Wood insert installation with a full-length liner, Watergate
A wood-burning insert installed to its manual, with a continuous liner from the collar to the top of the chimney.
- Owned and run locally
- Available for same-day service
- Fully licensed and insured
- Family owned and run
Reasons to consider a wood insert for your fireplace
- An open fireplace you want to heat with
- A worn insert with a warped door
- A fireplace you want closed up neatly
- An insert chosen before measuring
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Wood insert installation decisions, one at a time
Read the insert's manual before you buy
The installation manual shows what a particular insert needs from your fireplace. It lists the opening sizes, the liner, the floor protection, the clearances to trim and mantel, and the host restrictions. A brochure rarely mentions most of that.
Ask us to go through the manual of any insert you are considering. We point out the requirements that matter for your fireplace in particular, such as a short hearth or a mantel close to the opening. Then the choice rests on the whole picture.
Fresh air and other fireplaces in the house
A wood insert uses air from the room, and manuals say to provide a source of fresh air while it burns. One maker notes that an insert can create a downdraft in another fireplace in the house, and suggests slightly opening a window near the unit if that happens.
Tell us about other fireplaces, strong exhaust fans and how tightly the house is sealed. We explain how those affect the insert and what the manual recommends for your layout. The goal is a fire that draws steadily without pulling smoke from elsewhere.
Keeping the house protected while we work
Insert work happens in the living room and on the roof at the same time. We cover floors along the path, protect the hearth and contain soot from the chimney cleaning. An open chimney top is covered at the close of each work day until the liner and cap are set.
Old parts, packaging and debris from cleaning are gathered as we go and hauled away when we finish. Tell us about pets, alarms or rooms we should avoid. The goal is a finished insert and a room that looks the way it did before we arrived.
Measuring the chimney for the liner
The liner has to run the full height from the insert collar to the chimney top. We measure that height from the top and check for offsets in the flue that a flexible liner has to follow. The measurement sets the liner length ordered.
A flexible liner can follow gentle bends in a masonry flue, provided the flue is large enough along its whole length. Where a section is too tight, we explain the options before anything is ordered. The liner length and route are recorded in your written record.
What your insert installation scope lists
- Continuous liner sized to the collar
- Top plate and liner cap
- Faceplate panels and insulation strips
- Daily cover for the open chimney top
What people ask about wood-burning inserts
What happens to the damper when the insert goes in?
If the damper control will be out of reach, manuals require the damper to be removed or fixed open so the liner can pass. We explain which applies to your fireplace, and the change is noted in your written record.
How is the discount for booking quickly applied?
If the insert and liner are approved while fewer than 72 hours have passed since your free inspection, 10% comes off what you agreed. Nothing about the discount asks you to decide before we have looked at the fireplace, since the clock begins at your own inspection.
What do we keep after the insert is installed?
Keep the insert manual, the liner instructions and the written record we leave. That record lists the model, serial number, liner system and clearances checked, and it notes any change to the damper.
We received your request
Our team will contact you to arrange your inspection.
Chimney & Fireplace Brands We Work With
DuraVent 
Olympia Chimney and Venting 
Copperfield Chimney Supply 
Rutland 
Heatilator 
Heat & Glo