Need Advice on Remodel Project

[thinkgreen216]

I'm remodeling the fireplace wall my Gas insert stove was in and have some questions I need help with. I'm keeping the stove as it's only 4 years old (Travis Industries 33DVI). As you can see it is a lava rock wall and full length bench that was previously hidden behind drywall. I decided to rip out the bench in front of the fireplace and remove the tile surrounding the fireplace. The way the lava bench was framed out was pretty rough, it was pretty much a bunch of bricks and cinder block thrown together and covered with the lava rock (when I say throw together I mean it in a literal sense.) When I removed the bench portion directly in front of the insert I noticed the contractor did a rough job of framing underneath the floor of the fireplace (as seen in the pictures) my first thought was to pull out the blocks and clean up the framework than I got to thinking why not just take the whole bottom of the fireplace out and actually re-install the gas insert on the ground. This fireplace is in a daytime basement so it has a concrete floor. I know I might need to have the gas line extended and the intake and exhaust hoses lengthened but is there any reasons why I couldn't remove the floor of the fireplace and mount the insert on the ground? I like the idea of mounting it on the ground because my end goal is to build a mantel and mounting a TV on the wall above the mantel and I figure the lower the fireplace is mounted the farther the heat will be away from the TV. The last pic closely represents what I want the finished product to look like.

 

[DAKSY]

Normally, what you should do is to install a gas FIRE PLACE, & that's what's shown in your pic.
The reason I say that is that your unit is designed & tested to be used in a wood burning structure.
If you remove the fire place, You will need to figure out how to build another structure to mount it in,
The floor, being concrete is not an issue, but there needs to be a heat retaining mechanism surrounding the insert.
You could possibly find a Zero Clearance wood burning unit that is approved for a gas insert usage.
I believe there would have to be a positive attachment to the existing chimney, but that's not my call.
If you really want to save the unit, you might need to contact a fire code inspector.
That's just my $.02.

 

[thinkgreen216]

The unit I currently have is a gas insert that's been converted to propane. I was planning on leaving the metal surround structure that's in the fireplace exactly where it is now, I just wanted to lower the fireplace floor all the way down to the concrete floor (roughly 12") than re-install the unit. The gas insert I'm using is larger than the one that was in it previously, in fact the new one barely fit inside of the metal fireplace insert but the previous unit had lot of room all around it. With the modification I'm contemplating doing the only change would be removal of the current "fireplace" floor bringing the fireplace cavity down 12" to the concrete foundation floor. This will leave 12" of dead space in the fireplace cavity above the gas insert but I'm sure that would be ok. Am I thinking correctly?

 

[bholler]

The unit I currently have is a gas insert that's been converted to propane. I was planning on leaving the metal surround structure that's in the fireplace exactly where it is now, I just wanted to lower the fireplace floor all the way down to the concrete floor (roughly 12") than re-install the unit. The gas insert I'm using is larger than the one that was in it previously, in fact the new one barely fit inside of the metal fireplace insert but the previous unit had lot of room all around it. With the modification I'm contemplating doing the only change would be removal of the current "fireplace" floor bringing the fireplace cavity down 12" to the concrete foundation floor. This will leave 12" of dead space in the fireplace cavity above the gas insert but I'm sure that would be ok. Am I thinking correctly?

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If you can do it without compromising the structure of the fireplace and maintain enough masonry between the insert and combustibles it might work