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Most new houses (except starter houses) feature a fireplace or two. Standard settings include living rooms and family rooms, and you can also find fireplaces in bedrooms and kitchens. "We have even put them in bathrooms," says Jim Buchan of Energy Products and Design.

Most new home owners choose gas fireplaces. "A typical high-efficiency gas fireplace costs about half as much as a high-efficiency wood-burning fireplace because you don't have to buy the expensive chimney." Nor do you have to lug logs in and sweep ashes out.

You can get gas hearth logs that glow with wood-burning realism, and you can select from a variety of fireplace designs. "Besides picking out the fireplace, consider what you want around it - brick, tile, stone - and the different mantle options.

"Gas fireplaces have come a long way," Buchan says. Some even surpass heater status and merit rating as furnaces.

Copyright 2003 Rochester Area Builders, Inc. No part of the Builder's Corner articles may be reproduced or printed without written permission from Rochester Area Builders. 108 Elton Hills Lane NW, Rochester, MN 55901. Phone 507-282-7698.