Please help me with my Regency Bellavista intall

[redwood78]

I will spare you the gory details but I went against my better judgment and went with the "low price" installer for my Regency gas fireplace, and well, I got what I paid for. I found a number of things wrong with the install, which I was able to fix myself, but I'm questioning basically everything they did given that I found a number of things that were blatantly not right. Anyhow, I'm not here to complain. Just hoping I could get some feedback on a few things. First question, does the Astrocap look ok?

 

[DAKSY]

They should have tried to smooth out that stucco, at least to where
the cap flanges are against the side of the building.
You can't get a good seal on an uneven surface with the silicone.
I wouldn't worry about the bottom of the cap. Moisture doesn't flow UP.
I would seal the seams at the top, tho.

 

[redwood78]

They should have tried to smooth out that stucco, at least to where
the cap flanges are against the side of the building.
You can't get a good seal on an uneven surface with the silicone.
I wouldn't worry about the bottom of the cap. Moisture doesn't flow UP.
I would seal the seams at the top, tho.

Thanks Daksy. That makes sense. The installer actually admitted that they put the thimble in backwards after I questioned it further.. but I guess it does not matter. But I believe that explains why the Astrocap does not cover the bottom screws of the thimble.

The next thing I wanted to ask about is the connection from the Duravent pipe to the Regency Astrocap from the inside. As you can see in this picture, for whatever reason the installer did not screw the rear thimble in, and just left it hanging there. This was fixed easily enough, but when I moved the fireplace out to fix this the Duravent pipe just fell right out of the Astrocap. I.e., it was not screwed in. Can anyone tell me it should be screwed in somehow?

 

[redwood78]

This is what Regency's directions say about it:

"Secure the connection between the vent pipe and vent cap."

How?

 

[DAKSY]

This is what Regency's directions say about it:

View attachment 169751

"Secure the connection between the vent pipe and vent cap."

How?

There are or were two straps attached to the astro cap that are required for you to attach
to the last section of venting that enters the cap. Use 3/4" long 1/4" zipscrews.

 

[redwood78]

Yeah you got that right there probably "were" straps.. but they aren't there now. I'm thinking of just using some basic L brackets with the zip screws you recommend with one side on the thimble and the other on the vent pipe. Duravent permits the Duravent Pro pipe to be screwed (as I'm sure you well know) as long as the inner pipe is not breached.. which of course makes perfect sense. Think the L brackets are an ok idea?

 

[redwood78]

Yeah you got that right there probably "were" straps.. but they aren't there now. I'm thinking of just using some basic L brackets with the zip screws you recommend with one side on the thimble and the other on the vent pipe. Duravent permits the Duravent Pro pipe to be screwed (as I'm sure you well know) as long as the inner pipe is not breached.. which of course makes perfect sense. Think the L brackets are an ok idea?

Well, it's in.