Wood Stove Insert - Shim recommendation

[We're_cooking!]

I feel dumb. I'm in school, my husband and I both work full time, and we paid a company to install our new Lopi high-efficiency wood stove insert. We did three quotes; they had the best reviews, and the owner who made the bid, we felt confident going over everything with him.

Lesson learned: We never saw the owner again. We've had them out three times, and they're different guys every time, all having only worked for the company for 5-6 weeks. It's our home, and we want it done right. I was on calls for work while they leveled the insert and got the face plate on. Come to find out, they didn't hook up the fan or thermostat, and they just pushed the insert back to the brick lip edge, so it is sitting on a couple of mm of brick on the front. The fan and Thermostate is not a big deal, we took the face plate off and can hook up. The unit is sitting on the non-existent brick edge when they told us they shimmed it is what we want to correct.

I want nothing to do with the company again; we are done with them and will deal with this ourselves. Husband and I have realized that the additional time we've spent reviewing and chasing this company down could have been better spent doing a better job ourselves. The kicker is our homeowner insurance will not cover the fireplace or any fires unless the until is installed by state-licensed installers (which this company is).

I'm looking for recommendations for what to shim under the lip edge. Is it all the same to use thin brick or hardy board? Or should we use something else?

 

[EbS-P]

are you wanting to add extra support or is it not level or you want it further back?

 

[begreen]

The fireplace hearth underneath the insert looks in rough shape. Do you have a picture of this area before the insert was installed?

 

[We're_cooking!]

The fireplace hearth underneath the insert looks in rough shape. Do you have a picture of this area before the insert was installed?

Here are pictures from when we first got the place and more recent ones before the installation.

There was a row of bricks that was taken out along the base so the unit could be placed in the fireplace. These bricks were added later, not part of the original fireplace (we believe based on the brick pattern compared to the rest of the fireplace).

So there is a half-inch step down now into the hearth of the fireplace. Our unit sits on the very edge of this transition. This is why we want to shim it.

 

[We're_cooking!]

are you wanting to add extra support or is it not level or you want it further back?

It is level now, and we don't want to move it back as the face places wouldn't fit/attache. We just want to shim it so more than 2-3mm of brick lip edge supports the front. We have some thin brick that has clearance, then filling maybe with heat appropriate cement.

Another idea we were thinking was lifting, and place metal sheets in front slightly and under to help support and give more bearing surface than currently. We have metal sign blanks (think road speed signs) we picked up at the Habitat Restore for welding practice.

The concern right now is the front of the insert is only sitting on 2-3mm of brick edge. That front row of brick on the base was removed to get the insert in, creating a step down of about a half inch.

 

[begreen]

Yes, that can be shimmed up at the front if nothing else is supporting it underneath. The shim material must be non-combustible. Cement board strips and maybe some 1/8" metal strips would work.

FWIW, I think I would have either removed the front lip of bricks or filled the cavity with layers of cement board to build it up.