Late to the party but...I live out in the country so like most rural areas out here: no zoning, no permits, no inspections, pretty much nothing, except you need insurance. My insurance company sends a specialist out every few years or whenever I notify them of changes. The guy that handles this area is exceptionally thorough. He counts the screws and the whole nine yards. It doesn't cost anything to me to have it inspected, but if he finds anything wrong it must be fixed to keep the insurance. Your insurance company might have similar people that can tell you what is required. I personally feel better knowing they signed off on it and are less likely to deny a claim if I ever need to make one.
Ugh! Advice needed. Brand new fireplace insert doesn't meet specs.
- Thread starter matto
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It would be great if a chimney sweep could actually post some before and after pictures so we could see what is considered clean for an insert install.
The only other thing it could be is Roxul, and it's not Roxul, and therefore fiberglass and a combustible.
I would call the company and show them the code. They probably should have insulated the liner and should have put roxul and a block off plate. Give them a chance to make it right but have your ducks lined up in a row as far as code goes. Its amazing how many of these companies don't know the code and just throw these stoves in and lie to you and move on to the next one. This is fixable so don't get too upset.
I've skipped a few comments so maybe this was mentioned already but...if it's the trim piece you're questioning I'd say it's ok as the clearances in the one graphic pertain to trim in excess of 1.5 inches. It looks to me like that is a casing trim or simple 1x board which will only be 3/4 of an inch thick therefore NOT an issue. The way I read it anyway.
Here's a question - If the liner is wrapped with ceramic wool to zero clearance all the way to the connector on the insert.....could you use fiberglass unfaced insulation to block off the damper?
It would be great if a chimney sweep could actually post some before and after pictures so we could see what is considered clean for an insert install.
That'll vary from fireplace to fireplace. You could clean it and wire brush it and it'll still have a thin black layer on it most of the time. I've cleaned them where they look brand new and some that you'd have to sit there with a chisel and a 6-pak to get them clean.
Are you sure that's squished? It's hard to tell but it looks like they cut the damper frame in the back to get it through - right where the fiberglass ends
" pipe should be insulated......no way around it" It kills me to see absolute statements like that on here. The op said nothing about his chimney....interior vs exterior, clearances etc. I know everybody on this site has a hard on for insulated liners, but it does NOT have to be insulated....no way around it. And he doesn't NEED a block off plate. It is a good idea to have one, but does he need to have it? We can offer advice and opinions. But we have to be careful in speaking of absolutes when we absolutely don't know all of specs of his install
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Nope, doesn't meet the specs of stove top clearance to combustible, the fiberglass has the danger of off gassing as it gets heated up, causing a fire in the flue if it starts burning since the chimney wasn't cleaned properly before the liner install.
I agree on the blockoff plate statement you dont need one. You absolutly want one they make a big difference but it is not needed. But you are wrong about the insulation. It should be insulated. The chances of that fireplace having proper clearances are so slim it is rediculous. In all my experince i have seen 2 fireplaces that you could confirm met required clearances. And tge vast majority you can confirm dont. And regardless the performance gains are dramatic enough you should do it anyway.
Doc C
Minister of Fire
Talk about cherry picking.
My response was based on the OP's posts taken as a whole.
As bholler stated he has only seen 2 masonry chimneys that meet clearance requirements in all the years he has been doing this. I would be willing to put money on the fact that the OP needs an insulated liner. Also even if by some miracle that he meets the clearance requirements he should still have one to help his stove build less cresote and have better draft. And you only quoted partt of my original post. If you read the whole thing you would have seen WHY I stated he needs an insulated liner.
Also if you look at where he is talking about how he is not impressed with the stove heating his house then clearly he needs a block off plate to help with that. The OP was ready to throw his stove out the window when a simple solution has a good possibility of drastically improving his situation. Shouldn't we always be improving our situation in everything we do?
I am not some insulated liner fan boy but there is a time and place for them. Unfortunately it's most of the time and most of the places when it comes to masonry chimneys
Maybe I should of been more delicate with the response to the OP and held his hand and worded it in a way that allowed him to think it was going to be ok if he did not address the issues with the installer that he spent thousands of dollars having professionally installed. Maybe that's the military part of me coming out.
To be clear i said 2 fireplace chimneys. It is more common on stand alone flues but still more often not right
Doc C
Minister of Fire
I hope the OP has gotten this worked out with his installer. It's frustrating when you things that are not done the right way.
Did we ever establish whether it was the trim that was the issue or something else??
I know that I am really late into this thread, but given that the discussion is still active....
From the pictures, it looks to me like someone has refinished the face of this originally, brick fireplace. As I have ever seen anyone put wood trim so close to the opening of a fireplace before, I have to ask: "Has the fireplace been refaced with durock or gyproc"?
From the pictures, it looks to me like someone has refinished the face of this originally, brick fireplace. As I have ever seen anyone put wood trim so close to the opening of a fireplace before, I have to ask: "Has the fireplace been refaced with durock or gyproc"?
Fiberglass stuffing is pretty common. Fiberglass is not appropriate due to a lower melting point, but it's not combustible. It's poor as a block because air can easily pass through it.
It does look like someone refaced the brick with drywall and then trimmed it. The mantel trim on this fireplace is nothing special, just some 1by stock with molding trim. I'd tear it off, cut the sheetrock higher above the fireplace opening, then make new mantel trim.
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