Our Process

How gas fireplaces are installed in Fern Park

Rooms where a gas fireplace can be installed

Some rooms are off limits to gas appliances unless the installation meets an exception. Section 303.3 of the fuel gas code keeps appliances out of sleeping rooms, bathrooms and storage closets, except for a direct-vent appliance installed per its listing and the manufacturer's instructions, or a vented gas fireplace in a room that meets the code's volume criteria.

For a gas fireplace in a bedroom or a small room in your Fern Park home, a direct-vent unit is usually the path, and we confirm the listing allows it before anything is ordered. The room is part of the free inspection.

Keeping a gas fireplace vent cap away from the meter and air intakes

The gas meter and regulator and any fresh air intake on the house all affect where a vent cap can go. Table 503.8 keeps a direct-vent cap 3 feet from a service regulator vent outlet at pressures up to 2 psi, and 10 feet horizontally or 3 feet above a mechanical air supply inlet.

Those distances often decide which side of the room the fireplace ends up on. Our specialists find the meter, the regulator and any intakes on your Fern Park home during the free inspection so the location is settled once.

Protecting the fireplace gas valve during line tests

A pressure test on the gas line can damage the fireplace valve if the valve is in the circuit. One maker's manual says to disconnect the appliance from the supply piping for tests above 1/2 psig and to close its manual shutoff valve for tests at or below 1/2 psig, and to install a regulator upstream when line pressure is higher than 1/2 psig.

The fuel gas code likewise calls for a line pressure regulator where the appliance works at a lower pressure than the supply (410.1). We agree the testing steps with the gas contractor before the unit is connected in your Fern Park home.

Why a new gas fireplace needs more than your nose

Natural gas and propane are both odorless, and the smell you know is an agent added to them. One maker's manual warns that this added odor can fade, so gas may be present even when you cannot smell it.

That is one reason we leak test every connection with solution instead of trusting smell, and one reason a working carbon monoxide alarm belongs in any home with a gas fireplace. We point out the nearest alarm locations during the walkthrough in your Fern Park home. If you do not have one near the fireplace yet, adding one before the first burn is a simple step.