Another mantel surround clearance issue here!

[tickbitty]

Gosh, in all the pics I hardly ever see any mantels with wood surround here. (nor many flush hearths.) I guess I am going to have a little problem with mine. Do you all know if anyone ever gets more creative with mantel shields or flashing or something to protect the "combustible surround" without having to remove the original woodwork of the house? Here is a photo and schematic of my current fireplace: (ignore the glass doors)

and here are the mininum fireplace requirements for the insert I am looking at:

So the requirements for the non combustible facing are 50 1/4" wide by 47 1/4" tall.
My fireplace mantel surround outside the brick has an inside measurement of 49.5" wide (very close) but only 39" tall. Yikes, so that's an 8" difference. Are there ways to do this properly and safely without tearing out the mantel? I have seen similar questions posted here but not too many resolutions yet. I welcome your input! (moving the stove into the room not an option. I am going to have to extend the flush hearth (18") by about 10" into the room with a pad or something. Are there ways to get a pad to conform to accomodate the slightly raised hearth and still lay flat-ish on the floor?

 

[RAY_PA]

I really would have to measure mine, its been over a year since the instal and I cant remember. Mine was close to minimum. I havent seen any problem and we heated 24/7 all winter last year. Its almost the same set up as you will have. The mantel does get warm, but it'ds have to get danm hot to ignite.

 

[DAKSY]

Gosh, in all the pics I hardly ever see any mantels with wood surround here. (nor many flush hearths.) I guess I am going to have a little problem with mine. Do you all know if anyone ever gets more creative with mantel shields or flashing or something to protect the "combustible surround" without having to remove the original woodwork of the house? Here is a photo and schematic of my current fireplace: (ignore the glass doors)

and here are the mininum fireplace requirements for the insert I am looking at:

So the requirements for the non combustible facing are 50 1/4" wide by 47 1/4" tall.
My fireplace mantel surround outside the brick has an inside measurement of 49.5" wide (very close) but only 39" tall. Yikes, so that's an 8" difference. Are there ways to do this properly and safely without tearing out the mantel? I have seen similar questions posted here but not too many resolutions yet. I welcome your input! (moving the stove into the room not an option. I am going to have to extend the flush hearth (18") by about 10" into the room with a pad or something. Are there ways to get a pad to conform to accomodate the slightly raised hearth and still lay flat-ish on the floor?

A mantel heat shield will help you reduce the clearance needed.
It's not gonna look very good, but it'll work.
As far as the hearth extension or pad, how high is the firebox raised?
You may hafta install the hearth pad & if it's too high, raise up the insert
to meet the height by installing metal or durarock or firebricks as shims...

 

[fredarm]

A Pacific Energy Vista Insert will only require 38.5 inches top clearance to combustibles with the optional mantel shield. Its width to combustibles is about 42 inches. It will fit. Otherwise, with an insert such as you're proposing you'll either need a big heat shield above the stove to meet code or have to rip out some of the wood surround. Also, with the Vista, you won't need a hearth extension. Downside--it's a small insert, but does throw a lot of heat for its size. How much space are you looking to heat? Main source of heat or supplement?

 

[tickbitty]

A Pacific Energy Vista Insert will only require 38.5 inches top clearance to combustibles with the optional mantel shield. Its width to combustibles is about 42 inches. It will fit. Otherwise, with an insert such as you're proposing you'll either need a big heat shield above the stove to meet code or have to rip out some of the wood surround. Also, with the Vista, you won't need a hearth extension. Downside--it's a small insert, but does throw a lot of heat for its size. How much space are you looking to heat? Main source of heat or supplement?

About 1430 sq foot house, built like a brick bunker in the 1950s, rancher, not open plan. We are switching (right now) from broken old oil furnace in basement to a heat pump in with the AC system in the attic. Not looking forward to heatpump (or all electric heat) we are now getting back into looking at an insert. May end up being primary instead of supplemental, depends on how much wood we get!

I am likely to get a $150 Lopi Revere in the next couple days so that's the one I am looking at clearances for. If that stove doesn't work out, I will surely look into the PE one you recommend, thanks!

 

[RIJEEP]

I really would have to measure mine, its been over a year since the instal and I cant remember. Mine was close to minimum. I havent seen any problem and we heated 24/7 all winter last year. Its almost the same set up as you will have. The mantel does get warm, but it'ds have to get danm hot to ignite.

x2 for me as well.

 

[tickbitty]

Nice to see these setups! Thanks for posting the pics and suggestions. That bottom mantle does look a lot like mine, my house was built in 1953 by a mason who lived in it (no chimney problems here, lol)

 

[fredarm]

A Pacific Energy Vista Insert will only require 38.5 inches top clearance to combustibles with the optional mantel shield. Its width to combustibles is about 42 inches. It will fit. Otherwise, with an insert such as you're proposing you'll either need a big heat shield above the stove to meet code or have to rip out some of the wood surround. Also, with the Vista, you won't need a hearth extension. Downside--it's a small insert, but does throw a lot of heat for its size. How much space are you looking to heat? Main source of heat or supplement?

About 1430 sq foot house, built like a brick bunker in the 1950s, rancher, not open plan. We are switching (right now) from broken old oil furnace in basement to a heat pump in with the AC system in the attic. Not looking forward to heatpump (or all electric heat) we are now getting back into looking at an insert. May end up being primary instead of supplemental, depends on how much wood we get!

I am likely to get a $150 Lopi Revere in the next couple days so that's the one I am looking at clearances for. If that stove doesn't work out, I will surely look into the PE one you recommend, thanks!

I can see why you want to find a work-around. That's about 10% of the cost of the Vista! You can probably skate by on the width since you're so close to the clearance needed, but it just seems to me like that top clearance is too close without some sort of heat shield. The clearance specs you posted mention a mantel shield and clearance to combustibles with the mantel shield is 39 1/4 inches. That's not much over your 39 inches. Check with a local Lopi dealer to see if you can order the shield. I would think that will take care of the issue, unless I'm missing something here.

 

[tickbitty]

Yeah I am definitely doing better than the 30% tax rebate on this one, (if the insides of it are not all bolloxed up) so I will do my darndest to make it work! The install, surround and fixing the blower are likely to cost a bit, maybe I can get my 30% off THAT if I am creative! (but even if not it's too good a deal to pass up. THe guy has had it on CL a month and nobody has realized what it is yet because his pics and description were so bad) He just wants to get a little money for it. Sounds like he's a contractor who removed it to put in gas logs, and he just hauled it off for them.
Thanks for the info and will go through the manual (just printed out) and see if I can get info on the shield.

 

[treehackers]

I had to put heat shield on my install also - inspector would not approve it with out one. They look like crap. I will deal with it for this season but next spring I'll fabricate some that looks better.

 

[tickbitty]

I had to put heat shield on my install also - inspector would not approve it with out one. They look like crap. I will deal with it for this season but next spring I'll fabricate some that looks better.

Wow, your mantel surround looks really similar to mine, the floor too. That ends up being a pretty elaborate setup, huh? Good solutions though, when ya gotta ya gotta.
I was thinking to either try to cover my bricks entirely with black surround, and just do a long mantel shield with the spacers all across the top part (I think I can get away with the sides measurement as it's within like half an inch) so that the brick will be entirely covered, or do the shield at the top same way but leave the fireplace open around the insert (if the insert I get is decent looking enough to do that.)

 

[treehackers]

I had to put heat shield on my install also - inspector would not approve it with out one. They look like crap. I will deal with it for this season but next spring I'll fabricate some that looks better.

Wow, your mantel surround looks really similar to mine, the floor too. That ends up being a pretty elaborate setup, huh? Good solutions though, when ya gotta ya gotta.
I was thinking to either try to cover my bricks entirely with black surround, and just do a long mantel shield with the spacers all across the top part (I think I can get away with the sides measurement as it's within like half an inch) so that the brick will be entirely covered, or do the shield at the top same way but leave the fireplace open around the insert (if the insert I get is decent looking enough to do that.)

Good luck! - I might do the same next year, fabricate all new surround panels to cover the brick.

 

[fredarm]

The Vista insert mantle shield is just a small extension that sticks out between the top of the insert and the metal surround. You can see it in my avatar if you look closely (not my stove--I don't have the shield). Maybe the Lopi shield is similar and wouldn't involve that big black shield.

 

[oconnor]

We had similar mantel issues, and in the end, blew it all away and refaced with cement and a concrete mantel. You can check out the pics in the install link below - not for the faint at heart as far as renos go.