Wood inserts installed with a full liner in Kingswood Manor

Clearances measured from the insert body

Each insert manual carries a clearance table for combustible materials around the unit. The Pacific Insert guide measures from the insert body and gives separate minimums for an adjacent sidewall, a mantel, top facing and side facing, with a drawing of each.

Those numbers apply to your chosen model only, which is why we never quote an installation from a general rule. At the inspection we measure every combustible surface near the opening and compare it with the table, and anything that falls short appears in the estimate with the fix we propose.

• Wood mantel shelf above the opening
• Wood or painted trim at the sides
• A wall that meets the fireplace at a corner
• Shelving or cabinets built beside the hearth

Longer burns and restarting from coals

For extended burns, the Pacific guide prefers unsplit logs and advises charring the wood completely on the high setting before turning the air down. Restarting after an overnight burn begins with raking the coals and opening the air.

We explain how your model handles long burns so the air is not turned down on wet or fresh wood, which is where smoky, sluggish fires come from. The manual's sequence is short and easy to follow once you have seen it once.

Finding the fireplace flue in a larger chimney

A wide chimney can hold several flues side by side. One may serve the fireplace, another a furnace or water heater, and a third may have been abandoned when an appliance was replaced. From the roof they can look alike, and from the room only one is visible.

Before any liner is fed down, our crew traces which flue opens into the firebox and confirms nothing else is tied into it. The estimate names that flue, so the liner goes down the right opening the first time and every other appliance keeps its own exhaust path.

Raised hearths and flush hearths

A raised hearth stands above the surrounding floor, while a flush hearth sits level with it. The Pacific guide treats the two differently: a hearth raised above a combustible floor meets its requirement at one depth, and a flush hearth has to reach further out in front of the opening.

We measure the height and depth of your hearth and read the manual for your model before deciding whether it passes. The result, and any extension it needs, goes into the estimate in plain words.