Schonberg

Buckley Rumford Fireplaces
Schonberg's traditional Rumford

Belton Masonry
PO Box 187
Rexford, NY 12148
518 399 0675 (fax 518 399 1745)

From: "jeffrey schonberg"
To: buckley@rumford.com
Subject: 36 inch Rumford Success!
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003
Dear Jim,
You gave me some advice a few months ago about a Rumford to go in our house with the chimney outside. You asked me to let you know how things went.
The masons (Belton Masonry) did a great job. It looks really nice (we hope to change the old fir floor soon for something nicer and the base boards next to the mantel are to be replaced then - so at that time I hope to scan in some photos for you).
It heats very well. They tilted the short smoke chamber a little (an inch or so). We used Ontario Marble (2 inches deep) with a rustic finish, and those red (orange) firebricks, laid flat. We trimmed the marble with a fiberglass reinforced plaster surround (just 3 pieces of molding miter cut) which is noncombustible, which enables a more colonial look (smaller reveal) and was used in one of the nearby Rev-war era homes (now a museam) here in the Mohawk valley.
Thanks!
Jeff

Dear Jim,
Attached should be three jpeg files of our 36" Superior Clay Rumford Fireplace. The floor has now been completed and I figured out this jpeg-CD stuff. Please feel free to use any or just one in your customer photos section. We enjoyed it a lot last winter and already have our wood in for next year! As I think I mentioned previously that molding is plaster, and the firebox is composed of those red (orange) firebricks.
By the way have the firebrick people ever considered casting bricks with the "45 degree" angle built in? We see common bricks in old rumfords all over the place in central New York that were molded with the facet in place.
Best wishes,
Jeff Schonberg
Dear Jim,
Attached are jpeg files of photos of our 36 inch Superior clay Rumford Fireplace. We are very pleased with it. The molding surrounding the marble is plaster, not wood, and the firebox is comprised of red firebrick, a pleasant orange tone. ( Old bricks around here are actually orange). Please feel free to use either of these images or all of them if you wish.
Best wishes,
Jeff Schonberg

Jeff,
Great pictures, Jeff. Thank you. I'm in Denver but will get time to put them on the website soon. Who were the masons you said did such a great job? How do you like the crane - the tipi styl fire?
Jim Buckley

Jim, The masons were Belton Masonry (Jim Belton) PO Box 187, Rexford NY 12148 518/399-0675 Fax 518/399-1745 (I took the liberty of copying their phone nos. off a letter.)
The crane is nice. We use it mostly to run a tea Kettle, but we have a fairly shallow iron kettle (new) that hangs on with a long S hook, which is convenient for frying special breakfasts. We got anchors that bite behind the firebricks and Jim cut a good notch for the top anchor in a fire brick. We positioned the Crane based on a Dover book on old Cape Cod houses. The book shows several Rumfords in original Cape Cods. Some have Cranes and they are always anchored about half way back.
The Tipi fires are great. We usually run one log horizontally in the rear. I am an Engineer so naturally I have experimented with these Tipis. The Tipis throw significantly more heat than traditional fires. ( I am sure this is due to the radiational shape factors - the embers see the room more and other wood less. ) I use stove sized wood usually. A more open Tipi throws more heat, and burns slower.
Jeff