Our Process

The details behind installing your Bertha gas fireplace

Placing a gas fireplace away from drafts and furniture

Space around the unit matters. One maker's manual rules out installing its fireplace within 42 inches of curtains, furniture, clothing or other flammable objects at the front, top or sides, as well as in high traffic, windy or drafty areas.

That affects where the sofa goes and whether a spot beside a busy doorway works. Our specialists walk the room with you in Bertha, measure what the manual for your chosen model requires and suggest the placement that leaves the room usable around it.

Service access built into the finished wall

Service visits will come over the life of the fireplace, and the wall around it should allow for them. Under the fuel gas code, panels, grilles and access doors that come off for normal servicing may not be fixed to the building (604.2), and appliances are to be reachable for service without removing permanent construction (306.1).

Our crew makes sure the control compartment and any access panels on your Bertha fireplace can still be opened once the stone, tile or trim is in place. It saves tearing out a finished surround the first time the unit needs a service visit.

The first burn of a new gas fireplace

For its first few hours, a new unit gives off a smell as the paint cures and manufacturing oils burn off. One maker's manual describes a break-in of three to four hours on high, then a full cool-down and glass cleaning, then up to 12 more hours of burning, with windows open because the smoke can set off smoke alarms.

Our crew starts that first burn with you and leaves written break-in steps for your Bertha fireplace, so the rest of it is easy to finish. Plan it for a day when the room can be aired out.

Carbon monoxide alarms with a new gas fireplace

The NFPA advises installing and maintaining carbon monoxide alarms and venting all fuel-burning equipment outside. One gas fireplace manual describes early carbon monoxide symptoms as flu-like, with headaches, dizziness and nausea, and says anyone who feels them should get fresh air at once and have the fireplace inspected.

A vented fireplace installed to its manual keeps exhaust outside, and an alarm is the backup. If an alarm sounds, get everyone out of your Bertha home and call 911 from outside. The fireplace stays off until it has been inspected and the cause found.