FROM SKETCH TO REALITY

Do you have a small dream of a specially adapted fireplace in your living room, but find it difficult to find the best solution? Then you have come to the right place.

This is because there can be countless possibilities if you tailor the fireplace to your needs and wishes, but there are also many rules and requirements that must be taken into account. Fireplaces generate a lot of heat, and for this reason there are requirements for the size of the fire wall, distances from combustible materials, air flow in the fireplace, heat barriers against the ceiling, sizes of valves, etc. All this and more must be on the drawing board when the fireplace is to be designed, and the requirements vary from fireplace to fireplace, and effort to effort. In addition, the total weight of the fireplace must be considered in relation to the weight restrictions on the floor. Therefore, it may be good to get some help with this from someone who has the necessary expertise. If you want our help with this, you can make an appointment with us in our showroom.

There are many different manufacturers of inserts on the market today. Spartherm, Brunner, Nordpeis, Dovre, Jøtul, Rais to name a few. The products, on the other hand, are relatively the same technically, and the procedure is identical when you need to outline a fireplace solution. After selecting the dream insert, we must start by measuring the firewall at the place where the fireplace is to be placed, and measuring the correct distances from the surrounding areas. (All of these installation requirements are listed in the installation instructions that will accompany the insert.) This will quickly give a picture of how the fireplace must be placed, and how big it will be in the living room. If you lack the necessary firewall, this can be installed in addition to -or integrated into the fireplace solution being designed.

What kind of material is used for the framing?

The framework is the actual "case" that is built around the effort. What kind of material will you build the fireplace in? There are also many possibilities here. The fireplace is mostly built in siporex, leca, brick, or the very popular scamotec plates which have now revolutionized the fireplace industry.

Scamotec is a very light material and is simple and cut to size. By using this material, the total weight of the fireplace will also be reduced considerably compared to, for example, bricks, which were more common before. In the picture on the left, you see a spartherm insert we have built up in skamotec. The result is a slim and space-saving fireplace. In addition, the total weight is within the maximum load the floor can withstand.

Skamotec costs slightly more than traditional building materials, but the assembly time is reduced considerably, and provides more design possibilities. Skamotec plates can be purchased in our online store.

Unfortunately, we see that plasterboard is sometimes used for fireplace surrounds. Gypsum is not flammable, but a plasterboard is also covered with cardboard/paper. Plasterboard should therefore not normally be used for fireplace inserts, unless the installation instructions accompanying the product allow for this.

Distance requirements and valves

The distance requirements from the insert to the surroundings are listed in the installation instructions, here it is also explained how large valves are required on the framing (listed in cm2), and how close to the ceiling these can be placed. Valves are important for several reasons. The insert needs cooling! Without valves, higher temperatures will build up in the frame than the fireplace has been tested for. This can lead to increased wear and tear on the insert, and in the worst case a fire hazard. In addition, you will lose the convection heat into the living room.

If you want to build the fireplace all the way up to the ceiling, a heat barrier must be fitted to the ceiling above the ventilation valves.

In the sketch on the left, we show an example of how a frame can be built. In this case around a spartherm insert. ( NOTE: This is only an example, and the measurements on the sketch must not be used in place of the requirements specification in the documents that accompany the insert you are going to use.)

In the sketch, we show a great effort, and in some cases we use a double firewall behind these, to further protect the combustible wall behind the fireplace. However, this is mostly not necessary. 50 mm thick skamotec plate is only approved as a fire wall.

The picture shows where we normally place a heat barrier to ensure that the warm air from the insert does not come into contact with the roof. The valves for exhaust air must be placed below this barrier. Some inserts require a distance of more than 50cm from the valves to the ceiling, in which case the heat barrier can also advantageously be placed lower.

If the insert is to be placed higher than in the sketch, it is normal to build a plinth in, for example, Siporex or brick, to lift the insert.

There is a lot to think about when building a fireplace. In our showroom, you can make an appointment with one of our customer advisors, and together find the perfect solution. We also offer installation at competitive prices. Contact us HERE to make an appointment with us.

Welcome to us!