Question about mantel

[Scamp]

Hello. We just had an Encore by Vermont Castings installed in our fireplace. The stove company came out, evaluated and installed the stove. But now I am wondering about safety issues.

My first question is about the mantel - it is 19 1/2 inches above the stove top. The installer said we had to remove the wood mantel and replace it with something noncombustible. So we removed the outer shell of the mantel, and replaced it with a fairly thin stone (slightly less than 1/2 inch. The installer said that would be just fine. However, when the stove is up to 400 or 500 degrees, that stone becomes too hot for me to touch.

The stone is glued to strips of wood that are the base of the mantel.

Is this a safe installation? Or do we need to put some kind of shield on the bottom side of it? Or remove it completely and install something with no wood inside it? Or just not worry about it?

I want to be able to have a fire all night and not worry if things are okay… Many Thanks!

 

[oconnor]

If you glued the stone to wood, then you still have combustibles inside the no combustibles zone. Review your manual for clearances, and go from there. I would look at removing the wood and replacing with stone or concrete. At least you can then have a large thermal mass to radiare the heat into the room later.

 

[jtp10181]

Gluing stone over wood does not make the wood go away....

Many builders like to try this trick on us... "oh I'll just put some durock in there it will be fine..."
No... it won't cause we wont install it like that.

 

[begreen]

If you could put a bit bigger image of the stove we might be able to tell better how it is. From the looks of it, there isn't any hearth in front of the stove, but that could just be the tiny image.

 

[Scamp]

Okay! I will try to figure out how to make the right sized picture in the morning. I admit that one came out sort of small. Not real good with the computer. I really appreciate the suggestions so far, and we are planning on doing away with the wood in the mantel.

 

[Summertime]

I installed a heat shield on my insert to meet the mantle clearance requirements, I was lucky that Jotul made a heat shield that fit my rockland otherwise you can buy shields that screw to the mantel and have non-combustible spacers. My heat shield reduces the mantle temp signifigantly.

 

[Scamp]

Okay, I'm trying to attach a better picture. According to the installer, the pad on the floor is sufficient. What do you think?

 

[fossil]

...Is this a safe installation?

No, not the way it is right now.

...do we need to put some kind of shield on the bottom side of it?

Perhaps, if you like that solution.

...remove it completely and install something with no wood inside it?

That would certainly solve the problem.

...Or just not worry about it?

No, I think you should worry about it until you fix it. Rick

 

[bokehman]

What's the floor made of in front of the stove? And surely having a rug that close to the stove must be a fire hazard.

 

[Scamp]

The floor is cement, covered with carpet, then the rug is on top of the carpet. Would you recommend extending the hearth out further? Many thanks for any suggestions!

 

[fossil]

Check the owner's manual. It probably requires 16"-18" in front of the loading door, and maybe 8"-10" or so to each side. Rick

 

[bsimon]

The floor is cement, covered with carpet, then the rug is on top of the carpet. Would you recommend extending the hearth out further? Many thanks for any suggestions!

I do. Code here says 16" noncombustible in front of the stove; you should check local rules. I put in a granite slab that gets quite warm - the wood further from the stove also gets quite warm. I wouldn't be comfortable with carpeting that close to the stove.

 

[Valhalla]

scampea,

Your Encore looks nice on the hearth. However, I would suggest that you review the Owners Manual that came with your stove or a PDF copy for your Encore NC at www.vermontcastings.com.

The link is:

(broken link removed to http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/products/productdetails.cfm?id=168)

It gives all the necessary dimensions in a simple diagram.

If it was my home, I would remove all nearby combustibles that are closer than VC and COMMON SENSE requires. Since you have a concrete slab, the nearby carpet can easily go, at least from your photo. It is a matter of your budget, how you may want to finish it off.

Good luck and burn safely. This is easily resolved.

 

[Scamp]

I appreciate all the comments more than you can know. We have taken them seriously and have plans to rebuild the mantel as well as lay another row of the hearth stones.

The reason we did nothing about the floor was because the installer said putting that "fire board" on the carpet would meet the requirements. I'm thinking he was more interested in making a sale than assuring safety.

The expense in unfortunate, but probably less expensive than an unplanned fire!

I'm looking forward to posting another picture before long and getting comments that it looks safe.

 

[oconnor]

The fire board is probably sufficient, but I believe it needs to be attached permanently, vice setting on top of the rug. As well, the gap near the hearth would need to be sealed to prevent embers from dropping in and causing obvious issues.

 

[Scamp]

I installed a heat shield on my insert to meet the mantle clearance requirements, I was lucky that Jotul made a heat shield that fit my rockland otherwise you can buy shields that screw to the mantel and have non-combustible spacers. My heat shield reduces the mantle temp signifigantly.

Does anyone know where one can find heat shields to screw to the mantel as mentioned above? Many thanks! We are gaining ground on this problem...

 

[Summertime]

If you do a google search for "mantle heat shield" you will find many suppliers, good luck.