Florida Kiva-Rumford

From: "michael humphrey"
To: Jim Buckley
Subject: Kiva Rumford in St Petersburg Florida

Hello Jim, I built this Kiva Rumford as close to the spec as I could for my sister in Florida and even though you can't see it in the pictures very well I obviously built a fire wall on the left hand side wall which was an existing stud driwall.

I took great great pride in building it knowing that it would become the focal point of the house and now that it has been there for a year with no problems (I didn't anticipate any, but it was my first Kiva and wanted to be sure) I now feel safe sending these pics to show off the results of a classic design.

One question I will ask you though is that I live in British Columbia in Canada and my official trade is a Tile Roofing Contractor and I was in conversation with a mason here and he was adamant that that type of design for a Kiva fireplace here in Canada wouldn't work very well with our colder climate and the draw which the fireplace requires , and not being a proffesional in these matters it has made me wonder what you think.

Your views would be appreciated on this matter. Hope you like the pics

22nd Dec. 2005
Michael Humphrey
munclemichael@hotmail.com
Vernon B.C
Canada

Michael,

It's a lovely fireplace - and so is the tile roof. Thanks for the pictures.

I can't imagine why your Canadian mason thinks a Kiva-Rumford wouldn't work in Canada. I would say just the opposite - colder weather makes the temperature differential between indoors and outdoor greater which would improve the draft and typical Canadian homes have taller chimneys which would also improve the draft. I don't know that we have any Kiva-Rumfords in Canada (it's basically a southwestern style) but we sure do have lots of 30" Rumfords, on which the kiva is based, that work fine in Canada. I'd just tell him tile roofers know more about fireplaces than masons because they see a lot more fireplaces from the roof - and then build one to prove him wrong.

Seriously, if you think you might build more Rumfords, I would be happy to add you to our list of masons who build Rumfords on line at http://www.rumford.com/mason.html

Warm regards and Merry Christmas,
Jim Buckley

Buckley Rumford Fireplaces
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