Jim Buckley, author

Jim Buckley
10/31/12

"Jim Buckley is a pretty good writer - for a mason," according to one of his so-called friends. Mostly he writes about Rumford fireplaces and other things having to do with masonry. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board for the magazine of Masonry Construction and regularly contributes articles to other magazines.

Having built over 600 Rumford fireplaces since starting his own company in 1980, Jim has become one of the country's leading experts on the historic and efficient fireplaces. He was instrumental in changing the BOCA and ICBO codes, and more recently the new International Residential Code (IRC), to permit the tall and shallow Rumfords. He is currently (still) writing a book about Rumford fireplaces.

Buckley Rumford fireplaces are specified in some of the finest and most expensive homes, but Jim is also interested in designing and promoting high quality low cost masonry fireplaces to compete with the metal so-called "zero-clearance" fireplaces.

A member of the ASTM C4 and E6 committees, ASHRAE, the Residential Mason Contractors Association (RMCA), Western States Clay Products Association (WSCPA), the Clay Flue Lining Institute (CFLI), the Masonry Heater Association (MHA) and the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association (HPBA), among others, Jim is aggressive in promoting masonry fireplaces and chimneys. Pointing out that most American home buyers already prefer masonry fireplaces, Jim exhorts masonry industry manufacturers, their dealers, and mason contractors to join industry associations and work together to develop effective design, marketing and service delivery systems. Jim is very willing to share his ideas and expertise and to promote the whole industry.

The Rumford Fireplace website on the Internet since 1996 at http://www.rumford.com is Jim's creation and he maintains a national 800 number "fireplace technical service line" for Superior Clay Corporation. Buckley Rumford fireplaces have been officially tested for particulate emissions, proving to be at least as clean-burning as EPA certified wood stoves. Buckley Rumford fireplaces are the first traditional masonry open fireplaces to be certified in several western states.

Jim was educated at Cornell University and the Ohio State University. He lives with his wife, Bonnie, in Port Townsend, Washington where he rows and is a member of the Jefferson County Historical Society. He has five adult children and four grandchildren scattered around the country.