Planning a fireplace installation in The Hammocks
Our family-owned team checks framing, attic and roof first, so the fireplace you choose actually fits your house.
- Owned and run locally
- Available for same-day service
- Fully licensed and insured
- Family owned and run
Worn prefab units and empty walls we plan around
- A prefab unit with a warped firebox
- Rusted metal inside an old fireplace
- Old chimney pipe with separated joints
- Framing too close to the old unit
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Before, during and after your fireplace installation
Firebox depth and throat set by code
The code gives a masonry firebox a minimum depth and places the throat a set distance above the opening. The passage through the throat, damper and smoke chamber may not be smaller than the flue itself. These proportions decide how well smoke leaves the room.
A shallow, tall Rumford-style firebox is allowed under its own set of proportions. If you like that look, we explain what changes in the design. Either way, the proportions are drawn before construction so the fireplace draws as well as it looks.
Signs a factory-built unit has reached its end
Warped or burned-through firebox metal, rust holes in the outer casing and chimney sections that have separated all point to a unit near the end. So does a model whose maker no longer supplies refractory or chimney parts. Operating a damaged unit is something the manuals prohibit.
Tell us what you have seen and how the fireplace has behaved. We confirm the condition during the free inspection and explain which findings are cosmetic and which affect safety. The decision to replace comes from those findings, not from the age of the unit alone.
Protecting the house while the work goes on
Installation means cutting, lifting heavy parts and working in the attic above finished rooms. We protect floors along the path, cover furniture and contain dust where the cutting happens. Protection is set up before the first cut and checked at the end of each day.
An open roof penetration is covered at the end of every work day until the chimney is sealed. Debris is cleaned up as the job moves and hauled away at the end. Tell us about pets, alarms or rooms we should avoid, and we plan around them.
Lighting a fire the way the manual describes
Manuals describe a lighting routine that avoids a smoky start. Open the damper fully, place crumpled paper under the grate, build a small tent of kindling and warm the flue with a burning roll of paper before lighting. Add larger split wood only once a bed of embers forms.
We go through the routine at handover with your own fireplace, so it feels familiar. A good start reduces smoke in the room and deposits in the chimney. If the routine does not work in your house, that tells us something about the draft worth checking.
Installation items you approve before work begins in The Hammocks
- Proposed fireplace location and room use
- Hearth extension size and material
- Firestops and attic insulation shield
- Header and framing near the unit
Installing a fireplace in The Hammocks, your questions
Does a zero clearance fireplace mean framing can touch it anywhere?
No. The name means certain framing may come close to the casing, as the manual shows. Air spaces, standoffs, header rules and a noncombustible zone around the face still apply, and we mark each of them during framing.
What paperwork do we keep after the installation?
You keep the manual, the listing details, the completed installation checklist and our written record of the work. The record names the model, serial number, chimney parts and clearances confirmed. Keep them together for future service.
Where should furniture sit relative to the new fireplace?
Outside the clear space the manual prints for your model. Curtains, chairs and stored items stay back, and nothing combustible sits on the hearth extension. We point out the zone at handover so you can arrange the room.
More Ways to Care for Your Fireplace
- Top-Sealing Damper InstallationFit a top-mounted damper only after checking the fireplace, product restrictions and control route.
- Wood-Burning Fireplace Insert InstallationFit a wood-burning insert after assessing its host fireplace and full connection requirements.
- Chimney Flue RepairAssess repairs to damaged existing flue linings and distinguish them from a new liner installation.
- Ventless Gas Fireplace ServiceService the identified vent-free appliance without bypassing its required safety components.
- Prefab and Zero-Clearance Fireplace RepairIdentify and repair manufactured fireplace components using the appropriate model information.
Proudly American
Local service. Careful repairs. A fireplace worth coming home to.
Call Now (645) 465-4171We received your request
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Chimney & Fireplace Brands We Work With
DuraVent 
Olympia Chimney and Venting 
Copperfield Chimney Supply 
Rutland 
Heatilator 
Heat & Glo