That's a terrible title! 

At our home, we have three fireplaces, one in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom. I would have one in every room, but my wife thinks that is excessive... #eyeroll - whatever... we also burn about 3 cords of wood a season.  I have been through my share of grates... the one thing I have learned is - grates degrade over time. Fires weaken steel and will cause them tp melt, sag, turn into a toothpick, and ultimately collapse. Like anything exposed to the elements - water, air or fire, things erode, degrade, rust, weaken etc. 

An obvious fix is; the bigger the steel, the longer it will last. 1/2" bars will be good for a season, but exposed to a lot of heat and prolonged burning - these ACE Hardware type grates won't last much more than two seasons. If you are light burner, they will last 4-5 yrs. If you are the ocassional burner? If could last many years. If you love fires you know this - there are three things human beings cannot stop looking at; a babbling brook, a roaring fire and a Zamboni - you know the thing that cleans the ice on an ice rink. Mesmerizing... totally captivating. So, if you are going to be looking at the fire, you might as well have something in the fireplace that is beautiful to look at all the time and, will last "longer" than the standard grate from Home Depot. On top of being beautiful it will be built custom for your fireplace and with added features of venturi bars, and at a height that doesn' trap air but streams it in... and easy to clean under. Depending upon the model, you can also get built in andirons to prevent logs from spilling forward and out the firebox. Nothing more unnerving than leaving the house and wondering if you put the screen up.... at least with andirons you stand a better chance than without. We will be introducing some screens too so we will have you covered from that direction as well. 

Get a grate that will not only last, but add tremendous character to your fireplace.