Fireplace Services
Inside a new fireplace installation
Every trade's share is named in the estimate, so nothing is left to guesswork.
A factory-built fireplace installed to its listing
Florida's building code accepts a factory-built fireplace only when it is listed and labeled and installed as its listing describes. The test standard is UL 127, and the label on the unit names the model and the listing it carries. A fireplace without a readable label cannot be matched to its instructions, which is why the label matters as much as the firebox itself.
We install every factory-built fireplace to its listing and its manual, read before the visit. The label stays visible where the manual places it, so any future inspector or technician can identify the unit without taking anything apart.
Offsets in the chimney route
A factory-built chimney can bend around framing, but only so far. Under the Florida Building Code, no part may lean more than 30 degrees from vertical and four elbows is the limit, while one chimney maker describes the same limit as two offsets.
We plan the route to stay inside those limits and lock each offset as the manual shows. When the house would need a steeper bend, we look for another route before anything is cut. Fewer bends also make the chimney easier to sweep and inspect in the years ahead, which keeps future maintenance simpler.
Installing the outside air kit at the start
One maker says its outside air kit should be installed with the fireplace, because adding it later takes significant reconstruction. The same maker says the air must never come from a garage, an attic, a basement or above a roof where other appliances exhaust.
We include the outside air kit in the first estimate whenever the code or the manual calls for it. It costs far less to fit while the wall is open than to add after the finish is done. At handover we show you where the outside air control sits on the unit, if your model has one, and how to use it.
Chimney size follows the fireplace
One chimney maker's instructions say the chimney diameter comes from the appliance maker's instructions and must never be smaller than the appliance outlet. The fireplace sets the size, and the chimney follows.
We take the diameter from the fireplace manual and order the chimney to match. When an existing chimney is being considered for a new unit, the size is one of the first things we compare. A chimney that is too small for the fireplace will not draft as designed, however tall it is. The size we install goes into the written record of the job.
