Fireplace

By Natalie Feulner, Town Correspondent Norwood firefighters responded to an explosion at a home on Lane Drive Wednesday evening, the Fire Department reported Thursday. No injuries were reported, and the explosion did not cause a fire. Around 5:19 p.m., a neighbor called the Fire Department after hearing an explosion from the single-family raised ranch-style home, department spokesman George Morrice said. When firefighters arrived, one man and three women -- occupants of the home -- were walking around the yard.

$489,900 36 ST. FRANCIS STREET / MEDFORD SQUARE FOOTAGE 2,460 LOT SIZE 0.14 acres BEDROOMS 4 BATHS 1 full, 1 half LAST SOLD FOR $95,000 in 1983 Dan Fabbri, Century 21 Advance Realty, 617-966-1638, danfabbri.com PROS A stone wall borders the front yard of this heavily textured stucco home. Inside, the layout is a bit unexpected. The dining room is straight back from the front door, across the center hall. A half bath is just inside the front door. And off the foyer to the right is a charming small room that would make a great office or den. The woodwork is natural, and...

Q. I am getting nasty smells down my chimney, like burned wood and creosote. I wonder if the downdraft is caused by the use of exhaust fans in the house. How can I stop that odor? DONALD , from Belmont A. You have a reverse chimney effect, where the air pressure in the house is lower than outside, so air plunges down the chimney, carrying the creosote and other goodies lining the chimney with it. Closing the damper won't do it, and closing off the firebox opening won't either.

By Natalie Feulner, Town Correspondent Norwood firefighters responded to an explosion at a home on Lane Drive Wednesday evening, the Fire Department reported Thursday. No injuries were reported, and the explosion did not cause a fire. Around 5:19 p.m., a neighbor called the Fire Department after hearing an explosion from the single-family raised ranch-style home, department spokesman George Morrice said. When firefighters arrived, one man and three women -- occupants of the home -- were walking around the yard.

$489,900 36 ST. FRANCIS STREET / MEDFORD SQUARE FOOTAGE 2,460 LOT SIZE 0.14 acres BEDROOMS 4 BATHS 1 full, 1 half LAST SOLD FOR $95,000 in 1983 Dan Fabbri, Century 21 Advance Realty, 617-966-1638, danfabbri.com PROS A stone wall borders the front yard of this heavily textured stucco home. Inside, the layout is a bit unexpected. The dining room is straight back from the front door, across the center hall. A half bath is just inside the front door. And off the foyer to the right is a charming small room that would make a great office or den. The woodwork is natural, and...

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The circa-1800 Gaillard-Bennett house at 60 Montagu St. boasts the kind of elegant features found in Charleston's finest house museums. It has an all-marble gray-and-white checkerboard sidewalk and early 19th-century locally made rice beds, named for the sheath of rice carved onto the tall bedposts. The ceilings, cornice moldings, and fireplace mantels feature plasterwork as decorative as a royal wedding cake. Other elements in the 9,400-square-foot manse are decidedly not museum-like.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- It's as true of houses as of people that oldtimers often tell the best stories. The Swift House Inn, it so happens, has a tale of entwined destinies. Lawyer, judge, and newspaperman Samuel Swift built the main house in 1814 on a rolling hill overlooking the river-hollow village of Middlebury. On Swift's death in 1875, the property was sold to Governor John Stewart. His daughter Jessica inherited the house and married a grandson of the original owner, making it once again the Swift home.

This historic home, built in 1790 by a family of shipbuilders and house wrights, has many period charms, including original pumpkin pine floors and four working fireplaces. It also has a secret room. Inside a closet in the master bedroom, on the second floor, a wooden ladder leads upstairs to a small room, now used as an office. On the other side of this "double" house - it was originally built for two families - the same space, also accessible by ladder, is an open loft. The Carr-John Estabrook house, built by the...

PORTLAND, Maine - It's easy to overlook Portland as a summer getaway destination (after all, it's not exactly a beach town), but when we arrived on a steamy July afternoon a gentle breeze was blowing in off Casco Bay and the city was a full 10 degrees cooler than Boston. Despite its name, the Portland Harbor Hotel isn't quite on the water, but it does sit on the fringe of the Old Port, just two streets up from the docks. The hotel opened in July 2002 on a site formerly occupied by a parking garage and has already annexed an adjoining building, built a...

I was seated comfortably in my recliner in our living room reading the newspaper that morning in our ranch-style home in Burlington, when what should I hear? Definitely not the sound of Santa and eight tiny reindeer. There was a loud scratching sound on the roof. The next thing I heard came from our securely closed, purely decorative fireplace, and taught me that raccoons are not mutes, as I had thought. Of course, at that moment I did not know it was raccoon barking and shrieking.

346 High St., Pembroke Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Square feet: 1,777 Built: 1890 Style: Antique Price: $449,000 Sewer: Septic Once a one-room schoolhouse, this three-bedroom antique home recalls old New England, complete with a five-stall barn and a 5-acre parcel adjacent to public conservation land. The original property was built in the late 1800s and owned by Lydia Drake, a former teacher who lived next door and willed her home to the town for use as a library.

I was seated comfortably in my recliner in our living room reading the newspaper that morning in our ranch-style home in Burlington, when what should I hear? Definitely not the sound of Santa and eight tiny reindeer. There was a loud scratching sound on the roof. The next thing I heard came from our securely closed, purely decorative fireplace, and taught me that raccoons are not mutes, as I had thought. Of course, at that moment I did not know it was raccoon barking and shrieking.

I was seated comfortably in my recliner in our living room reading the newspaper that morning in our ranch-style home in Burlington, when what should I hear? Definitely not the sound of Santa and eight tiny reindeer. There was a loud scratching sound on the roof. The next thing I heard came from our securely closed, purely decorative fireplace, and taught me that raccoons are not mutes, as I had thought. Of course, at that moment I did not know it was raccoon barking and shrieking.

bp-sent to indesign 2/22 $449,000 1097 HUMPHREY STREET SQUARE FOOTAGE > 2,425 LOT SIZE > 6,052 square feet BEDROOMS > 4 BATHS > 1 full, 2 half 2012 TAXES > $7,486 LAST SOLD FOR > $190,000 in 1994 > PROS Located on a main street, this handsome house is walking distance to a small market and dry cleaner and, even better, the beach. The kitchen has been redone, with a big granite-topped island that seats five and an eat-in area.

I was rather amazed and a bit scared when I read your opinion on Dec. 29 that ventless gas fireplaces or gas logs are a hazard, and should not be sold. I have one, so my concern was doubled. I use it for 40 minutes a day, just to enjoy its warmth and good looks. Should I get rid of it or stop using it? I'd like to keep it. ANONYMOUS You can keep it, and keep using it for short times, and only for supplemental heat, and you will be OK. The Handyman came on strong about ventless fireplaces because he thinks they are hazardous, and the idea of a flame in a room without a vent is...

A townwide drive to benefit the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry is wrapping up this month with a $125 per person fund-raiser at the Fireplace restaurant on Jan. 30. More families are visiting the pantry this winter, up to nearly 100 a week from about 50 two years ago, according to Jim Margolis, volunteer manager of the pantry. "It's bad out there," he said, noting that there are more families with young children among the pantry's clients. Harvey Bravman of Brookline Hub decided to increase last year's efforts to raise funds and food for the pantry by holding a benefit dinner.

A townwide drive to benefit the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry is wrapping up this month with a $125 per person fund-raiser at the Fireplace restaurant on Jan. 30. More families are visiting the pantry this winter, up to nearly 100 a week from about 50 two years ago, according to Jim Margolis, volunteer manager of the pantry. "It's bad out there," he said, noting that there are more families with young children among the pantry's clients. Harvey Bravman of Brookline Hub decided to increase last year's efforts to raise funds and food for the pantry by holding a benefit dinner.

For decades, the fireplace has largely been hidden from view. That's because the Tapestry Room at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has been used for the museum's concerts and, as part of the set up, a stage was built in front of the fireplace. Now, the Gardner's preparing for the 2012 opening of its expansion, a second building that will feature a new entrance, galleries, and a music hall. That has allowed the Tapestry Room to be restored for its intended use, the display of art. The chimney has been an added bonus.

Q. I am getting nasty smells down my chimney, like burned wood and creosote. I wonder if the downdraft is caused by the use of exhaust fans in the house. How can I stop that odor? DONALD , from Belmont A. You have a reverse chimney effect, where the air pressure in the house is lower than outside, so air plunges down the chimney, carrying the creosote and other goodies lining the chimney with it. Closing the damper won't do it, and closing off the firebox opening won't either.

Merchants are taking their "Shop Local" promotion a step further, giving those who do their holiday shopping in town a chance to win a 37-inch flat-screen television. Through Dec. 20, those who pick up a "Shop Local" postcard in the town's commercial districts can get it initialed at any local stores and restaurants. Shoppers dropping off the card at one of eight locations will be entered into a drawing for the TV, donated by Philips TV on Harvard Street; second and third prizes are a Brookline Card worth $100, which can be used at local stores and parking meters, and a brunch for four at the...