Installer will be arriving in a few weeks to install a new Hearthstone Clydesdale II fireplace insert in our antique house here in southeast Massachusetts. In prepping the firebox, besides cleaning it out, I decided it would be a nice detail to add 1/2" ceramic fiber board insulation to the walls in order to reduce heating the bricks on this outside-facing chimney. Never having done this before I first made templates out of cardboard, hand-fitting them to the firebox, and then transferred the shapes to the three 23.6" X 35.4" insulation boards. To cut the boards with the least amount of dust generated I used a Dewalt multi-tool which cut through the boards like butter (Note: these boards are quite fragile and the fibers are nasty so go gentle with them and definitely wear a protective mask and gloves). I then taped all the cut edges with heat-reflective tape. Snug fit. Probably overkill. But I like it. Looking forward to my first fireplace insert!
Michael
Links:
![[Hearth.com] First time: Installing ceramic fiber board insulation in firebox](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_5301-webp.303237/ "[Hearth.com] First time: Installing ceramic fiber board insulation in firebox")
Michael
Links:
