Summer is an active season for building and renovating a house, including installing a fireplace or stove. If you have already bought an insert and are at the installation stage, here are a few tips on how to prepare your home for fitting wood-burning heating equipment.
Preparing for a fireplace installation: the basic rules
When preparing to install a fireplace insert, certain steps and rules must be followed to ensure it works safely and efficiently. Here are the steps worth taking:
1. Choosing the location: first of all, decide where you plan to install the fireplace insert. Choose a place where it will serve as the main heat source, and make sure there is proper access for the chimney.
2. Calculating the dimensions: contact the manufacturer or a specialist to get the appropriate insert dimensions for your room. The dimensions of the insert must match those of the chimney.
3. Compliance with the rules: before installing the insert, make sure your fireplace meets all the requirements and safety rules laid down for this kind of equipment.
4. Preparing the room: before installation, clear the fireplace area of building materials, dust, dirt and anything else that is in the way. Also make sure the walls and floor in that place can take the load of the insert's weight.
5. Installing the base: depending on the design of the insert, you may need to install a stand or a foundation for it. Make sure the base is stable and level.
6. Fitting the chimney: install the flue from the insert to the outlet in the wall or roof of the house. Contact a professional to ensure the chimney is fitted and insulated correctly.
7. Protecting the surrounding space: before installing the fireplace insert, make sure that surrounding materials — wooden beams, furniture or other combustible items — are at a safe distance from the firebox. Keep a safe zone around the fireplace to avoid possible fires or damage.
How do you choose the location for a wood-burning insert?
Installation and commissioning of a fireplace insert must be carried out by a qualified installation team. Before installation, the whole chimney system must be checked (taking into account the technical parameters and technical conditions).
The location for the fireplace should be as close as possible to the chimney. The room where the fireplace is installed must have conditions for the ventilation system to work normally.
- If the house has mechanical extract ventilation, building regulations require mechanical supply ventilation as well, proportional to or exceeding the outflow of air.
- If the fireplace does not have a dedicated air supply, fresh air must be admitted to the room while the fireplace is working — by opening a window or a door directly in the room where the fireplace operates. During operation the fireplace works like a powerful extract fan. Watch the required air supply, otherwise air will be drawn in through the extract hoods in the kitchen, the bathroom and so on.
- It is not recommended to install the appliance without an outside air connection.
Before installing the fireplace, all combustible materials, or materials that degrade under heat, must be removed or reliably protected — both on the surfaces in contact with the fireplace (floor, walls, ceiling) and inside them (for example, electrical wiring or gas pipes).
Combustible materials and objects must not be closer than 1 m to the insert.
► ATTENTION! Make sure the floor can take the combined weight of the insert, the cladding and the insulated box.
What should you check on the appliance before installation?
Before finally installing the insert, connecting it to the chimney and cladding it, you must check:
- That all assemblies work correctly — check that the door opens and closes, and rule out any unusual noise when the door moves.
- The tightness of the door, and adjust it if necessary.
- The body of the insert and the door frame for mechanical damage, chips or scratches.
- The door glass — there must be no scratches or chips on it.
- That the sealing cords are all in place and undamaged.
What comes next after the insert is installed?
The insert itself is only part of the system. Around it a convection box is built, which distributes the heat around the room — how to do that correctly is described in the article how to properly build a convection fireplace box. Air enters and leaves that box through ventilation grilles, whose area is calculated from the nominal output of the insert: 50 cm² per 1 kW for the inlet and 70 cm² per 1 kW for the outlet.
The second half of the system is the flue. Its diameter and height are chosen according to the data sheet of the specific model; certified modular systems together with inspection and condensate elements are gathered in the chimneys section.
If you are still choosing the appliance itself, see straight steel inserts, corner inserts, inserts with a guillotine door or steel fireplace stoves. SAVEN steel inserts and stoves carry a 5-year warranty, plus an additional 2 years on the fireclay lining.