Air gap between wall above insert

[Colestarkey26]

I tore out my old heatilator and tore the old stone face off the fireplace to drywall the room. When I did that the wall needed to be shimmed out a 1/2" so naturally without thinking i shot furring strips on and attached concrete board to that. On the top and sides the wood furring is on average 10" from the insert, however there is the air gap left over. I stopped laying stone about a foot from the ceiling when it hit me. I cut a strip from side to side that I can grout but i am wondering if the few strips of furring could get hot enough to cause an issue. The are ran vertical and there are only 3 above that are 4' and 2 on each side of the opening. Ultimately I guess my question is burying the furring in grout safe enough to not worry about it or get the sledge out and start over.

 

[bholler]

Show pics and what clearance does your inserts instructions call for. Burying them in mortar is not a fix at all check the required clearance it has to be in the instructions somewhere

 

[begreen]

Background history. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-stove.128496/

 

[Colestarkey26]

Show pics and what clearance does your inserts instructions call for. Burying them in mortar is not a fix at all check the required clearance it has to be in the instructions somewhere

 

[Colestarkey26]

They opening I have is 37 wide 30 tall

 

[Colestarkey26]

After I removed the heatilator I put in a new mantle and re-bricked everything to ensure I had enough masonry

 

[bholler]

If it were mine i would take it down. It looks like you are just past the minimum clearance if your estimate is right but i would not take the chance if it were mine.

 

[Colestarkey26]

Ok here is what I'm having a hard time getting an answer from everyone even the manufacturer. What is the minimum clearance.
And if I can eliminate the combustibles to that point and grout the rest of the gap it would save me an imense amount of time and work. If someone could help me with finding these magic measurements I would really appreciate it. I would be more than happy to provide any more information about this unit or if there is an alternative unit that would work better that would be great as well.
Thanks

 

[begreen]

I left this install thread after the heatform was removed. From that point on it is a guess. Inserts don't list clearances except to mantel and side wood. They assume a legal masonry fireplace or in some cases ZC installation. With the removal of the heatform metal and proximity of the firring strips I am not comfortable guessing the safety of this installation. The truth is no one can tell you what you want to know because of the deviations from a normal installation.

 

[Colestarkey26]

Is this something a licensed chimney sweep would be able to inspect and help me with?