Installation of Clydesdale Surround

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JoeRJGR

Member
Dec 31, 2010
70
New Jersey
So, I finally ordered the Clydesdale and I'm really happy about the decison. Thanks everyone for your advice!.

I do have a question for all you Clydesdale owners...

Prior to installation I will be adding a stone veneer to my exisiting brick fireplace. I would like to know how the surround attachs to the stove in order to do this properly. The instructions mention a surround instruction manual, but I cant find that online.

Does it attach directly to the stove or to the wall? Does it slide down on top of pins? All of this is important to know prior to my stone work.

Also, any opinions on stoning around the surround as opposed to having the surround lay on top of the stone? I would think thats not posible if the surrounf lowers down on pins or something. It would make for a more custom look I would think. My other thought was to install a thin border of limestone just behind where the surround will lay. This way the surround will lay flat, and if a future buyer of the home wants to convert it back to a wood burning fireplace it wont be an odd size.

Thanks as ususal for your help!!!


Thanks
 
Hi Joe,

Congrats on the new purchase. The Clydesdale is a great insert. The surround on my unit, which is the older style, had the surround slide down on a bracket that is attached to the stove itself. So you would want to make sure you have about 2-3" of clearance above the top of the surround in order to slide it down on the brackets.

Hope that helped!

Happy burning
 
JoeRJGR said:
So, I finally ordered the Clydesdale and I'm really happy about the decison. Thanks everyone for your advice!.

I do have a question for all you Clydesdale owners...

Prior to installation I will be adding a stone veneer to my exisiting brick fireplace. I would like to know how the surround attachs to the stove in order to do this properly. The instructions mention a surround instruction manual, but I cant find that online.

Does it attach directly to the stove or to the wall? Does it slide down on top of pins? All of this is important to know prior to my stone work.

Also, any opinions on stoning around the surround as opposed to having the surround lay on top of the stone? I would think thats not posible if the surrounf lowers down on pins or something. It would make for a more custom look I would think. My other thought was to install a thin border of limestone just behind where the surround will lay. This way the surround will lay flat, and if a future buyer of the home wants to convert it back to a wood burning fireplace it wont be an odd size.

Thanks as ususal for your help!!!


Thanks

Hi Joe!

Sounds like you are making progress on your Clydesdale.

The surround comes boxed on top of your stove in three pieces that you lay on the floor to assemble. It's a good idea to put some cardboard down on the floor first because the surround is heavy - but somewhat susceptible to damage. I recommend that you use a straight edge - a 2X4 or long level if you have one - to line up the tops of the three pieces so that they are nice and level and then secure the pieces tight.

The stove comes with a separate sheet metal bracket that is secured to the top of the stove with four screws. You place the sheet metal bracket in place on the stove, then secure it loosely by tightening down the screws a bit. The bracket will slide back and forth so that you can adjust the depth of the surround to match the depth of your stove. At this point in the install, you have the stove more or less in its final position, and your SS Flex connected to the stove flue.

The top bracket has four V-shaped slots that guide the surround in place. The surround - you guessed it - has four screws with washers that drop into the V-slots. Carefully stand up the surround - it's surprisingly heavy (you might need two folks for this the first time that you do it) - carry it over to the stove, get it in position and lower the screws on the surround over and into the V-slots on the bracket. Push the surround back into the fireplace opening as far as it will go - the loosely secured bracket will then slide back into its proper depth. Then carefully remove the surround by lifting straight up and placing it back down on the floor. Using a short Phillips screwdriver, tighten the screws that hold the bracket to the stove. Lift up the surround again and carefully lower it into position. Plug in the blower cord and you are done.

The surround will butt up against any surface - irregular or smooth - stone or brick. The smoother the better, but will will never mesh "tight" against a brick wall or such like. That's OK since unless you are standing right over the top of the surround, you don't notice any irregularities. A bad idea would be to try to secure it against the wall. You will want to remove the surround occasionally (once a year?) to check on connections.
 
We had a veneer stone installed over existing red brick fireplace and love it. We too have the Clydesdale. Surround goes right over the top of the veneer and looks good. We had it done so not sure how the surround goes together. Pics of our install are at this site http://www.thegratehaus.com/webapp/GetPage?pid=411 We are the top three pictures.
 
Thank everyone for the info, the PDFs' etc....you guys are the best....been a long time since I have been able to post...

I was thinking of a couple install options for the surround...

Obviously the easiest is to stone to the existing size, and have the surround mount in the normal fashion up against the stone...


In an effort to make the surropund fit tigthly against the stone veneer, I was thinking of adding a thin layer of lime stone just behind the surround....but maybe thats too much effort..like volemister said, unless you are standing right above it, you wont see it...a

The above two options allow you to remove the surround to check the connections this way, as opposed to pulling out the whole insert..

The other option is to have the stone veneer come down almost to the top of the surround and counter sink the surround..it will make for a more custom look...but of course, we'll have to leave a gap betwen the bottom of the stone and the top of the surround in order to be able to take out the insert...that gap may look worse then the one between the surround and the veneer if done the other way..

Any opinons, and has anyone ever done it with the countersink method?

Thanks again...sort of bummed I wont be able to fully use the insert till next year, but a big bonus is that with the horrible winter we have had here in the northeast, a huge tree fell 3 houses down from me and I have been cutting wood for 3 days..I should have plenty of wood for next year....almost delivered to my house....
 
So Guys,

Has anyone every installed a Clydesdale with the surround even with stone or brick? In other words, place the surround in the firebox? Its on of my options for instal and I am just wondering if anyone has experience...

I am getting excited, but I can guarentee that the day its installed we'll have a heat wave...

Thanks
 
volemister,

I have one more question for you. The diagrams in the Hearthstone booklet state that the hearth be 18 " from the fuel door. In the diagram they show the unit installed basically flush....I have never seen anyone do that...most of the time the unit sticks out a few inches...and thus the hearth needs to be extended by that amount as well....correct?

Thanks for your help.
 
volemister,

Sorry for the constant questions, but I am trying to figure out how big to make my hearth. It will sit about a foot off the ground, and if I make it 18 " and the inspectors say I need it 19" due to the unit sitting an inch outside the firebox, cant I just add a piece of slate or something to the floor???

Thanks
 
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