Would the Osburn 2400 look odd in our fireplace?

[dccordell]

We are considering buying a used Osburn 2400 insert for the fireplace in our living room, but I'm concerned about how it will look in our particular fireplace that has a raised hearth, plus a slightly raised brick lip in front of the hearth. I'm probably not explaining that very well, so I've attached a couple pictures that hopefully show what I'm talking about.

Question 1: I created a paper template that is the exact footprint of the insert and drew a line across the front showing where the insert will hang out over the front bricks if the insert is pushed nearly all the way back into the firebox. The overhang is about 4-3/4 inches. That also happens to be the front-to-back depth of the blower on the front of the Osburn 2400, so I believe the blower would be the only part extending past the front bricks. Would this look bad having it hang past the bricks in the front?

Question 2: The bricks in the front are about 1 inch higher than the hearth behind them. Would I have to add some sort of shims under the insert to account for this? Possibly something like Durarock? The Osburn manual mentions leveling feet on the rear of the insert, but nothing on the front.

Maybe a flush insert would look better in our case, but I found this insert for sale locally and would like to make it work if possible. What do yall think?

 

[begreen]

Yes, this looks like a flush install would be best. The minimum extension with the 2400 is 5.25", and that requires 19.5" depth @ 22" high.

 

[dccordell]

The minimum extension with the 2400 is 5.25", and that requires 19.5" depth @ 22" high.

Thanks, begreen. I just checked to be sure, and at minimum extension there would be a little over an inch left between the top rear corner of the insert and the fireplace bricks. Further down from the top corner there is more clearance because of how the fireplace rear wall starts angling frontward about halfway up. I couldn't find anything specifically from Osburn on required clearance back there, but I read at least one person here mention it's generally acceptable to push it all the way back touching the bricks if needed. So just on having enough room, I should be OK, right?

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, the 5.25" would be measured out from the brick surround to the very front edge of the insert, right? If so, that means that the front edge of the insert would hang over the bottom bricks by about 1.75", taking into account the thickness of the bottom row of bricks. Would that look terrible, or just slightly unusual? It doesn't seem too bad to me but I could be wrong about that.

 

[dccordell]

Another thought I had was that I could add another row or two of bricks in front of the existing ones to bring the "hearth" out further so that the insert wouldn't hang over any. I'd honestly prefer to not have to do that, but we do have quite a few leftover bricks from when this house was built 30 years ago, so I could go that route if needed.

 

[dccordell]

Any other thoughts on how that insert would look extending past the bricks by a couple inches, or adding another row of bricks so that it wouldn't hang over?

I'm trying to get everything together for the install (liner, adapter, etc), but I don't want to order anything until I decide for sure on the Osburn.

 

[Mech e]

I agree with Begreen, go with a flush insert. Have you checked the clearance requirements to your mantel with the 2400?

 

[begreen]

Good point on the mantel clearance. It looks like there is about 18" from the lintel to the mantel bottom. There needs to be at least 24" from the stovetop to the mantel, though it could be shielded.
I thought about an extension of the hearth by another course of bricks. That's a possibility. If the stove is a deal too good to refuse then it may be worth solving the hearth and mantel clearance issues. Is the floor below the hearth non-combustible tile?

 

[dccordell]

Have you checked the clearance requirements to your mantel with the 2400?

There needs to be at least 24" from the stovetop to the mantel, though it could be shielded.

Good question. I went back to the manual and if I'm reading it correctly, our 11" mantel should be about 30.5" above the stovetop, which is 21-3/8" tall, giving 51-7/8" from hearth to bottom of mantel. We currently only have 44-1/8", so I would need to raise the mantel 7-3/4". I'll have to look into the shield options as I haven't considered that yet.

I thought about an extension of the hearth by another course of bricks. That's a possibility. If the stove is a deal too good to refuse then it may be worth solving the hearth and mantel clearance issues. Is the floor below the hearth non-combustible tile?

I'm honestly not sure what kind of tile that is below the hearth. It doesn't seem to be ceramic. We've been considering replacing it at some point, so that is something we wouldn't be against.

Reading the manual in section 2.3 Compliance of the masonry fireplace, it says we would need 20" of hearth extension in front of the fireplace. But it also mentions that the hearth extension should be a minimum of 4" thick. Does that mean that the floor area below the hearth has to be brick? This part is actually confusing me because I feel like we don't really have a hearth extension at all, other than that one row of bricks in the front. In this case, would I consider the flooring in front of the fireplace as "floor protection", and calculate the R-values when choosing replacement materials?

I don't know if the insert is too good of a deal to refuse at $1000, but considering the price of a new one and this one is only 5 years old and in good shape, I think it is a pretty decent deal? We looked at new inserts but those prices pushed the project out of our range after other expenses like a new insulated liner.

 

[begreen]

If the "tile" is linoleum it needs to be replaced. That is not ember protection.
$1000 is a fair price

 

[dccordell]

I took a closer look at that flooring material and was able to actually pop out one of the tile pieces near the edge where they are sort of loose. I'm not sure what kind of tile it is, but it was installed over the hardwood flooring that is in the rest of the living room with some kind of glue on the bottom, and with grout between the tiles. The piece didn't seem heavy enough to be regular ceramic tile, but I guess it could be.

With the lack of a hearth in front of the fireplace, are there any special requirements for the material I could use to replace the existing tile? Our house is on a concrete slab, so if I removed the tile and then carefully cut the wood flooring out of that area, could I just install new tile on top of the concrete?

 

[begreen]

Yes, you could tile on the concrete. The hearth needs to extend at least 16" in front of the stove door. The simplest solution would be a hearth pad, but retiling would look better.

 

[gr8shot]

I love our 2400, if you can make it work, I definitely would! I'd add another row of bricks or two even. In my opinion, you want the stove to stick out as far as possible. Every inch that sticks out is that much more radiant heat you'll get into the room. Ours sticks out pretty much as far as possible, and I don't regret doing that way at all. I wish I could have found ours for $1000, I'd jump all over that deal every time. It's a beast of a stove, and if your house is set up right for it, it'll heat a whole house!