We have a masonry (brick) fireplace and are looking to put in an insert. (I just posted a separate thread looking for input on which inserts to consider). Our firebox however is slightly taller than it is wide...so when looking at one of the units which will fit (VC Montpelier II) even with the surround there would be a ~3" gap between the top of the surround and the opening.
The salesman said we could get a piece of steel, paint it to match and just put it there (somehow) to fill the gap...but this probably wont look super awesome since the surround my wife prefers (MEAD II) has some detail to it...so having a flat piece of steep above that might look weird (unless anyone has a photo of this setup).
One idea I had was to elevate the whole insert. if I put some bricks in the bottom of the fireplace and put the insert on the bricks, it would be elevated enough for the surround to cover the gap, and I could put a plain piece of painted steel across the bottom where I think it would be less noticeable.
Is this an option? unsafe? commonly done? is there a better way to do it than laying some bricks down and putting the insert on top of them?
The salesman said we could get a piece of steel, paint it to match and just put it there (somehow) to fill the gap...but this probably wont look super awesome since the surround my wife prefers (MEAD II) has some detail to it...so having a flat piece of steep above that might look weird (unless anyone has a photo of this setup).
One idea I had was to elevate the whole insert. if I put some bricks in the bottom of the fireplace and put the insert on the bricks, it would be elevated enough for the surround to cover the gap, and I could put a plain piece of painted steel across the bottom where I think it would be less noticeable.
Is this an option? unsafe? commonly done? is there a better way to do it than laying some bricks down and putting the insert on top of them?