Fireplace Services
Fireplace installation from footing to first fire
Every trade's share is named in the estimate, so nothing is left to guesswork.
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.
The footing under a masonry fireplace
A masonry fireplace is heavy and needs its own foundation. Florida's building code sets that footing at 12 inches thick or more, projecting at least 6 inches past the fireplace on every side.
We plan the footing with the fireplace and include the excavation and concrete in the estimate. The footing is inspected before the masonry rises, as the approval process requires. Soil, drainage and the house foundation beside it all affect how the footing is dug and formed, and we explain each factor before work begins.
Wood trim around a masonry opening
Wood mantels and trim near a masonry fireplace follow a code limit. Combustible trim may not sit within 6 inches of the fireplace opening, and trim within 12 inches is limited in how far it projects.
We share those limits with you and your carpenter before the mantel is chosen. A mantel that fits the rule from the start saves cutting or replacing it after the inspection. Stone and brick surrounds are noncombustible, which gives you more design freedom near the opening than wood does.
Alarm requirements for new rooms
Florida law requires an approved, working carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each room used for sleeping in new buildings and additions that include a fireplace, a fossil-fuel appliance or an attached garage, or where the Florida Building Code requires one.
We raise this during planning for any addition or new home that includes a fireplace, so the alarm is on the project list from the start. Its placement is part of the builder's or electrician's scope. Whether the alarm is battery powered or hardwired, it is one more line on the project list, and we note it in the written record.
