Genola · Utah County
Fireplace Installation and Hearth Remodels in Genola
The most common job we are asked about in Genola is not a new fireplace. It is making an old one worth having.
Plenty of houses here have a big open masonry fireplace that the family likes and nobody uses, because using it makes the rest of the house cold. That is not a fault in your fireplace. It is what open fireplaces do.
Why an open firebox loses you heat
An open fire draws a very large volume of air out of the room and sends it up the chimney. That air was heated by your furnace, and it has to be replaced by outside air pulled in through every gap in the building. The radiant heat coming off the fire is real, but the room-air heat going up the flue usually exceeds it, so the net effect across the house is a loss. Sitting in front of it feels wonderful. The bedroom at the far end of the house gets colder.
What an insert changes
An insert is a sealed firebox that slides into the existing masonry opening, with a correctly sized stainless liner run the full height of the old flue and, on most models, a duct bringing combustion air from outside. Because it is sealed, it stops using room air. Because it is sealed, you control the burn rate rather than letting the chimney decide it. And because a proper liner keeps the flue gas hot to the top, it drafts better and deposits less creosote than the oversized old flue ever did. The masonry surround, the mantel and the hearth stay exactly as they are, which is usually the point in a house where the fireplace is part of the character of the room. Wood and gas inserts both work this way, and which one suits you comes down to whether you want to carry fuel.
Sizing, and resisting the urge to go large
The most common specification mistake is buying more appliance than the space needs. An oversized firebox has to be run choked down to be bearable, and a choked fire burns cool and coats the flue. We would rather work out the heat loss of the room and the way air can move through the house, then fit something you can run properly, than sell you the biggest unit that fits the hole.
New builds and full remodels
On the newer houses out on the larger lots the job is usually different: a direct-vent unit in a room being built or reworked, where we can choose the vent route before the drywall goes on. The constraint that decides the design is the termination location, because manufacturers publish minimum distances from a termination to windows, doors, soffits, decks and the ground, and on a single-story house those clearances need thinking about early. The other one is mantel height and projection over the opening, which is the detail most often drawn wrong on a design someone has already fallen for. We would rather raise it at the sketch stage than after it is built. Licensed and insured, and everything commissioned and test-fired before we go.
Questions
Installation in Genola — common questions
Can I keep the old brick fireplace and still get real heat?
Yes, that is exactly what an insert does. The sealed unit goes into the existing opening with a liner up the old flue, so the brickwork, mantel and hearth stay as they are. From the room it looks like your fireplace with a glass front and it heats like a stove.
Why does our fireplace make the rest of the house colder?
Because an open firebox exhausts a large volume of heated room air up the chimney, and that air is replaced by cold air drawn in through every gap in the house. You feel the radiant heat in front of it while the rest of the building loses more than it gains.
Wood insert or gas insert?
It comes down to whether you want to handle fuel and whether you have a good wood supply, which in this area many people do. Wood gives you heat in a power cut and costs less to run if the fuel is free; gas gives you a fire at the flick of a switch and needs no ash handling.
Does the old chimney need lining for an insert?
In nearly every case, yes, and it is not an optional extra. An old flue is far larger than a modern sealed appliance needs, so the gas cools on the way up, drafts badly and glazes the flue. A liner sized to the unit is what makes the installation work.
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Our other services here
Chimney Sweep Inspection Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Gas Fireplace Caps & Dampers Dryer Vents All Genola services
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