Fireplace Reline with a Stove

Relining Fireplace Conversion

All of the benefits of full relining for fireplace inserts apply to hearthstoves:

• proper flue size for optimum performance
• improved start-up
• reduced creosote build-up and maintenance
• easier, less expensive maintenance
• added protection in a chimney fire.

Hearthstove Floor Protection

Manufacturer's instructions require that the hearthstove be placed on a noncombustible material of a certain thickness and that extends a certain distance to the sides and front of the stove. It may be necessary to add on to the fireplace hearth extension or to provide additional protection for the floor in front and to the sides of the stove.

Hearthstove Clearances

The fireplace mantel and trim may have to be protected according to the manufacturer's instructions. Attention should also be paid to proximity to furniture since the hearthstove is positioned further out into the room than the fireplace opening.

Venting into Non-Masonry Fireplaces

It is important to closely inspect all non-masonry fireplaces to distinguish factory-built fireplaces from steel-lined fireplaces. Steel-lined masonry fireplaces are simply masonry walls enclosing a firebox shaped metal enclosure vented by a masonry chimney. The steel liner may be double walled and have warm air vents adjacent to the fireplace opening. Steel-lined masonry fireplaces can, in most cases, be used with freestanding solid fuel appliances or fireplace inserts. They contain all the essential parts of a fireplace: firebox, damper, throat, smoke shelf, and smoke chamber. Steel-lined fireplaces have a heavy (up to 1/4 inch thick) firebox liner and an air chamber in conjunction with 8 inches of surrounding masonry to meet code.

Venting into factory-built fireplaces is not so simple. Although virtually all factory-built fireplaces have been tested by nationally recognized organizations for use AS fireplaces, they have not been widely tested to contain or vent solid fuel appliances. In fact, their use WITH solid fuel appliances may void the manufacturer's warranty. The party breaching the warranty may assume full liability if a problem arises. A second complication stems from appliance listing. A fireplace insert may be listed with specific brands and models of metal fireplace; if so, proper installation of the fireplace and chimney must be determined (often difficult or impossible), and manufacturer's instructions followed carefully.

Some fireplace inserts and hearth heaters have "blanket" listings; a testing agency approves their installation in factory-built fireplaces without regard to brand or model. The position of the National Fireplace Institute is: "Another solid fuel-burning appliance shall not be installed using an existing factory-built fireplace unless the appliance is specifically listed for such installation."

In addition, some appliances specifically prohibit venting into factory-built fireplaces.

A further complication involved the requirement of high temperature ("Type HT") factory-built chimneys for closed combustion wood burning appliances. Most chimneys for factory-built fireplaces are tested to only 1700 degree Fahrenheit and are, according to the requirement, not suitable for solid fuel appliances.