin can suffer severe burns and flammable materials can ignite violently. One good measure to take to help avoid this type of damage is to maintain a safe distance of at least three feet from the fireplace. This concerns both people and combustible items in the home, such as furniture and decorations. To help maintain this distance, the fire should remain supervised at all times, especially with children or pets around.

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Children and pets are at the highest risk around the fireplace. In addition to close supervision, another way to keep them safe is to have heat resistant glass doors installed on the face of the fireplace. Designed to separate the home from the fire, the newer models of glass doors even stay cool to the touch while the fire burns, making them an ideal safety feature. For older children, teach them about fire safety, including the risk of burns and the danger of putting foreign objects into the fire.

Another crucial step to take to keep the fireplace safe is to have it serviced regularly. Fire code requires the chimney be swept at least once per year. This practice removes built up soot or creosote, which can block the proper ventilation of fumes from the home or even cause a devastating chimney fire. Additionally, an inspection must be performed annually to detect any potential safety threats like an obstruction, a damaged flue lining, or a malfunctioning damper, all of which can flood the house with poisonous carbon monoxide gas.

One final measure, which should be present in a house whether or not it has a fireplace, is the proper placement of functioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Smoke detectors should be placed on each floor, outside the sleeping area, and inside each bedroom. Carbon monoxide detectors should also be on each floor and outside the sleeping area. Each detector should be replaced every five to ten years, depending on the manufacturer’s requirements, and the batteries must be tested every month and replaced if necessary.

For more tips on being safe with your fireplace this winter, contact the professionals at Beach Stove and Fireplace.

By Julie Dismore on January 24th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fire Safety for Fireplace Owners

Our Location

Beach Stove and Fireplace is located on Old Riverhead Road between Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway. From Sunrise Highway take exit 63 south, travel 1.2 miles and turn right at the 381 complex (just north of Gabreski Airport)