How to Build A Fireplace Fire | The Art of Manliness

How to build a fire in your fireplace without smoking yourself out of your house.

[@2zach3]

here from tx at the great ice storm of 2021 🥶🤬

[@luisvarela1706]

Same!

[@LocalDallasMan]

Here we are one year later lmao

[@traemelodeath]

Tx winter boogie pt 2 commin up!

[@przyplyw]

Finally someonen who starts the fire correctly!!! From the top!! All theese "experts" on youtube are just annoying - teaching how to start fire from the bottom and creating huge amounts of smoke, toxic fumes. Thanks for the video, good to see some propper technique from time to time.

[@Purple_Box]

Totally agree! Where I live (the very north of Europe) the common way to start a fire is from the top. This way the air quality stays good. All houses here have a fireplace and if we all started fires from the bottom it wouldn’t be good.

[@Jumaholic]

I'm an Eagle Scout, and not afraid to admit that I learned a few more tips about building a fire. Thanks!

[@marylandsirensfirebuff9664]

yup i always make right side up fires like I knew never thought that the paper on top would start stuff under it and just burn away

[@artofmanliness]

How to Build A Fireplace Fire Without Smoking Yourself Out [VIDEO]

[@FoodOnCrack]

Smoke is not only unpleasant but it can also be dangerous! You might get unconscious if there is no fresh air and an exhaust for the smoke. You might not see or smell the carbon dioxide but it can be harmful.

[@BetoTheButcher]

I've never felt manlier. Thank you.

[@gmaneis]

Never had a fireplace, and am now in my 70's and in the process of buying a house with two fireplaces! Yikes! This video is REALLY helpful. I learned a LOT, and I think my wife will be shocked when I look like an expert by doing these things. One question: In the fall, being new, I will have no seasoned wood (until the next fall), so how do you avoid the smoke with green wood, or can you even hope to do it? I'm sure everybody who sells wood says it's seasoned. Yeah, suuure it is!

[@theshortladders]

Sadly, most of us aren't at home for the continuous six to eight hours for a good wood fire to heat up a room but if you ever are, and can have a fire for 10 hours (depending on several other variables of course, not the least of which would be house size) you can turn the heat off for the day and spend time in the room the fireplace is in and be really comfy. Some good thoughts in the video. Seasoned wood is crucial. I've found, at least where I live, maple takes a year after being cut and stacked to season. Ash meanwhile is amazing! A couple months and you can wave a match at it and it'll start. There's some great charts online of the best woods to burn, not all wood is created equal when it comes to heat production. Hardwoods are usually great, and I love the smell of fresh cut walnut. It's a beautiful wood too. The garbage bundles outside gas stations isn't worth a nickel and I sometimes can't even tell what kind it is. You can't start it with blow torch. I suppose the upside down start could work, however I'd be curious how successful you'd be without the fancy cedar boards and what was it "fire starter boards". I've found starting with kindling (Stuff I've carefully chopped that's kind of like humungous splinters) on the grate and paper between and beneath (strips of cardboard is best) will get a good bit of heat going and then I gradually add wood. Smaller split pieces and then increase the size of the logs until I work up to what I call "all nighter logs". I'd also really limit the wood that's barked all the way around (cut but not split) in the beginning. Fire has to work harder (if you will) and will sometimes nearly go out when it hits those logs. Remember bark is the protector of the pulp and takes more intense heat to burn. Finally, the strength of a fire isn't the flame, it's the coal bed. The most intense and permanent heat emanates from wood coals that can take several hours to build up. Get a good coal bed going and you'll be heating up the brick face around the fireplace and radiating heat into the room. Again, being home for the 8-10 or 12 hours and minding the fire isn't anything people are committed to these days. So, invariably people try a fire for a party, it's drafty, smoky and frustrating for the 3 hours and they'll install a crappy gas log.

[@stevejensen3471]

Be sure to remove all the ashes below the grate - crucial for air circulation up through the wood stack and up into the flue! One thing that I've always done in addition is to get a firestarter brick, break it in half, and put it beneath the base stack. Those things burn long and hot and provide ongoing fuel to get the wood to kinding temp the quickest and take off!

[@babysisdolls3336]

upside down fire best advice.. wo - man thxs you

[@HappyKarma7]

All I need is my husband to watch this video and take your advice. Too much smoke. Mr. Know it all doesn't want to watch it. Aaaaaah!

[@bunnyhug4365]

Star kisses divorce his ass

[@meg3839]

I feel your pain lol. Between years of that and a nearby firestorm several years ago, I eventually became allergic to cord wood smoke and had to ban it for several years since it also causes mild asthma now. 😢 I recently found I can use certain single firelogs ("natural" types, like coffee, mixed, anything but duraflame, etc.), but he still gets it smoky and doesn't prime the flue as I was always taught as a kid, despite the draft, yet apparently he knows all. Tut! So it's pretty much up to me these days, which is fine, but hoping he'll watch this in case he decides to go pyro on me. Hope your hubs got it sorted, even if for the sake of health concerns lol.

[@tylervictoriap]

oh men 😍😂

[@welty69]

try and do it yourself and make a bunch of smoke and he will say...... never mind.... ill do it and fix it or watch for more knowledge

[@jacekneumann6491]

Or instead buying seasoned wood which is usually more expensive, you could buy greenwood earlier (in summer) and season it yourself in your woodshed or basement.

[@alvindueck8227]

Jacek Neumann or go harvest it yourself, like a REAL man would

[@keithrose4227]

Definitely dont season wood in a basement

[@Silchii]

Keith Rose Can you explain why?

[@keithrose4227]

@@Silchii a couple different reasons. Wood seasons quicker when it is in the (dry) elements. Sun and wind are good for seasoning wood. It should be sheltered from the rain and snow but still able to get drafts of air. Secondly, you dont want to take the chance with bugs, especially termites which might be in the wood.

[@Silchii]

@@keithrose4227 Thank you

[@jaybender7961]

Thank you, this worked out great for me, plus the less work, I love this method, glad I found this.. Your the MAN!!!!!

[@Layla_vlogs]

Bruh I’m a girl and I’m watching this .-.

[@stevenpotter8228]

just cuz ur a girl doesn’t mean u can’t do manly things!

[@Layla_vlogs]

@@stevenpotter8228 👏👏👏👏👏 ty

[@frog8220]

i really learned a lot that i didn't expect! very well done!

[@artofmanliness]

Glad you did!

[@LTxStriker]

Would you ever do a tour of your home or office?

[@artofmanliness]

One of these days!

[@mbrad25]

A lot of good points here, you touched on a lot of tips that most people don't think of, but some I'm not so sure about. I burn a lot of wood in the winter time to heat my basement. Using seasoned wood and priming the flue are definitely the most important of your tips. To speed up the priming, I usually roll the newspaper into a baton and stick it almost directly into the flue. Ya know it's primed because it almost works like a vacuum, and the flames from the paper will start flowing into the flue, instead of just sort of sitting on the paper. I usually close all my doors while I'm doing this, then crack one window. I'm assuming you meant to close the window, once you've got your fire going right? Definitely don't need to keep the window open for the duration of the fire, just to get the flue reversed. Definitely agree with your furnace tip too. Especially if you've got a fan on your fire place, it'll heat the house up if you're burning a lot of wood.

[@mini_worx]

You would keep the window open as a source of fresh air to feed the fire for the full duration.

[@joshuabrown616]

You should do a video about coffee. Maybe teach different techniques like French press, pour over, and kemex.

[@manbunsareforsissies6374]

Other advice for manliness: Do not wear a man-bun. Eat red meat. Drive a pick-up truck. You're welcome.

[@jeff2178]

You should do the top ten manliness books to read by a fire....

[@divineknowledge4607]

If I put that many logs in my fireplace it's a bon fire! And it's not to small, it's opening is twice the one shown here and deeper.

[@samgaekwad]

LMAO. I live in a hot country like India & I am still watching this video.

[@gauravzerogravity]

I live in a cold part of india 🤣🤣 🗻Himalayas and watching to build one for me.

[@andresmendez6556]

Omg so funny!! Hahaha

[@brycepatties]

I've found that stuffing a paper sack from the grocery store full of sticks of all sizes makes for a great fire starter.

[@efraimshultz7772]

Bryce Van Velson That's a great idea Bryce. Thank you

[@xyyx7559]

Another A+ video :)

[@glamelhershkovitz1664]

Thank you

[@ruskiyify91]

I know how to make a fire but watching your videos i learn something new every time, You're videos are awesome.

[@artofmanliness]

Thanks!

[@alwaysasweep9500]

Very informative video but priming the flue especially with lit newspaper can be very dangerous if the chimney is still dirty. I would recommend reversing the order of instructions to have the chimney inspected first rather than as a last resort to ensure you're not going to have lit particles of news paper flying up your flue and setting dangerous creosote on fire. If you removed the newspaper from the equation altogether it would have made for a safer and even more efficient fire but all in all great video!

[@SanderPool]

a forced air heater pumps air around in your house. having it running or not will not affect the draft in your chimney. since a fire place will generally cool your house down instead of heating it you probably should leave the heat on. to get heat from a wood fire you need to restrict the air flow and capture the heat. that is why stoves and inserts often have double walls. a fan blows heated air in the room. freestanding stoves mostly radiate but are also quite efficient. otherwise good tips on starting a fire :)

[@ColdFuse96]

Real men don’t use newspapers and artificial fire starter boards to light a fire!!!!! Use feather sticks and ferro rods!!!!!

[@justagerman140]

Real men know that exclamation marks aren't to be used by the lot

[@gunkmasterflex942]

this is a 101

[@jrandt08]

You lost me at fire starter board.

[@michaelbryant1333]

First fork though

[@sticktoyourdrums8177]

You should do one on putting up Christmas lights...like a man

[@Sammasambuddha]

How do you think that activity is manly?

[@brandonday7896]

Reading some C.S. Lewis?

[@thomasschmutter8875]

From Thomas Schmutter I live in 4 Portree Place Narre Warren South, and if you need to get some firewood to pay $25 per kindling and around $45 per a bag of wood, as well and then if you need it all for important reasons you can have it all as well, and as you do it, have a clean fireplace to so for building firewood Shed it will cost in labour $250 for building a shed. From Thomas.

[@Antrieb530]

Good tips. Check out the Grate Wall of Fire. Really helped improve the efficiency of my open fireplace.

[@artofmanliness]

Thanks for the tip!

[@erickmercadante4790]

hmmmmm I am a pyro and I have done this style to start one but I never find it to work that well... typically the fire goes out I have found that setting your logs up a certain way works better. Take your logs and set them then just simply stuff kindling and paper and fire starters inbetween the logs it really doesn't smoke to bad . Idk just another idea other guys might be interested in.

[@r.i.s.e.3908]

Art of Manliness is usually on point, but not this time. If you do it this way, your wood will never burn.

[@epleeple241]

Opinion: starting a fire with newspapers is not manly. Also, if you do this you'll have lots of tiny bits of ash built up, and if outside, these will fly up with the hot air and rain down on you and your company. Just use the wood itself. Birch bark is a great fire starter, and often you'll use birch logs for fires anyway. Or chop of tiny pieces of wood from your logs. If you have woods shavings laying around or dry straw, these burn really well also.

[@seattlesix9953]

Nice smoke out Mister Dank...your assistant must have gotten baked on that vape 😵💨

[@longar916]

Awesome video, random question: what kind of chairs are those by your fireplace? They look awesome!

[@xz0mbae]

Thanks again for some great advice! I always built a pretty decent fire with the tp method but with this stacking on top method I was able to get a roaring fire!

[@TheHogtalare]

I got to tell you, this channel is quite awesome! There is alot of "manly" channels out there but this one feels really genuine. Again great channel man! Keep em coming!

[@JessWLStuart]

Just found your channel! I might do some binge watching, if you don't mind! : D

[@ArtiseBrown]

Dude my friend sent me this video and when it starts you straight up look identical to me at the angle when you're looking at the book

[@jpjp9111]

Seasoned wood? That's odd. I didn't know this was an option. What kind of seasonings does one season wood with?

[@DeltaDanner]

“About the size of your pinkie...” *Grabs a two foot long stick*

[@5to22a]

This is exceptionally helpful. Thank you, sir.

[@AndrewAttard78]

With your tinder to you swipe it left or right? Doh!

[@palmsofdestin1]

Christ. Who in the living hell doesn't already know all this shit?

[@MissTia777]

This is men's work! I'm not doing nothing!

[@abuhassan9321]

I thought this would be lame but this is a good video👍

[@sherry866]

But your using a Fire Starter, those top planks !!! Duh , I just Wasted 6 minutes of my life. I could have done that on my Own !!!!

[@AdrianGarcia-sf3uw]

The Screwtape Letters, eh?

[@jenniferroberts9543]

Thankyou for those tips I will certainly have a go at the upside down fire.

[@WarhideMr]

Entertaining. Didn't work. Like at all.

[@wamiquef5192]

"For a few minute".

[@tribulation138]

anybody know the heat percentage lose of a fireplace. ? I know wood stoves are more efficient. but the heat of a fireplace escapes mostly out chimney

[@seeker4wisdom]

I'm a woman, but I really appreciate this video because I'm moving to a colder climate and need to have this knowledge. Thank you so much!

[@Chuck59ish]

It's still manly to close the spark shield to save your man-cave. There's nothing worse than having to explain to the fire Department and the insurance company that you left the spark shield open to be manly. Also instead of paying an arm and a leg for firewood, you can get those compressed sawdust fire logs that burn just as long. And yes have your chimney inspected every year to get rid of the dead animals that may be inside. You don't want to advertise that you're doing b-b-que.

[@sudocatsda1guy390]

Whittling chips of the firewood is the best kindling. Paper just leaves a lot of ashes and doesn't burn very hot. It's likely to cause smoking. Woodchips burn as hit as wood (duh) and light up as easily as paper

[@jenniferroberts9543]

Hi I have a fireplace that is wide but when u look up chimney it goes very narrow.I would like to send u photos of it but don't think I can on here.My problem is when u light the fire you are gassed out of the room please help!thankyou jen

[@karldunne5595]

Just add Chivas Regal 25 old whisky n a good book!!...

[@rajivrao4772]

How do you make the heat from the fireplace circulate around the whole house?

[@ElT0r0fuerte]

Im going to try this. So far the fire starts but burns out really fast like within 3-5minutes. Hopefully the upside burning and other points you mention help. Thank you.

[@artofmanliness]

Marc Perez Hope it helps.

[@cowboyswami2017]

Wonderful video ! The best fireplace video on KZbin. Thanks

[@sentry9834]

Does fire place heat actually heat the home efficiently? It seems all the heat is going up the chimney.

[@kylethehoss]

How manly is being first comment? Lol loved the video guys.

[@danielmoncada3265]

Yeah make sure to clean your chimney every other year some people never have cleaned theirs and have a lot of problems,

[@Jemalacane0]

Burn low votalitle coal in a coal stove - even better.

[@brandonkondracki]

Was that someone vaping to create the "smoke" lol?

[@louisianagator95]

Brandon Kondracki That was my thought.

[@mattieice2988]

atta boy

[@By_Any_Means_Necessary]

Today 11-8-2019 was my first day starting a fire in my fireplace how do you make the fire last longer is it all in the way and how many pieces of wood you use and my fireplace has a fan or vent that i can turn on is it good to use that on high and the damper is a small door above the fireplace is that supposed to be wide open? Sorry for asking all those rookie questions but first time

[@Brandon_4789]

Daily Driver add wood as the fire goes

[@Machiones]

Crumple the newspaper so It has no chance of lifting off.

[@itsgirlrobot5765]

Why the upside down?

[@cornsronald3710]

This time I'll use woodprix instructions to make it by myself.

[@anglomik]

Actually, mine does look like the guy from "Mary Poppins."

[@jeremiahisrael8890]

How do I put it out and not worry about it burning the house down

[@MuskyHunter43]

never had a fireplace before, glad I wasn't afraid to ask!! GREAT video and info, I would have built a traditional fire instead of an upside-down one!!

[@Officialhelpkenet]

It'd be cool if you made a video on how to clean the fireplace.

[@NevaehBeatez]

I have a problem with my kindling burning up too quickly or just turning into embers. Like my newspaper just burns up and then it's gone and the fire stops. Any tips?

[@epleeple241]

You need to transfer the fire to the big logs. You'll want a gradual transition from kindling to big logs. Also, make sure the kindling gets enough heat. For the place you're lighting your fire, have some kindling that will easily catch fire (birch bark/straw, wood shavings), with twigs/bigger bits of wood on top. Once they have maintained heat for a while, the bigger logs will catch fire. One of the downsides of the upside down fire is that the bigger logs arent on top of the kindling, so it will take a bit longer for the bigger logs to start burning. Tha advantage is that once they have started burning, the fire is well self-sustained, and has good airflow, since the air is coming from underneath by draft created by the hot air on top. Good luck! Also, I don't recommend using newspaper

[@seasonings2taste115]

I sometimes use newspaper to light my charcoal. I spray it with cooking oil before lighting. It makes it burn longer and really gets my charcoal going. Idk if it's necessary, but it's something to consider. Stay manly.

[@Mixwell1983]

Seasonings2taste i do that too, learned that from alton brown good eats. I do it when starting a fire place also

[@michaelthompson61]

Thanks. I’m going to try the upside down method

[@ryanrogers3610]

Nice Lewis quote to start off!

[@chasefreedomfamily]

Super helpful. Thank you!

[@HappyKarma7]

Thank you! ! My husband finally saw your video and had success!!! No more smoke!!

[@SmokeeWhine]

great video I learned a ton

[@catcall569]

I’m experiencing the smoke backdraft... AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

[@calvinmaynardtmt]

The first few seconds of this video is idyllic.

[@easterstedman236]

Go to woodprix if you'd like to build it yourself.

[@jannygonzalezvelasquez5983]

I feel so manly now...

[@rays8928]

You need to close the mesh firescreen. It is there for a reason.

[@theend9258]

ceder planks? come on

[@lindenhile3372]

Tried this, didn't work. Gonna stick with the method I know

[@BrettBloxsom]

Worked like a charm on Christmas Eve.

[@julieete257]

Where do I get the little logs

[@brsok14]

Hey Brett, who are you for today? OU or OSU?

[@MizzJimmy1]

or be a mainly woman! cus independence is key😉 thanks for the vid.

[@FrankieLopezMusic]

dreamwalker pro lmfao!!!!

[@michaelbryant1333]

At least 4th

[@kimswanson7024]

Not a manly man, or even a man for that matter, but I thank you! Just bought a home this spring with not one, but two fireplaces, and have never had one before. Bought a cord of wood today and decided to try our first fire (yes, the flue has been inspected and is nearly pristine) and filled the whole damned house with smoke! Yes, the damper was open, yes the wood was seasoned, however, never considered that the furnace was running nor that the flue was cold. Can't wait to try again tomorrow (once the logs I drowned to snuff the flames dry!) Thanks again!

[@justagerman140]

Did it work the next time?

[@josephandreoli8367]

you must heat up the chimney with newspaper so it will draw and open a window a crack till the fire gets going+ feed the hearth with outside air through a 2 inch duct and you won't need open a window or get a fireplace insert.

[@kimswanson7024]

I have not yet had the opportunity to try again. I work midnights and we had a few warmer weeks. However, it's cold and I'm off tomorrow! I will be trying all suggestions and will let you know how it goes! Thanks!

[@lydiawhite5094]

women can make fires too

[@hhhuthhhjj5599]

Yeah so ?

[@EAOBLOODBATH]

First