Four ways to add a fireplace to a Miami house with no chimney

Describe the house before choosing a fireplace

Start with the building, not the catalog. Note whether the floor is a concrete slab or a raised wood floor, and whether the outside walls are block or framed. Note the roof covering, how many stories sit above the room, and whether you own a house or a unit in a condominium. Each of those facts opens or closes a route.

Then rank the options by what they ask of the house. Electric asks the least. A direct-vent gas fireplace needs a vent path and a gas supply. A factory-built wood fireplace needs a chimney run through the roof. A masonry fireplace needs the most, starting below the floor. If you are weighing fuels for a condo, compare electric vs gas fireplace options before settling on a route.

Route one, an electric fireplace with no vent

An electric fireplace burns nothing, so it needs no chimney and no vent. Dimplex notes that many of its models plug into a standard household outlet, while others must be hard-wired. The owner's manual sets the clearances around the unit, and those still apply to a built-in installation.

The bigger decision is whether the unit hangs on the wall, sits in a cabinet or is recessed into the wall. Recessing into a framed wall is carpentry. Recessing into a block wall means cutting block, which raises structural and permit questions of its own. Ask the estimate to state which one is proposed. Our electric fireplace installation visit starts with the wall and the power supply.

Route two, a direct-vent gas fireplace

A direct-vent gas fireplace is sealed from the room. Heat & Glo explains that its direct-vent units draw all their combustion air from outside and send all the exhaust outside, so no chimney is needed. A listed vent pipe leaves through an outside wall or rises through the roof, and ends at a termination cap.

That vent is where most of the planning goes. The manual sets how far the pipe can run, how many turns it may take, and how far the termination must sit from windows, doors and other openings. It also covers the framing around the unit and a non-combustible board where one is required. A gas line has to reach the unit, and models with electronic ignition also need household power. Ask for gas fireplace installation estimates to show the vent route and the termination spot on a plan of the house.

Route three, a listed factory-built wood fireplace

A factory-built wood fireplace, sometimes called a zero-clearance or prefab fireplace, is a firebox and chimney system made and tested together. UL 127 covers factory-built fireplaces, including the fire chamber, the chimney and the roof assembly. The Florida Building Code requires each of these units to carry a listing label and to be installed the way that listing describes. Their chimneys must be listed and installed and terminated as the manufacturer instructs.

In practice, that means following one manual from the floor to the roof. One wood-burning model's manual, for example, calls for firestop spacers where the chimney passes through a ceiling, and a listed round-top or chase-top termination above the roof. The building code adds an insulation shield where the chimney passes through an insulated attic. The manual warns that modifying the fireplace, its chimney components or its accessories may void its listings and approvals.

Outside, the chimney either rises through the roof with flashing or runs inside a framed chase with a chase top and cap. Either way the roof is opened and sealed again. On a tile or flat roof, that step may need a roofer as well, and the estimate should say who does it.

Route four, a site-built masonry fireplace

A masonry fireplace and chimney are built on site from firebrick, block, brick or stone. The building code requires a concrete or solid masonry footing under both, sized and placed by rule. In an existing house on a slab, that usually means opening the floor and pouring a new footing before any fireplace goes up.

The rest follows the same code chapter. The firebox, smoke chamber and flue each have rules, and the hearth and the hearth extension in front of it must be noncombustible and properly supported. The chimney has to rise a set height above the roof and above anything nearby. This route gives you a real masonry fireplace. It also asks the most of the structure, the budget and the schedule, so it suits a larger remodel better than a room update.

Plan the wall above, including any television

A new fireplace may share its wall with a television, and the two have to agree. The Heat & Glo owner's manual, for example, shows how warm the wall surface above the opening can get at different heights. It then gives separate guidance for a television hung on the wall and one recessed into it. Mantels and wall projections near the opening have their own minimum clearances in the installation manual.

Settle the wall plan before the framing goes up, not after the drywall is finished. Tell us the size of the television, whether a mantel is planned, and what finish you want on the surround. Electric units follow their own manuals on these points, and a wood fireplace sets its clearances by its listing.

Who approves the work

Adding a fuel-burning fireplace is building work. Heat & Glo's installation manual tells installers to check with the local building inspector, fire officials or other authorities about restrictions, inspections and permits. For your address, that is the building department covering your city or county.

Ask whether the work needs a permit and who will apply for it before you sign anything. Gas piping and new electrical circuits may bring their own requirements. If you live in a condominium, read the association's rules on alterations as well, because approval may be needed before any wall or roof is opened.

Questions the inspection and estimate settle

A free inspection and a written estimate should answer these before you choose a unit.

• Where the fireplace can sit, with the clearances its manual requires
• The vent or chimney route, and where it leaves the house
• What supports the unit, from the floor framing to a new footing
• How the roof or wall opening is sealed, and who seals it
• Whether gas and power reach the spot, or need to be run
• Which finishes are included, such as drywall, tile, trim and paint
• Whether the work needs a permit, and who applies for it

How we approach an added fireplace

Tell us which room, which wall and how you picture using the fireplace. Our free inspection looks at the floor, the wall, the attic and the roof above that spot, where each can be reached. The written estimate then compares the routes that actually fit, with upfront pricing for each part of the job. The work area is cleaned each day and the debris leaves with us, and the finished job comes with a written record.

Sources

• 2023 Florida Building Code, Residential, chapter 10: Footings for masonry fireplaces, hearth rules, chimney termination, listed factory-built fireplaces and chimneys, and attic insulation shields.
• UL 127 Factory-Built Fireplaces, standard scope: Fire chamber, chimney and roof assembly tested together under the factory-built fireplace standard.
• UL 103 Factory-Built Chimneys, standard scope: The listing standard for the factory-built chimney that serves a home fireplace or heating appliance.
• Heat & Glo 6000CLX-IFT installation manual: A manufacturer example of direct-vent combustion air, termination and framing requirements, wiring, and checking with local officials on permits.
• Superior WCT3000 wood-burning fireplace manual: A factory-built wood fireplace listed to UL 127, with firestop spacers, listed terminations and the maker's own components.
• Dimplex electric fireplace technical support: Plug-in and hard-wired electric models, no venting and clearances set by the owner's manual.
• Heat & Glo 6000CLX-IFT owner's manual: A manufacturer example of wall surface temperatures above a gas fireplace and guidance for a television above it.