Our Services
Fitting the insert, the liner and the hearth
When the schedule allows, we inspect the same day in Black Hammock and explain the plan at the fireplace.
Reading the label on an existing insert
Every listed insert carries a label with the maker, the model and the standard it was tested to. On an older insert the label may be faded, painted over or hidden behind the surround.
We find and read the label before recommending any work on an existing unit. When no label can be found, we explain what that means for service and replacement, and we never guess at clearances for a model we cannot identify. An insert we cannot identify is one we may recommend replacing rather than servicing, and we explain why in writing.
Models made only for masonry fireplaces
Some inserts are approved only for masonry fireplaces. The Regency manual cited on our insert service page permits that model in a suitable masonry fireplace and excludes factory-built fireplaces.
That restriction belongs to one model, and other makers set different rules. We check the instructions for the insert you actually want and confirm what kind of fireplace you have before recommending the pairing. If your fireplace is factory-built, we point you toward inserts whose manuals allow that pairing and explain the conditions each one sets. That saves you from falling for a model the fireplace cannot take.
One flue for one appliance
The insert manuals we reference say the insert must not connect to a flue that serves another appliance. Older houses sometimes run a furnace or a water heater into a second flue in the same chimney, and the connections are not always obvious from the room.
We trace what connects to the chimney before planning the liner. The insert gets its own flue, and anything else sharing the chimney is noted and explained in the estimate. When a second appliance shares the flue, the right answer depends on the chimney, and we explain the choices in writing.
Smoke alarms during the first fires
New insert paint cures during the first few fires and gives off an odor. One maker notes that smoke detectors may operate more often during that curing period and asks owners never to disconnect them, relocating one if it sits too close.
We explain the curing fires at handover and suggest opening a window during the first burns. Your alarms stay connected the whole time. The odor fades as the paint finishes curing over those first fires.
