Local prefab fireplace repair for Piedmont homes

Firestop spacers at every floor and ceiling

Wherever the chimney passes through a floor or ceiling, one maker's system uses a firestop spacer that holds the required clearance between the pipe and the framing and separates one floor space from the next or from the attic.

A missing, bent or displaced firestop leaves framing closer to the pipe than the listing allows. We check firestops wherever access allows and replace damaged ones with the maker's part.

• A firestop at every floor or ceiling the pipe crosses
• Clearance to framing held
• Damaged firestops replaced with the maker's part

Minimum chimney height on a factory-built system

Factory-built fireplaces are tested with a minimum and a maximum chimney height. One maker's model needs at least 16 feet from the base of the fireplace to the top of the termination for a straight flue, more with two sets of elbows and no more than 50 feet in all, while a different model from the same maker sets 12 feet above the appliance as its minimum.

A chimney shortened during a roof job, or a system that was always short, can explain a stubborn draft problem. We measure the system against your model's figures.

What zero clearance really means

Zero clearance describes a fireplace built to sit close to wood framing, with air spaces and shields built into it. It does not mean any material can touch any part of it. Each model lists its own clearances, and those figures are part of its listing.

We read the clearances in your model's manual before any repair near the framing or the face, and we point out finishes that have crept closer than allowed.

Accessories added to a prefab fireplace

A factory-built fireplace's manual limits which doors, screens, grates and inserts may be used with it, and the maker lists its own accessories by model. Add-ons from other sources need a close look against that manual.

Aftermarket fans, grate heaters and decorative panels come up often. We tell you which accessories fit your model and which ones to remove before the next fire.

• Doors approved for the model
• Screens and grates from the maker's list
• Inserts tested with the fireplace
• Add-ons to remove before the next fire