Our Services
Fitting the insert, the liner and the hearth
Liner, hearth and fit are planned together before an insert goes into your Winter Springs fireplace.
A direct connection and its limits
Some manuals also allow a direct or positive connection, with a short connector from the insert into the existing flue and a block-off plate sealing the throat. Local codes may call for a clean-out door with that arrangement, and one maker does not allow a face-seal connection at all.
We explain which connections your model permits and what each means for cleaning and draft. Where a full liner is the better answer, we say so, and the difference in scope appears side by side in the estimate.
Exhaust fans and the draft
Kitchen and bath fans, dryers and tight construction can lower the air pressure in a house. One insert manual warns that negative pressure can pull fumes into the living area, which is one reason the insert runs with its door closed.
During the inspection we ask about large exhaust fans near the fireplace and explain how they can affect the draft. Where the manual allows outside air, we tell you whether it suits your home. If the draft in your fireplace has ever suffered when a fan runs, mention it at the inspection.
Setting the insert level and square
An insert that leans makes the door hang poorly and the surround sit unevenly against the fireplace face. Old hearths are rarely flat, so the setting takes more care than it looks.
Our installers level the insert with noncombustible shims where the manual allows, square it to the opening and check the door swing and the surround gap before the liner is connected. A level insert also sits evenly against the hearth protection in front of it and looks built in.
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.
