Fireplace Services

Inside a wood insert installation

Your fireplace insert installation is 10% off when confirmed inside 72 hours of the inspection.

Inserts in factory-built fireplaces

Where an insert maker allows a factory-built fireplace, the conditions are strict. One maker calls for a full stainless liner rated Type HT to UL 1777, attached at the collar and at the chimney top, with the fireplace's airflow and louvers left unaltered.

The same manual allows only the removable external trim and the damper to come out of the factory-built unit, with the trim kept for reassembly. We confirm those conditions against the fireplace label before the job is priced, and we decline the work when they cannot be met.

Listed liner parts that belong together

Stainless chimney liners are tested to UL 1777, the standard for chimney liners. A listed liner system comes as a set of parts, including the liner, the connector, the top plate and the cap, meant to work together.

We install the liner system as one set and do not mix parts from different makers. The system details are left with you after installation, so any future work can follow the same listing. If a liner part is ever replaced, the new piece should come from the same listed system, and our record tells you which one that is.

Sizing the liner to the insert

The insert's flue collar and its manual set the liner diameter. A liner that is too small can starve the fire of draft, and an oversized one can let the exhaust cool and move slowly up the chimney.

We take the size from the manual for your model, never from the old flue. If the chimney cannot fit the size the insert needs, we explain that before you buy, when changing the model is still simple. The liner diameter goes into the written record, so a future replacement starts from the right size.

Running the insert with the door closed

An insert is designed to burn with its door closed and latched. The manuals we follow say it is not to be operated with the door open, since an open door draws room air and can upset the draft.

We explain this at handover because it is the biggest change from an open fireplace. With the door shut, the air controls set how hot the fire burns. Opening the door slowly when you add wood keeps smoke from rolling out, as the manual describes.