Our Services
Fitting gas logs, from burner to diagram
The fireplace is checked before our gas log specialists choose and fit a set.
How the set lights
Under the fuel gas code, most decorative gas appliances for fireplaces must light by direct ignition, an igniter or a pilot flame, and must have a flame safeguard that cuts the gas if the flame goes out. A separate listing covers sets that are lit by hand with a match on natural gas.
The ignition type decides how you start the set, with a remote, a wall switch or a knob in the fireplace. We explain each option for the set you like and include the control type in the written quote. A remote-ready set usually has a receiver that runs on batteries, and we show you where it sits and how to change them.
Room air and drafts around a vent-free set
A vent-free set takes its combustion air from the room, so it needs enough air and a steady one. One maker's manual warns against drafts from heating and air conditioning vents, returns and fans that blow into the fireplace, because they bend the flame and can cause soot, carbon monoxide or pilot outages. Air moving across the fireplace opening pulls the flame sideways, and a flame pushed into a log leaves soot where it touches.
The same manual suggests cracking the damper or a window for combustion and ventilation air. We look at nearby vents and fans during the inspection and show you how to set the room up before lighting the logs.
Sunken floors and lips at the opening
The shape of the firebox floor matters. One maker's manual says a sunken fireplace floor has to be raised with noncombustible material so the controls can be reached and air can reach the burner, and it rules out fireplaces where the lip or recess at the front is deeper than its limit.
We check the floor level and the front lip during the inspection. If the floor needs raising, we explain the work and price it before the set is ordered. Raising a floor uses noncombustible material only, laid so the burner sits level and the controls stay easy to reach for lighting and service.
Soot is a signal to stop
A clean-burning set should not leave soot. One maker's manual says that if soot appears on the appliance or around the fireplace, the set should be shut off and checked by a qualified technician, and that soot outside the firebox, on the walls, calls for turning it off at once.
Soot usually traces back to a log out of place, a draft across the burner, doors closed on a vent-free set or a dirty burner. We find the cause, correct it and clean up the deposits. Please leave the logs where they are until we arrive. Moving them without the diagram can make the soot worse.
