Family-owned prefab fireplace repair serving Wedgefield

Air spaces that must stay empty

Clearances around a factory-built fireplace and its chimney are air spaces, and one maker's manual warns against packing required air spaces with insulation or other materials. The same maker says blown insulation is never to be used to fill the chimney enclosure.

Stuffed insulation, stored boxes and leftover lumber in a chase or around the unit turn up on repair visits. We clear what we can reach and point out anything that needs removal before the fireplace is used.

Clearances between the unit and the framing

Zero clearance describes a design, and the design still has clearances. One maker's model lists minimum clearances to combustibles at the back and sides of the fireplace, to the ceiling, in front of the opening and to the outer pipe of the chimney.

Remodels sometimes push framing, backer board or trim tighter than those figures. We compare what we can see with the manual for your model and list any clearance that needs correcting.

• Back and sides of the unit
• Ceiling above it
• Floor space in front of the opening
• Outer pipe of the chimney

The grate that belongs in the firebox

Fires in a factory-built fireplace sit on a grate, and one maker includes a grate sized to each model in its parts list. Its warranty for factory-built fireplaces is conditional on use of an adequate fuel grate.

A fire built straight on the floor panel, or a grate that pushes logs against the side panels, puts heat where the design did not expect it. We check the grate as part of every prefab repair.

• Grate sized to the model
• Logs kept off the side panels
• Retainers holding the grate in place

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