Mantle Clearance on Napoleon 1402 Wood Insert

[LavaGirl]

Hi everybody! You guys have a terrific forum here! I just joined and I'm hoping to get some advice on a Napoleon 1402 wood insert that I'm having installed into my existing masonry fireplace. (I am also having a fully insulated SS liner put in as well.) The installer says I have to have a heat shield put on the top of the insert which I am not happy about at all. I think those things are so fugly and I am very disappointed that they are telling me I have to do this. I don't understand why because it seems that I meet the required clearances per the manufacturer. The installer told me that I have to have a clearance of 18" up from the firebox to combustibles, so I have ripped apart my beautiful wood surround and I am cutting back the wood directly above the brick opening of my fireplace to meet that requirement. The height of the Napoleon unit itself is 20 3/4" high, so if I add on the extra 18", it means that my wood surround needs to be cut back to 38 3/4" above the hearth floor, which is what I am in the process of doing.

Previously, my wood surround was only 32 1/4" above the hearth floor. I've attached a photo to show you what my fireplace looked like before; all of the wood molding around the brick opening is gone now as well as approximately the first 6" of wood going up in the center. There is exposed brick there now and after my brother takes his circular saw to the rest of the wood above it, there will be a couple more inches of brick showing (making the 18" of clearance to combustibles above the unit).

As far as the mantle goes, according to the Napoleon brochure, the required installation clearance to a mantle or top facing is 28" above the unit. The distance from my hearth floor to my mantle varies slightly (my house is old and I guess it has settled a little crooked) but it is in between 50 1/4" - 50 3/4" high (that's to the bottom of the mantle). So if I add the 20 3/4" of the height of the unit plus the 28" required clearance per the manufacturer, it comes to 48 3/4", and my mantle is above that, so what am I missing here? Why are they telling me that I need a heat shield? I thought you only needed a heat shield when you didn't meet the required clearances. My mantle sticks out 6 7/8". Could that be the problem? Or could there be some other fire code in my state (CT) that overrides the manufacturers specifications, and if so, how do I find out what it is?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I really, really don't want them put on that heat shield. My fireplace is the focal point of my living room and I just think the heat shield is going to ruin the beauty of the insert.

I also know that I am going to need to get a hearth extension to put in front of the unit; currently I have a marble hearth which is only 16" deep. The installer has told me that the Napoleon unit sticks out 6" from the fireplace, so it leaves me with only 10" of hearth in front. I've found a very nice 12" x 48" hearth extension on the American Panel Hearth website which should match my existing marble really well, and that would then give me 22" in front of the unit, so hopefully that shouldn't be an issue.

Anyway, any info that anyone could provide me on this whole heat shield dilemma would be great. Thanks so much in advance for your help!

 

[begreen]

I get the insert height at 21 1/4", but it still looks like it might squeak through. Are you measuring the mantel clearance from the bottom edge of the top shelf or where the wood molding underneath the top shelf starts building out from the face of the fireplace?

If a shield is needed, that isn't the end of the world. It can be removed in the summer or painted white with high temp paint.

 

[LavaGirl]

Thanks, BeGreen for replying back... I'm measuring the mantle at the front edge... if I measure from the floor to the bottom of the trimpiece that is underneath the mantle, it is 45 1/8" up. That piece of trim is only 2" deep though. It is just a piece of molding. Do you think that could be why they are saying I need the shield? I have contemplated just ripping off the mantle and raising it up a few inches, but I have plaster walls and I'm concerned that I might really mess up the wall in doing so. Do you know how far the heat shields stick out? Some people mentioned in other posts that they hit their heads on them when they are bending down to load wood?!? Yikes!

 

[RedRanger]

If I am not mistaken? The mantle sheild also helps to deflect heat into the room? So;, maybe not such an "evil" after all?

Couldn`t you maybe paint some eyelashes on it to dress it up a bit??

 

[begreen]

I suspect it is the molding below the top mantel shelf that the dealer is concerned about. Ask your dealer about the shield they are recommending and how far it will stick out. It's easy to obsess over these things, but in a month we often hardly notice them. We have a few folks that seem to think it's no big deal.

 

[LavaGirl]

Yeah, sonny, I suppose you're right, because the heat shield would deflect the heat away from the mantle it would go into the room which would be beneficial... it's just that from the few pictures I have seen of these heat shields, none of them seem to really "blend" with the insert... they just look so utilitarian and sort of stick out like a sore thumb... I wonder why none of the manufacturers make any that have some kind of uniqueness like a beveled edge or something... oh well... I guess I could paint eyelashes on it, but then I think the fire would look like a giant orange eye and it would creep me out! (ha,ha!)

Btw, sonny, the insert in your photo is really nice looking... very clean lines... is that the Napoleon Energy Star that you list in your signature? It looks a lot like the Napoleon 1402 that I'm getting. I hope mine ends up looking as good as yours does!

BeGreen, I also didn't realize that the heat shield is removable. Are they all like that? If it's not a permanent thing, that makes me feel a whole lot better. I thought they were going to have to anchor this thing to the brick in back of the flashing and it wasn't coming off (or maybe even mount it to the inside of my flashing). Does it just slide behind the flashing and sit there on top of the unit? These are some of the pics that I had found of heat shields, so I'm assuming that they all pretty much look like this: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/9613/

Thanks, guys, for all the feedback!

 

[begreen]

Yes, that's what they look like more or less. They aren't usually made to be removed, but could be rigged to do so with a couple screws. Given your setup I'd paint it white.

There is another option. You could have a shield fabricated to mount, with standoffs, underneath the mantel. That also could be painted white and removed easily with 4 screws.

 

[LavaGirl]

I thought about the shields that mount under the mantle but the generic ones I saw looked just as awkward... I figured that the custom ones would be pretty expensive to have fabricated and I didn't know if they would end up looking any better. Plus, since my installer hadn't mentioned anything about that type of shield, I wasn't even sure if the two kinds were interchangeable and if I could use that style with my setup. I suppose if I was able to find a craftsman that could make one which really contoured to the underside of my mantle and then I painted it white, you would hardly notice it. Maybe that's something I can do down the road... the shield in your drawing definitely doesn't look bad at all... it certainly seems less noticeable!