Gas log installation and replacement in Piedmont

The listing behind a vented log set

Section 602.1 of the Florida fuel gas code covers decorative appliances made for approved solid fuel-burning fireplaces. It asks for an ANSI Z21.60 listing and an installation that follows the manufacturer's instructions, and the listing is printed on the set and on its manual cover.

That makes the manual part of the rule. Burner position, damper opening, media and log placement all come from it, so our installers read the manual for your exact set before unpacking anything.

Placing each log by the diagram

Every log set comes with a placement diagram, and flames that strike a log in the wrong place leave soot. One maker allows some flexibility in placement to suit your taste, as long as significant sooting does not occur.

If black carbon keeps building on a log, the same manual calls it a sign of incomplete combustion and says to move that log so the flame touches it less. Our installers set the logs to the diagram and show you which ones not to move.

Why a log set smokes or soots

Smoke and soot from a gas log set have a known list of causes. One maker's troubleshooting table covers the chimney, the damper, the burner position, the media, the air openings and the logs themselves.

Our pros work through that list in order at your home, because the fix for a closed damper is nothing like the fix for a propane burner running on natural gas.

• Poor draft, downdraft or a closed damper
• Burner too close to the front of the firebox
• Media placed wrong or packed too tight
• Air mixer closed or air shutters blocked
• Logs out of position
• Burner built for the other gas
• Accessories that do not belong to the set

Vent-free sets and bedrooms or bathrooms

One vent-free log set manual says plainly that the heater shall not be installed in a bedroom or bathroom. The state code keeps appliances out of those rooms too in section 303.3, and its exceptions for unvented heaters cover only a single small wall-mounted heater under strict conditions.

A log set in a bedroom fireplace is not one of those. Our specialists steer a bedroom fireplace toward a vented option and explain the reason in the written estimate.

Where local rules limit vent-free sets

Vent-free sets are not allowed everywhere. One manual notes that state and local codes in some areas prohibit the use of vent-free heaters, and that some codes allow operation only in a vented configuration.

Before a vent-free set is recommended for your address, our crew confirms what applies there and whether your homeowners association or building has rules of its own. When the answer is unclear, the estimate says so and offers a vented set instead.