Greetings all... I just had my Mt Vernon AE insert installed yesterday and I am loving it. The guys for KC Stoves and Fireplaces in Alburtis did a great job. The stove is a beast and really puts out some heat. So far, in mild temps was able to heat up our 3,000sf open design cape cod, with ease. Can't wait for winter now. A big THANK YOU to the forums for providing me with weeks of reading material, which really made it easy to decide on what to install. I felt I knew this stove inside and out, even before it arrived, thanks to years of informative forum posts. Now that the four tons of pellets (O'Malley's) are neatly stacked in my garage and the stove is pushing the heat, I now have to deal with an aesthetic issue. After removing an old Lennox propane fireplace insert (direct vent), I found that insert + optional factory surround + optional cast trim do not fill the entire space. Horizontal spacing is not the an issue, rather the vertical has come up a couple inches short, at the top. Our two options at this point seem to be a custom flat surround, which would extend outside the cast trim pieces (on sides & top), or fill/cover the top with something. I was hoping not to get into any masonry work, as the mortar would be difficult to match. This would not please my wife, which has a trickle down effect in the long run,... And I'm standing at the bottom of the hill. I was wondering if anyone has addressed this problem themselves, have any photos of their solutions, or suggestions. I'll forward a photo of the install...
