Oakleaf Plantation chimney and fireplace service by local pros

Adding a gas fireplace to a room that has never had one starts with where the vent can go, and that decision comes before anyone chooses a model. A direct-vent unit draws all of its combustion air from outside and sends the exhaust back out through a sealed pipe, which can be one pipe inside another, so the fire uses none of the room's air.

A natural-vent unit burns room air and needs a vertical Type B vent through the roof instead. The vent run has limits set by the maker's vent table, including how far it may travel sideways and how many elbows it may take, and the cap outside has to sit clear of windows and doors that open, soffits, corners and walkways by distances the manual prints from the national fuel gas code.

Florida's fuel gas code also restricts gas appliances in bedrooms and bathrooms, with exceptions that depend on the type of unit, so the choice of room is part of the plan. Inside, the unit is framed the way its manual draws it, the spaces around the firebox stay free of insulation, and the mantel height comes from the maker's chart.

Units built to the 2015 revisions of their standards ship with a barrier screen for the hot glass, and it stays on. Two parts of the job belong to other trades. The gas supply line is run by a gas contractor, a new circuit for a fan or remote receiver is wired by an electrician, and the estimate names who does each.

A new gas fireplace is permitted work with inspections by the building department, and the estimate also says who pulls the permit. At start-up, the gas pressures are checked against the rating plate, the connections are leak-tested with a solution rather than a flame, and the logs are set to the placement diagram.

Call (904) 920-5495 to plan it with our fireplace installation experts in Oakleaf Plantation, starting with a free inspection of the room, the wall and the roof line, and 10% off an install booked within 72 hours of it.