Fireplace Services

Inside a wood insert installation

Nothing hidden in the price, a workmanship warranty on the work and a tidy house each evening.

A full-length liner

A full stainless liner runs from the insert's flue collar to the top of the chimney. One maker calls it the safest option, one that drafts correctly and helps prevent difficult start-ups and smoke at the door, and another notes that a full reline gives the best draft and is easiest to clean.

Our installers size the liner to the insert's instructions, run it in one continuous length where the chimney allows and connect it firmly at both ends. The liner's size and parts are written into the estimate and the written record of the job.

Chimney height and draft

Draft depends partly on how tall the chimney is. Two insert manuals we reference set a minimum height of 15 feet, and one of them also sets a maximum of 33 feet for its model.

We measure from the insert location to the chimney top and compare the figure with the manual for the model you want. When the chimney falls outside its range, we explain the options before any insert is ordered. A chimney outside the range can leave some models hard to start or slow to draft, so the height check comes before the purchase.

What never goes into the insert

EPA lists what should never be burned in a wood heater, including household trash, cardboard, plastics, foam, colored paper, and coated, painted or pressure-treated wood. Leftover lumber from a home project usually falls into that list.

We go over the list with you after installation. Clean, seasoned firewood is the only fuel the insert needs, and keeping to it protects the insert, the liner and the air inside and outside your home. Burning only clean wood also keeps the glass and the liner cleaner between maintenance visits.

What to use when lighting the insert

One insert manual says gasoline and other flammable liquids must never be used to start or freshen a fire. Small dry kindling and newspaper do the job without the risk.

We light the first fire with you, using the method your model's manual describes. You see how the air settings change as the fire catches and how to keep it burning cleanly from the start. The same match-and-kindling method works for every fire after the first.